The Bird Alamanac: The Ultimate Guide to Essential Facts and Figures of the World's Birds by David M. Bird

1 Pages·2000·0.58 MB·English

by  Review By: Sara R Morris

Wilson Bull., 112(1), 2000. pp. 156-161
Ornithological Literature
Edited by Sara R. Morris
THE BIRD ALMANAC: THE ULTIMATE of CD-ROMs and software, and lists of bird
GUIDE TO ESSENTIAL FACTS AND FIG- videos and sound recordings. Ornithologists
URES OF THE WORLD'S BIRDS. By David will find contact information for sources of
M. Bird. Firefly Books, Buffalo, New York. optical equipment, sound-recording equip-
1999: 460 pp., 17 unnumbered black and ment, telemetry gear, banding supplies and
DNA
white illustrations, numerous unnum—bered ta- equipment, organizations that provide
bles. $19.95 (paper), $65.00 (cloth). In a sin- sexing, and specialized video equipment.
gle volume, David Bird has compiled many of There are also extensive on-line references
the facts and figures about birds and provided like internet links to world-wide birding web
resources for those who study birds. The book sites, addresses of bird-watching and ornitho-
is divided into sections that will be useful to logical discussion groups, and subscription in-
professional ornithologists, including anato- formation for bird related e-mail lists.
my, physiology, reproduction, mortality, As with any volume of this magnitude,
threatened and endangered species, resources there are inaccuracies and oversights. For ex-
for professional ornithologists, and a world ample, the illustration of the bird skeleton has
checklist of birds. Additional sections will labeled the tarsometatarsus as the tarsus, and
have appeal to bird enthusiasts, including it does not label the sternum but does label
American and British equivalencies for names the keel. In a number of the tables, only the
of birds, mascot birds, bird-watching, attract- common name is given, even when numerous
ing birds to the backyard, who's who in or- species have the same general name (e.g.,
nithology and conservation, resources for bird crow, blackbird, or magpie).
lovers, and record holders. Each section has a With the wealth of information packed into
surprising amount of information. For exam- this book, it will provide a wonderful resource
ple, the section on reproduction includes ta- for both professionals and amateurs. Orni-
bles of territory sizes, song repertoire sizes, thologists and bird enthusiasts shou—ld both
SARA
time of initiation of singing, number of sperm consider this book for their libraries.
storage tubules, duration of sperm storage, R. MORRIS.
clutch size, incubation period, incubation
times, and sex ratios; descriptions of nest
types and patterns of development; and illus-
trations of gametes, eggs, and embryonic de- ENDEMIC BIRD AREAS OF THE
velopment. Anyone teaching classes about WORLD: PRIORITIES FOR BIODIVERSI-
birds will have a variety of interesting facts TY CONSERVATION. By Alison J. Staters-
and useful illustrations to use in the class- field, Michael J. Crosby, Adrian J. Long, and
room. Bird has included extensive citations David C. Wege. Bird Life International, Cam-
for the information he presents, allowing any- bridge. 1998: 846 pp., 120 maps covering ma-
one interested in learning more about a par- jor areas of avian endemism and se—veral hun-
ticular topic to read the original source for ad- dred tabulations. $60.00 (paper). This re-
ditional details. markable work documents, in great detail, all
The resources included in the book for bird the major endemic bird areas of the world.
watchers and ornithologists are equally im- Detailed maps show basic physiography and
pressive. Bird has compiled traditional re- features. The species tabulations cover global
sources like contact information for bird-re- status, where each rare species occurs, its al-
lated societies, contact information for scien- titudinal range, and details of habitat. Over
tific journals and bird magazines, addresses 300 contributors combined to produce the data
for bird banding organizations, rare bird alert sets. There are several dozen habitat photos.
numbers (and web addresses), annotated lists Each endemic bird area is individually ex-
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