Update

UPDATE:  I have seen the second printing of this book and it looks like the color and font problems have been solved! So I can now endorse this book.

1) Sibley, David Allen. The Sibley Guide to Birds: Second Edition. 2014. Knopf. Flexibound: 598 pages. Price: $40.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: The publication of The Sibley Guide to Birds in 2000 quickly established David Allen Sibley as the author and illustrator of the nation’s supreme and most comprehensive guide to birds. Used by millions of birders from novices to the most expert, The Sibley Guide became the standard by which natural history guides are measured. The highly anticipated second edition builds on this foundation of excellence, offering massively expanded and updated information, new paintings, new and rare species, and a new, elegant design.
      The second edition offers a wealth of improvements and updates:

• All illustrations reproduced 15 to 20 percent larger for better detail.
• Includes nearly 7,000 paintings digitally remastered from original art for enhanced print quality.
• Expanded text includes habitat information and voice description for every species and more tips on finding birds in the field.
• More than 600 new paintings, including illustrations of 115 rare species and additional paintings of common species and regional populations.
• More than 700 updated maps of ranges, showing winter, summer, year-round, migration, and rare ranges.
• 85 bird family pages now cross-referenced to species accounts.
• Revised taxonomic order and most current common names for every species.

      The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition, brings the genius of David Allen Sibley to the world once again in a thoroughly updated and expanded volume that every birder must own.

New Title

1) Danielson, Olaf. Boobies, Peckers and Tits: One Man's Naked Perspective. 2014. Cable Publishing. Paperback: 320 pages. Price: $18.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Boobies, Peckers & Tits: One Man’s Naked Perspective documents Olaf’s epic quest, which combined seeing as many species of birds In one year…while he was nude.
     Called “wickedly extraordinary,” the never-to-be-forgotten tales range from being shot at in Texas to a heart-stopping chase by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone, all while trying his best to avoid arrest. Described by Olaf as containing “rampant nudity,” Boobies, Peckers & Tits as also a story filled with a love and respect for nature and family as well as the realization that, with the passing of each day, now is the time to start that life quest. 
RECOMMENDATION: An unusual tale of an unusual big year!

New Title

1) Fisher, Celia. The Magic of Birds. 2014. British Library. Hardbound: 160 pages. Price: $30.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Of all the animals with which we share the planet, few have captured people’s imaginations as thoroughly, or enchantingly, as birds. Symbols of freedom but also of captivity, good fortune but also ill omen, the human spirit and the unknowable animal—birds have delighted and haunted us for millennia.
     The Magic of Birds brings that fascination to the printed page. A marvelous mix of words and images, it carries readers around the globe, from the myths of ancient Egypt to the Finnish epic The Kalevala, to find the tracks of birds in art and literature. We see birds peeking out of illuminated medieval manuscripts, swooping across antique maps, and preening in natural history paintings. Alongside, Celia Fisher offers a dazzling cultural history of birds, tracing their presence, as animals and symbols, in the literature, art, and religion of Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas.
      A truly stunning volume, worthy of our eternal love affair with birds, The Magic of Birds is the perfect book to set beside your birdseed and binoculars. 
RECOMMENDATION: A well illustrated introduction to the relationships between birds and Humans.

The Weekly Birdbooker Report

                                      Photo copyright: Joe Fuhrman


My WEEKLY Birdbooker Report can be found here: http://www.scilogs.com/maniraptora/birdbooker-report-344/

New Title

1) Beolens, Bo, Michael Watkins, Michael Grayson. The Eponym Dictionary of Birds. 2014. Bloomsbury. Hardbound: 624 pages. Price: $86.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Birdwatchers often come across bird names that include a person's name, either in the vernacular (English) name or latinised in the scientific nomenclature. Such names are properly called eponyms, and few people will not have been curious as to who some of these people were (or are).
     Names such as Darwin, Wallace, Audubon, Gould and (Gilbert) White are well known to most people. Keener birders will have yearned to see Pallas's Warbler, Hume's Owl, Swainson's Thrush, Steller's Eider or Brünnich's Guillemot. But few people today will have even heard of Albertina's Myna, Barraband's Parrot, Guerin's Helmetcrest or Savigny's Eagle Owl. This extraordinary new work lists more than 4,000 eponymous names covering 10,000 genera, species and subspecies of birds. Every taxon with an eponymous vernacular or scientific name (whether in current usage or not) is listed, followed by a concise biography of the person concerned. These entries vary in length from a few lines to several paragraphs, depending on the availability of information or the importance of the individual's legacy. The text is punctuated with intriguing or little-known facts, unearthed in the course of the authors' extensive research.
     Ornithologists will find this an invaluable reference, especially to sort out birds named after people with identical surnames or in situations where only a person's forenames are used. But all birders will find much of interest in this fascinating volume, a book to dip into time and time again whenever their curiosity is aroused. 
RECOMMENDATION: A MUST have for anyone with an interest in ornithological etymology.

New Titles

1) Campbell, Iain, Sam Woods and Nick Leseberg. Birds of Australia: A Photographic Guide. 2014. Princeton University Press. Paperback: 391 pages. Price: $35.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Australia is home to a spectacular diversity of birdlife, from parrots and penguins to emus and vibrant passerines. Birds of Australia covers all 714 species of resident birds and regularly occurring migrants and features more than 1,100 stunning color photographs, including many photos of subspecies and plumage variations never before seen in a field guide. Detailed facing-page species accounts describe key identification features such as size, plumage, distribution, behavior, and voice. This one-of-a-kind guide also provides extensive habitat descriptions with a large number of accompanying photos. The text relies on the very latest IOC taxonomy and the distribution maps incorporate the most current mapping data, making this the most up-to-date guide to Australian birds.
RECOMMENDATION: A MUST have for anyone with an interest in the birds of Australia.

2) Bach, Richard. Jonathan Livingston Seagull: The Complete Edition. 2014. Scribner. Paperback: 133 pages. Price: $12.99 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: The new complete edition of a timeless classic that includes the never-before-published Part Four and Last Words by Richard Bach.
      This is the story for people who follow their hearts and make their own rules…people who get special pleasure out of doing something well, even if only for themselves…people who know there’s more to this living than meets the eye: they’ll be right there with Jonathan, flying higher and faster than they ever dreamed.
      A pioneering work that wed graphics with words, Jonathan Livingston Seagull now enjoys a whole new life.
RECOMMENDATION: Fans of the book can now read the final Part Four.

New Title

1) Quammen, David. Ebola: The Natural and Human History of a Deadly Virus. 2014. W.W. Norton. Paperback: 122 pages. Price: $13.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: In 1976 a deadly virus emerged from the Congo forest. As swiftly as it came, it disappeared, leaving no trace. Over the four decades since, Ebola has emerged sporadically, each time to devastating effect. It can kill up to 90 percent of its victims. In between these outbreaks, it is untraceable, hiding deep in the jungle. The search is on to find Ebola’s elusive host animal. And until we find it, Ebola will continue to strike. Acclaimed science writer and explorer David Quammen first came near the virus while he was traveling in the jungles of Gabon, accompanied by local men whose village had been devastated by a recent outbreak. Here he tells the story of Ebola—its past, present, and its unknowable future.
     Extracted from Spillover by David Quammen, updated and with additional material. 
RECOMMENDATION: A quick introduction on a topic that's in the headlines.

The Weekly Birdbooker Report

                                          Photo copyright: Joe Fuhrman


My WEEKLY Birdbooker Report can be found here: http://www.scilogs.com/maniraptora/birdbooker-report-343/

Featured Title

1) Ceballos, Gerardo (editor). Mammals of Mexico. 2014. Johns Hopkins University Press. Hardbound: 957 pages. Price: $150.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Mammals of Mexico is the first reference book in English on the more than 500 types of mammal species found in the diverse Mexican habitats, which range from the Sonoran Desert to the Chiapas cloud forests. The authoritative species accounts are written by a Who’s Who of experts compiled by famed mammalogist and conservationist Gerardo Ceballos.
     Ten years in the making, Mammals of Mexico covers everything from obscure rodents to whales, bats, primates, and wolves. It is thoroughly illustrated with color photographs and meticulous artistic renderings, as well as range maps for each species. Introductory chapters discuss biogeography, conservation, and evolution. The final section of the book illustrates the skulls, jaws, and tracks of Mexico’s mammals.
     This unparalleled collection of scientific information on, and photographs of, Mexican wildlife belongs on the shelf of every mammalogist, in public and academic libraries, and in the hands of anyone curious about Mexico and its wildlife. 
RECOMMENDATION: A MUST have for anyone with an interest in the mammals of Mexico!

New Titles

1) Doyle, Brian. Children and Other Wild Animals. 2014. OSU Press. Paperback: 163 pages. Price: $18.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: In Children and Other Wild Animals, bestselling novelist Brian Doyle (Mink River, The Plover) describes encounters with astounding beings of every sort and shape. These true tales of animals and human mammals (generally the smaller sizes, but here and there elders and jumbos) delightfully blur the line between the two.
     In these short vignettes, Doyle explores the seethe of life on this startling planet, the astonishing variety of our riveting companions, and the joys available to us when we pause, see, savor, and celebrate the small things that are not small in the least.
     Doyle’s trademark quirky prose is at once lyrical, daring, and refreshing; his essays are poignant but not pap, sharp but not sermons, and revelatory at every turn. Throughout there is humor and humility and a palpable sense of wonder, with passages of reflection so true and hard earned they make you stop and reread a line, a paragraph, a page.
     Children and Other Wild Animals gathers previously unpublished work with selections that have appeared in Orion, The Sun, Utne Reader, High Country News, and The American Scholar, as well as Best American Essays (“The Greatest Nature Essay Ever”) and Best American Nature and Science Writing (“Fishering”). 
RECOMMENDATION: Fans of Doyle's other writings should enjoy this book.

2) Russell, Sharman Apt. Diary of a Citizen Scientist: Chasing Tiger Beetles and Other New Ways of Engaging the World. 2014. OSU Press. Paperback: 222 pages. Price: $18.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: In the exploding world of citizen science, hundreds of thousands of volunteers are monitoring climate change, tracking bird migration, finding stardust for NASA, and excavating mastodons. The sheer number of citizen scientists, combined with new technology, has begun to shape how research is conducted. Non-professionals become acknowledged experts: dentists turn into astronomers and accountants into botanists.
     Diary of a Citizen Scientist is a timely exploration of this phenomenon, told through the lens of nature writer Sharman Apt Russell’s yearlong study of a little-known species, the Western red-bellied tiger beetle. In a voice both humorous and lyrical, Russell recounts her persistent and joyful tracking of an insect she calls “charismatic,” “elegant,” and “fierce.” Patrolling the Gila River in southwestern New Mexico, collector’s net in hand, she negotiates the realities of climate change even as she celebrates the beauty of a still-wild and rural landscape.
     Russell’s self-awareness—of her occasionally-misplaced confidence, her quest to fill in “that blank spot on the map of tiger beetles,” and her desire to become newly engaged in her life—creates a portrait not only of the tiger beetle she tracks, but of the mindset behind self-driven scientific inquiry. Falling in love with the diversity of citizen science, she participates in crowdsourcing programs that range from cataloging galaxies to monitoring the phenology of native plants, applauds the growing role of citizen science in environmental activism, and marvels at the profusion of projects around the world.
     Diary of a Citizen Scientist offers its readers a glimpse into the transformative properties of citizen science—and documents the transformation of the field as a whole. 
RECOMMENDATION: An interesting take on citizen science projects.

New Title

1) Alderfer, Jonathan (editor). National Geographic Complete Birds of North America, 2nd Edition. 2014. National Geographic Society. Hardbound: 744 pages. Price: $40.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Essential, comprehensive, and easy to use, the revised edition of National Geographic Complete Birds of North America is an astonishing resource that covers every bird species found in North America as well as all the seasonal visitors. Entries are organized by family group, the taxonomic organization newly updated to match current American Ornithologists' Union guidelines. Within a family, each separate bird entry has dozens of tips and illustrations on species' gender, age group, behavior, habitat, nesting and feeding habits, and migration routes. Providing full information on more than 1,000 species, this book features hundreds of range and migration maps, cutting-edge information on identification, and more than 4,000 annotated illustrations by expert bird artists. 
RECOMMENDATION: This book is a useful supplement to the National Geographic field guide.

The Weekly Birdbooker Report

                                           Photo copyright: Joe Fuhrman


My WEEKLY Birdbooker Report can be found here: http://www.scilogs.com/maniraptora/birdbooker-report-342/

Featured Title

1) Pratt, Thane K. & Bruce M. Beehler. Birds of New Guinea: Second Edition. 2014. Princeton University Press. Paperback: 528 pages. Price: $49.50 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: This is the completely revised edition of the essential field guide to the birds of New Guinea. The world’s largest tropical island, New Guinea boasts a spectacular avifauna characterized by cassowaries, megapodes, pigeons, parrots, cuckoos, kingfishers, and owlet-nightjars, as well as an exceptionally diverse assemblage of songbirds such as the iconic birds of paradise and bowerbirds. Birds of New Guinea is the only guide to cover all 780 bird species reported in the area, including 366 endemics. Expanding its coverage with 111 vibrant color plates—twice as many as the first edition—and the addition of 635 range maps, the book also contains updated species accounts with new information about identification, voice, habits, and range. A must-have for everyone from ecotourists to field researchers, Birds of New Guinea remains an indispensable guide to the diverse birds of this remarkable region. 
RECOMMENDATION: A MUST have for birders with an interest in the region!

New Title

1) O'Connor, George. Olympians Boxed Set. 2014. First Second. 6 paperback volumes in boxed set. Price: $59.99 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: By Zeus, it's Athena, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Aphrodite!
     This sturdy boxed set includes paperback editions of the first six Olympians books by multiple New York Times–bestselling author/illustrator George O'Connor.
     Holy Hera, it's got a free poster!
     Collectors will adore this package, with lots of new artwork and the complete Olympians family tree on the free poster. Plus, the boxed set is also a great way for classrooms to get all six books at once.
     Aphrodite Almighty, what a value!
RECOMMENDATION: Fans of the series should enjoy this boxed set!

New Title

1) Orenstein, Ronald and Michael and Patricia Fogden. Hummingbirds. 2014. Firefly. Hardbound: 256 pages. Price: $35.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: The tiny hummingbird has long been a source of fascination for birdwatchers and naturalists alike. They number 300 species and Ronald Orenstein has a passion for all of them.
     Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world. A hummingbird egg is the size of a pea, barely, and the chick that emerges will be smaller than a penny, if that. But these tiny birds pack a powerful engine: a hummingbird's heart beats more than 1,200 times per minute.
     Nicknamed the "avian helicopter", a hummingbird's wings beat from 70 times per second in direct flight, to more than 200 times per second when diving. Not surprisingly, that whirlwind of wing power creates a humming sound. To fuel such energy, hummingbirds must eat as much as eight times their body weight on a daily basis, which means visiting an average of 1,000 flowers -- every day -- to get enough nectar.  
     Hummingbirds are found in North and South America, with the greatest number in Ecuador, although some species breed as far north as Canada. Most species migrate from Mexico to Alaska, a distance of more than 5,000 miles.
     In this book Orenstein covers all aspects of hummingbird natural history, their relationship with the plants on which they feed, the miracle of their flight, their elaborate social life and nesting behavior, and their renowned feats of migration.
     More than 170 color photographs of these magnificent creatures, taken in the wild, adorn the pages of Hummingbirds. Birders and natural history readers alike will gain new insight into the tiny bird and revel in the stunning images. 
RECOMMENDATION: A well illustrated introduction to hummingbirds.

New Title

1) Borrow, Nik and Ron Demey. Birds of Western Africa: Second Edition. 2014. Princeton University Press. Paperback: 592 pages. Price: $45.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: This revised and expanded edition of Birds of Western Africa is now the most up-to-date field guide available to the 1,285 species of birds found in the region—from Senegal and southern Mauritania east to Chad and the Central African Republic and south to Congo. It now features all maps and text opposite the plates for quick and easy reference. The comprehensive species accounts have been fully updated and expanded, and the color distribution maps have been completely revised. This premier guide also includes more than 3,000 illustrations on 266 stunning color plates.
     Compact and lightweight, this new edition of Birds of Western Africa is the must-have field guide to one of the most exciting birding regions in the world. 
RECOMMENDATION: A must have for birders to/from the region.

The Weekly Birdbooker Report

                                            Photo copyright: Joe Fuhrman

My WEEKLY Birdbooker Report can be found here: http://www.scilogs.com/maniraptora/birdbooker-report-341/

New Titles

1) Nichols, Wallace J., Brad Nahill, and Melissa Gaskill. A Worldwide Travel Guide to Sea Turtles. 2014. Texas A&M University Press. Flexibound: 221 pages. Price: $25.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Sea turtle populations around the world are endangered, and in recent years tourism has been a critical element in worldwide efforts to save them. More travelers seek meaningful experiences that bring them close to nature and wildlife, and opportunities to interact with and help sea turtles now exist at locations around the globe, from remote beaches to urban labs.
     In A Worldwide Travel Guide to Sea Turtles, a scientist, a conservationist, and a journalist have come together to provide a guide to the places where people can view sea turtles and participate in authentic conservation projects.
     Covering five continents and including the South Pacific and Caribbean, the authors direct readers to the parks, reserves, and research sites where they can responsibly observe turtles in the wild, especially nesting beaches where people can see female sea turtles lay eggs and hatchlings make their harrowing journey from nest to sea. Options for on-site lodging and other amenities are included, if available, as well as details of other nearby attractions that travelers may wish to include in their itineraries.
RECOMMENDATION: A must have for sea turtle fans!

2) Pratchett, Terry. A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Nonfiction. 2014. Doubleday. Hardbound: 307 pages. Price: $26.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: A Slip of the Keyboard is the first collection of Pratchett’s nonfiction work, and it brings together the finest examples of his extraordinary wit and his persuasive prose. Whether in short opinion pieces (on death and taxes), or in long essays, speeches, and interviews (covering a range of topics from mushrooms to orangutans), this collection is a fascinating look inside an extraordinary writer’s mind. It includes his remarks at science-fiction and fantasy conventions, his thoughts on the importance of banana daiquiris on book tours, his observations on fan mail, and his belief that an author is obligated to sign anything a fan puts in front of him (especially if it is very sharp). He also writes about the books that shaped his love of language and legends, not to mention his entrance into science-fiction fandom when he attended his first sci-fi convention as a teenager.
     Filled with all the humor and humanity that have made his novels so enduringly popular, this collection brings Pratchett out from behind the scenes of Discworld to speak for himself—man and boy, bibliophile and computer geek; a champion of hats, orangutans, and Dignity in Dying.
     With a foreword by Pratchett’s close friend and Good Omens coauthor Neil Gaiman to lead off, A Slip of the Keyboard is a must-have for any Pratchett fan.
RECOMMENDATION: As it says above, this book is a must have for Terry Pratchett fans!

New Titles

1) Gebo, Daniel L.. Primate Comparative Anatomy. 2014. Johns Hopkins University Press. Hardbound: 187 pages. Price: $84.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Why do orangutan arms closely resemble human arms? What is the advantage to primates of having long limbs? Why do primates have forward-facing eyes? Answers to questions such as these are usually revealed by comparative studies of primate anatomy
     In this heavily illustrated, up-to-date textbook, primate anatomist Daniel L. Gebo provides straightforward explanations of primate anatomy that move logically through the body plan and across species. Including only what is essential in relation to soft tissues, the book relies primarily on bony structures to explain the functions and diversity of anatomy among living primates. Ideal for college and graduate courses, Gebo’s book will also appeal to researchers in the fields of mammalogy, primatology, anthropology, and paleontology.
    Included in this book are discussions of:
• Phylogeny• Adaptation• Body size• The wet- and dry-nosed primates• Bone biology• Musculoskeletal mechanics• Strepsirhine and haplorhine heads• Primate teeth and diets• Necks, backs, and tails• The pelvis and reproduction• Locomotion• Forelimbs and hindlimbs• Hands and feet• Grasping toes
RECOMMENDATION: For those with a technical interest in primate anatomy.

2) Raffin, Michele. The Birds of Pandemonium. 2014. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. Hardbound: 218 pages. Price: $24.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Each morning at first light, Michele Raffin steps outside into the bewitching bird music that heralds another day at Pandemonium Aviaries. A full symphony that swells from the most vocal of more than 350 avian throats representing more than 40 species. “It knocks me out, every day,” she says.
     Pandemonium, the home and bird sanctuary that Raffin shares with some of  the world’s most remarkable birds, is a conservation organization dedicated to saving and breeding birds at the edge of extinction, with the goal of eventually releasing them into the wild. In The Birds of Pandemonium, she lets us into her world—and theirs. Birds fall in love, mourn, rejoice, and sacrifice; they have a sense of humor, invent, plot, and cope. They can teach us volumes about the interrelationships of humans and animals.
     Their amazing stories make up the heart of this book. There’s Sweetie, a tiny quail with an outsize personality; the inspiring Oscar, a disabled Lady Gouldian finch who can’t fly but finds a brilliant way to climb to the highest perches of his aviary to roost. The ecstatic reunion of a disabled Victoria crowned pigeon, Wing, and her brother, Coffee, is as wondrous as the silent kinship that develops between Amadeus, a one-legged turaco, and an autistic young visitor.
    As we come to know the individual birds, we also come to understand how much is at stake for many of these species. One of the aviary’s greatest success stories is breeding the gorgeous green-naped pheasant pigeon, whose home in the New Guinea rainforest is being decimated. Thanks to efforts at Pandemonium, these birds may not share the same fate as the now-extinct dodo. 
     The Birds of Pandemonium is about one woman’s crusade to save precious lives, and it offers rare insights into how following a passion can transform not only oneself but also the world.
RECOMMENDATION: For those with an interest in pet or endangered birds.