New Titles

1) Vilalta, Albert Martinez (compiler). Mammals of the Southern Cone (Argentina,  Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay). 2020. Lynx Edicions. Paperback: 160 pages. Price: about $25.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: This illustrated checklist [not a traditional field guide] covers 486 species of mammals, including 17 introduced species with established wild populations (American Beaver, American Mink, Blackbuck, Black-capped Squirrel Monkey, Brown Rat, Chital, Common Fallow Deer, Common Muskrat, Eurasian Wild Pig, European Hare, European Rabbit, House Mouse, Mouflon, Pacific Rat, Pallas’s Squirrel, Roof Rat, and Western Red Deer) and three domesticated ones (Alpaca, Llama, and Water Buffalo). Every species is illustrated, and each is accompanied with a distribution map showing where it occurs in the area. With respect to the domesticated species, Alpaca and Llama have full treatment because of their regional importance, while the Water Buffalo has been included because there are also feral populations that are hunted.
RECOMMENDATION: A must have for those with an interest in the mammals of the region!

2) Merritt, R. W.,  K. W. Cummins, et al.(editors). An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America 5th Edition. 2019. Kendall Hunt. Spiralbound: 1480 pages. Price: $175.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America serves as a standard guide of the immature and adult stages of aquatic and semiaquatic insects of North America. It offers information on functional adaptations of aquatic insects that allows an additional tool for categorizing them.
      This text is intended to serve as a standard reference on the biology and ecology of aquatic insects with updated keys to separate life stages of all major taxonomic groupings. To this aim, the authors have provided additional color photographs of most all families of immature aquatic insects to assist the student and professional with correct identifications.
     New to the 5^th edition:

• Over 7000 references
• A chapter on A Photographic Overview of Aquatic Insects of North America
• A revision and expansion of keys, as well as new figures added to the taxonomic chapters
• Added figures to the General Classification and Key to Orders chapter
• Significant revisions to the chapters on Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera and Tipuloidea

RECOMMENDATION: A MUST have for those with a serious interest in aquatic insects!

3) Kroodsma, Donald. Birdsong for the Curious Naturalist: Your Guide to Listening. 2020. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Hardbound: 198 pages. Price: $27.00 U.S.  
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Birdsong made easy to understand, lavishly illustrated with color photos, and accompanied by more than 700 online recordings.  
     From a leading expert, Birdsong for the Curious Naturalist is a basic, how-to guide that teaches anyone—from beginner to advanced birder—how to listen. In understandable and appealing language, Kroodsma explains why and how birds sing, what various calls mean, and what to listen for from the birds around us. The descriptions are accompanied by color photos of the birds, as well as QR codes that link to an online collection of more than 700 recordings. With these resources, readers are prepared to recognize bird sounds and the birds that make them. Kroodsma encourages readers to find the joy of birdsong and curiosity—to observe, listen intently, be curious, ask questions, and realize that many unanswered questions about birdsong don’t have to rely on scientists for answers but can be answered by any curious naturalist.  
RECOMMENDATION: If you enjoyed the author's others works, you should enjoy this one.

4) Stock, Michael. The Flying Zoo: Birds, Parasites, and the World They Share. 2019. University of Alberta Press. Paperback: 260 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: An enthusiastic zoological tribute to birds and the parasites that live in and on them is revealed in Michael Stock's exposé, The Flying Zoo. From the Crozet Archipelago and the Galapagos Islands to our backyards, parasites-fleas, lice, ticks, flukes-live in both sinister and symbiotic interdependency with host birds. Written with a scientist's exuberance of the beauty of pattern in nature, a co-evolutionary dance unfolds among an astounding cast of creatures living in a complex and paradoxical co-habitation. It is the contemporary follow-up to the classic Fleas, Flukes & Cuckoos. Students of biology, their instructors, and birders alike will want this volume on their shelves, as will natural history readers looking for a new tale of tails.
RECOMMENDATION: This book will make you feel itchy, but an interesting read nonetheless.