New Titles

 

1) Stevenson, Terry et al.. Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi Second Edition. 2020. Princeton University Press. Paperback: 638 pages. Price: $39.95 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: Birds of East Africa is widely regarded as one of the best field guides to any region of the world. Named a BirdTwitch Best Bird Book of the year for Africa when it was first published, it has become the go-to guide for anyone visiting this spectacular birding region, which is home to a remarkably diverse and colorful birdlife. Now this indispensable guide has been fully revised and updated to make it even better. Featuring revised text and distribution maps, the latest taxonomy, and much more, this comprehensive but compact guide describes and illustrates 1,388 species―all the resident, migrant, and vagrant birds of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi―in convenient facing-page layout. Featuring 289 color plates with more than 3,400 painstakingly rendered images, the guide depicts all the plumages and major races likely to be encountered. Introductory sections include information on conservation and where to send records, as well as maps of important bird areas. More than ever, this is the must-have guide for birding in East Africa.

• The standard field guide to the birds of East Africa―now fully revised and updated
• New edition features revised text and distribution maps, the latest taxonomy, and much more
• Covers all 1,388 regularly occurring species, with more than 3,400 images on 289 color plates
• Features concise, facing-page species accounts that cover identification features, status, range, habits, and voice
• More than ever, the must-have guide for birding in East Africa

 RECOMMENDATION: A must have for those birding eastern Africa!

 

2) Taylor, Marianne. The Gull Next Door: A Portrait of a Misunderstood Bird. 2020. Princeton University Press. Hardbound: 192 pages. Price: $24.95 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: From a distance, gulls are beautiful symbols of freedom over the oceanic wilderness. Up close, however, they can be loud, aggressive and even violent. Yet gulls fascinate birdwatchers, and seafarers regard them with respect and affection. The Gull Next Door explores the natural history of gulls and their complicated relationship with humans.

     Marianne Taylor grew up in an English seaside town where gulls are ever present. Today, she is a passionate advocate for these underappreciated birds. In this book, Taylor looks at the different gull species and sheds light on all aspects of the lives of gulls―how they find food, raise families, socialize and migrate across sea, coastland and countryside. She discusses the herring gull, Britain's best-known and most persecuted gull species, whose numbers are declining at an alarming rate. She looks at gulls in legend, fiction and popular culture, and explains what we can do to protect gull populations around the world.

     The Gull Next Door reveals deeper truths about these remarkable birds. They are thinkers and innovators, devoted partners and parents. They lead long lives and often indulge their powerful drive to explore and travel. But for all these natural gifts, many gull species are struggling to survive in the wild places they naturally inhabit, which is why they are now exploiting the opportunities of human habitats. This book shows how we might live more harmoniously with these majestic yet misunderstood birds.

RECOMMENDATION: Lariphiles will enjoy this book.

 

3-4) Bannick, Paul. Snowy Owl and Great Gray Owl: A Visual Natural History. 2020. Mountaineers Books. Hardbound: 128 pages each. Price: $18.95 U.S. each. 

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY:  The Snowy Owl--also known as the Arctic Owl, Snowy White Owl, and White Owl--is one of the most easily identified but least understood owls in the world.

    Award-winning author and photographer Paul Bannick delves into the natural history of this owl species, including the latest research, providing readers with comprehensive yet accessible looks at their preferred habitat, hunting and feeding behavior, mating and nesting actions, owlets and fledglings, and more.

     This beautiful book follows Bannick’s bestselling titles, The Owl and the Woodpecker and Owl, providing fans with another emotionally rich photographic portfolio and engaging, informative text.

      The Great Gray Owl--also known as the Phantom of the North, Great, Gray Ghost, and Bearded Owl--is one of the largest owl species and lives in the western mountains and boreal regions of North America.

       Award-winning author and photographer Paul Bannick delves into the natural history of this owl species, including the latest research, providing readers with comprehensive yet accessible looks at their preferred habitat, hunting and feeding behavior, mating and nesting actions, owlets and fledglings, and more.

       Bannick’s unique and gorgeous owl images are enhanced by additional images of the owls’ habitats and other species that share the Great Gray ecosystems. Throughout each narrative, his time in the field observing and photographing these enigmatic birds comes to life in evocative, experiential passages.

RECOMMENDATION: These two books are must haves for fans of Paul Bannick's photography!

5) Long, Kim. What Birds Eat: How to Preserve the Natural Diet and Behavior of North American Birds. 2020. Skipstone. Paperback: 367 pages. Price: $24.95 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: The more than 900 bird species in North America have natural diets ranging from seeds, foliage, nectar, and nuts to fish, insects, crustaceans, carrion, and mammals--and sometimes other birds! What Birds Eat explores the senses that birds depend on--sight, sound, odor, taste, and touch--and their food ingestion. Extensive feeding profiles then detail what various species eat naturally and how we can support those diets in backyards and feeders. What Birds Eat enriches our understanding, allowing us to engage more meaningfully with birds along the way.

RECOMMENDATION: A good general overview of the subject. 

6) Steller, Georg Wilhelm (author), Margritt A. Engel, et al. (translators). Eastbound through Siberia: Observations from the Great Northern Expedition. 2020. Indiana University Press. Paperback: 220 pages. Price: $32.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: In the winter of 1739, Georg Steller received word from Empress Anna of Russia that he was to embark on a secret expedition to the far reaches of Siberia as a member of the Great Northern Expedition. While searching for economic possibilities and strategic advantages, Steller was to send back descriptions of everything he saw. The Empress's instructions were detailed, from requests for a preserved whale brain to observing the child-rearing customs of local peoples, and Steller met the task with dedication, bravery, and a good measure of humor. In the name of science, Steller and his comrades confronted horse-swallowing bogs, leaped across ice floes, and survived countless close calls in their exploration of an unforgiving environment. Not stopping at lists of fishes, birds, and mammals, Steller also details the villages and the lives of those living there, from vice-governors to prostitutes. His writings rail against government corruption and the misuse of power while describing with empathy the lives of the poor and forgotten, with special attention toward Native peoples.

     What emerges is a remarkable window into life―both human and animal―in 18th century Siberia. Due to the secret nature of the expedition, Steller's findings were hidden in Russian archives for centuries, but the near-daily entries he recorded on journeys from the town of Irkutsk to Kamchatka are presented here in English for the first time.

RECOMMENDATION: For those with an interest in Georg Steller and/or Russian history. 

BEST BIRD BOOKS OF 2020

The following are my picks for the best bird books of 2020:

BEST BOOK:

 

1) del Hoyo, Josep (Editor). All the Birds of the World. 2020. Lynx Edicions. Hardbound: 967 pages. Price: about $95.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: The easiest and most enjoyable way to browse through all the birds of the world and compare them.

For the first time ever, you can literally contemplate All the Birds of the World together in a single, easy-to-use, fully-illustrated volume. Created for a broad audience, from novice birders to expert ornithologists and anyone interested in the spectacular diversity of birds, this fascinating book has something for everyone to discover.

- Presents every taxon accepted as species by any of the four major world lists: 11,524 species in total.
- Checkboxes for personal record-keeping (the boxes are hard to spot though).

- 20,865 illustrations covering sexual dimorphism, morphs and many distinctive subspecies.
- 11,558 distribution maps with altitudinal ranges included.
- All 3313 one-country endemic species marked.
- IUCN/BirdLife International conservation status given.
- Taxonomic treatment by the four major world lists indicated and compared.
- Nomenclatural discrepancies explained.
- All English and scientific names from eBird included.
- QR codes for instant access to videos, photos and sound recordings species-by-species.
- All species known to have become extinct since the year 1500 presented separately in their own appendix.
- A 37-page world atlas of colour reference maps with all the details that interest birders and ornithologists.
- The easiest and most enjoyable way to browse through all the birds of the world and compare them.

RECOMMENDATION: A must have for anyone with an interest in the World’s birds! The feature I like the most is the “ Taxonomic Circle” which compares the taxonomies of the four major World bird lists.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

 

1) Norevik, Gabriel et al.. Ageing & Sexing of Migratory East Asian Passerines. 2020. Avium Förlag. Hardbound: 423 pages. Price: about $124.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: This generously illustrated handbook covers 62 East Asian passerine species, including many that appear as sought-after vagrants in both Europe and North America. It provides a comprehensive and detailed summary of current knowledge, based on data and photographs of birds in the hand, collected during three years of study in China, primarily at Beidaihe, Hebei province.

The texts are presented in a pedagogical manner and, together with an ample collection of over 1,400 photographs, guide the reader through the process of determining the age and sex of the bird in both autumn and spring. This guide is an essential introduction to the subject for bird ringers/banders in China, and it will also prove indispensable for any birdwatcher with an interest in the ageing and sexing of East Asian passerines. This book is bilingual in English and Chinese.

RECOMMENDATION: Birders with a serious interest in Chinese/East Asian birds will want this book! Also, hardcore birders and bird record committee members outside the region will want it as a reference for those species covered.

 

2) Gregory, Phil. Birds of Paradise and Bowerbirds: An Identification Guide. 2020. Princeton University Press. Hardbound: 416 pages. Price: $45.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: Renowned for their dazzling plumages and elaborate courtship displays, birds of paradise and bowerbirds exhibit some of the most astonishing behaviors in the natural world. Birds of Paradise and Bowerbirds is the ultimate identification guide to these marvelous birds. This beautiful book features stunning color plates that depict all 108 recognized taxa in these two groups along with more than 200 color photos that showcase a broad range of racial and age-related plumage varieties. The comprehensive text covers identification, taxonomy, and ecology, and is accompanied by detailed distribution maps. Birds of Paradise and Bowerbirds is the product of more than two decades of research and field observations, and is a must-have guide for birders, ornithologists, and anyone interested in these sensational birds.

• The ultimate identification guide to these marvelous birds of New Guinea and Australia
• Features stunningly illustrated color plates that depict all 108 recognized taxa
• Covers identification, taxonomy, and ecology
• Includes hundreds of color photos and detailed distribution maps
• Based on more than two decades of research and original field observations

RECOMMENDATION: A MUST have for those interested in these species and/or collect bird family monographs.

 

3) Sibley, David. What It’s Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing — What Birds Are Doing, and Why (Sibley Guides). 2020. Knopf. Hardbound: 203 pages. Price: $35.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: The bird book for birders and nonbirders alike that will excite and inspire by providing a new and deeper understanding of what common, mostly backyard, birds are doing — and why. 
 “Can birds smell?” “Is this the same cardinal that was at my feeder last year?” “Do robins ‘hear’ worms?” In What It’s Like to Be a Bird, David Sibley answers the most frequently asked questions about the birds we see most often. This special, large-format volume is geared as much to nonbirders as it is to the out-and-out obsessed, covering more than two hundred species and including more than 330 new illustrations by the author. While its focus is on familiar backyard birds — blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees — it also examines certain species that can be fairly easily observed, such as the seashore-dwelling Atlantic puffin. David Sibley’s exacting artwork and wide-ranging expertise bring observed behaviors vividly to life. (For most species, the primary illustration is reproduced life-sized.) And while the text is aimed at adults — including fascinating new scientific research on the myriad ways birds have adapted to environmental changes — it is nontechnical, making it the perfect occasion for parents and grandparents to share their love of birds with young children, who will delight in the big, full-color illustrations of birds in action. Unlike any other book he has written, What It’s Like to Be a Bird is poised to bring a whole new audience to David Sibley’s world of birds.

RECOMMENDATION: A must have for fans of Sibley’s works!

 

4) Slaght, Jonathan C.. Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl. 2020. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Hardbound: 348 pages. Price: $28.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: A field scientist and conservationist tracks the elusive Blakiston’s Fish Owl in the forbidding reaches of eastern Russia.
     When he was just a fledgling birdwatcher, Jonathan C. Slaght had a chance encounter with one of the most mysterious birds on Earth. Bigger than any owl he knew, it looked like a small bear with decorative feathers. He snapped a quick photo and shared it with experts. Soon he was on a five-year journey, searching for this enormous, enigmatic creature in the lush, remote forests of eastern Russia.  That first sighting set his calling as a scientist. 
      Despite a wingspan of six feet and a height of over two feet, the Blakiston’s fish owl is highly elusive. They are easiest to find in winter, when their tracks mark the snowy banks of the rivers where they feed. They are also endangered. And so, as Slaght and his devoted team set out to locate the owls, they aim to craft a conservation plan that helps ensure the species’ survival. This quest sends them on all-night monitoring missions in freezing tents, mad dashes across thawing rivers, and free-climbs up rotting trees to check nests for precious eggs. They use cutting-edge tracking technology and improvise ingenious traps. And all along, they must keep watch against a run-in with a bear or an Amur tiger. At the heart of Slaght’s story are the fish owls themselves: cunning hunters, devoted parents, singers of eerie duets, and survivors in a harsh and shrinking habitat. 
      Through this rare glimpse into the everyday life of a field scientist and conservationist, Owls of the Eastern Ice testifies to the determination and creativity essential to scientific advancement and serves as a powerful reminder of the beauty, strength, and vulnerability of the natural world.

RECOMMENDATION: A must read for those with an interest in owls.