New Titles

 

1) Harrison, Peter, Martin Perrow, and Hans Larsson. Seabirds: The New Identification Guide. 2021. Lynx Edicions. Hardbound: 600 pages. Price: $90.00 U.S. 

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: This is the first comprehensive guide to the world’s 434 species of seabirds, to be published since the 1983 publication of Harrison’s Seabirds: An Identification Guide. It covers all known seabirds, beginning with seaducks and grebes and ending with cormorants and pelicans. Lavishly illustrated and detailed throughout the 600 pages, this guide gives full treatment to all known seabird species including recently rediscovered and rarely seen species.

- The essential new field guide to the seabirds of the world.
- 239 superb, full-colour plates with extensive captions and detailed facing-plate identification texts and maps, to enable identification at a glance.
- More than 3,800 full-colour figures with illustrations of distinct subspecies, sexes, ages and morphs, are further supported by in-text identification keys and figures.
- Comprehensive and definitive, the text covers status and conservation, geographic range, movements and migration, breeding biology and feeding habits, plus identification and latest taxonomic treatments.
- The only seabird guide to cover all known seabird groups and species. Seabirders worldwide will find this to be an authoritative, one-of-a-kind publication for use around the globe.

RECOMMENDATION: A MUST have for all pelagic birders! This book will be the standard seabirds reference for years to come!

 

2) Mittermeier, Russell A. et al.. Mammals of Madagascar. 2021. Lynx Edicions. Paperback: 173 pages. Price: $35.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: The first book to describe and illustrate every mammal species found in Madagascar. Also includes those of the nearby islands of the Comoros, the Seychelles, Réunion and Mauritius.

     This illustrated checklist covers Madagascar, one of the highest-priority Biodiversity Hotspots on our planet given the amazing diversity of its flora and fauna and its long list of extraordinary endemic species. Small though the island is in a global context, it is considered to be one of the world's four major regions for primates, most notably for its more than 100 endemic species of lemur. Given Madagascar's globally unique biodiversity, and the relative ease with which it can be seen and enjoyed, it should be one of the world's premier ecotourism destinations.

      Although not a traditional field guide, Mammals of Madagascar will equip both residents and visitors to the region with an easy-to-use resource that will allow them to quickly learn about the 253 species of mammals known to occur in the area.

- With an easy-to-use format that is very handy for the field, this new book enables visitors to see at a glance which species are present in the region, and gives pointers that will help towards their identification.
- Covering the 253 mammal species occurring naturally in Madagascar, as well as 13 others restricted to the neighbouring islands.
- Texts for each species include common names in English and French; scientific names; conservation status according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; the most relevant details about habitats occupied; and brief descriptive notes.
- Each species account is accompanied by one or more illustrations and a distribution map.
- Two separate sections deal with the land mammals of the neighbouring islands and mammals introduced to the region by humans.
- Also included is a table of selected sites for observing mammals across the region, together with a note of some of the highlight species for each site.
- Convenient checklists are provided for Madagascar and each island group, where you can mark the species you have seen.

RECOMMENDATION: A must have for anyone with an interest in the mammals of Madagascar!

3) Drewitt, Ed. Raptor Prey Remains: A Guide to Identifying What’s Been Eaten by a Bird of Prey. 2020. Pelagic Publishing. Paperback: 230 pages. Price: $32.99 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: Are you curious about the remains of an animal you have found? This compilation of the most likely found body parts of animals eaten by raptors will help you identify your discovery. Including over 100 species of bird and mammal prey of raptors such as sparrowhawks, peregrines and hen harriers, this photographic guide highlights the common feathers, fur and other body parts found at raptor nests, roosts, plucking posts and other opportunistic spots.

      Discovering what raptors eat is an important part of confirming their feeding ecology and how this might change over time, vary on a local level or in response to changing prey populations, as well as dispelling myths and assumptions about what certain raptors species eat. Diet studies are vital for the conservation of raptor species; the more we know about what they need for survival the more we can predict and plan long-term for the protection and survival of raptors that may be vulnerable and in decline.

      This is the first book to show in detail the actual parts of a bird, mammal or other animal that you are likely to find in a garden, woodland or beneath a raptor roost. As more people take an interest in raptors and watch species such as peregrines via webcams and through watch groups, there is greater opportunity for finding prey remains. This book provides the first and most important step in identifying a prey species. 

RECOMMENDATION: A must have for all European raptor researchers. I wish we had a book like this for North America! 

4) Morgan-Grenville, Roger. Shearwater: A Bird, an Ocean, and a Long Way Home. 2021. Icon Books. Hardbound: ‎ 304 pages. Price: $27.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: A very personal mix of memoir and natural history from the author of Liquid Gold.

     Ten weeks into its life, a Manx Shearwater chick will emerge from its burrow and fly 8,000 miles from the west coast of the British Isles to the South Atlantic. It will be unlikely to touch land again for four years.

     Part memoir, part homage to wilderness, Shearwater traces the author’s 50-year obsession with one of nature’s supreme travellers. In the finest tradition of nature writing, Roger Morgan-Grenville, author of Liquid Gold – described by Mary Colwell (Curlew Moon) as ‘a book that ignites joy and warmth’ – unpicks the science behind its incredible journey; and into the story of a year in the shearwater’s life, he threads the inspirational influence of his Hebridean grandmother who instilled in him a love of wild places and wild animals.

     Full of lightly-worn knowledge, acute human observation and self-deprecating humour, Shearwater brings to life a truly mysterious and charismatic bird.

RECOMMENDATION: A well written narrative about an uncommon species in the literature. 

5) Arno, Stephen and Ramona P. Hammerly. Northwest Trees: Identifying and Understanding the Region's Native Trees. 2020.  Mountaineers Books. Paperback: 302 pages. Price: $19.95 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: No other guide duplicates Arno and Hammerly’s blend of expertise and visual artistry. Covering Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and north into Canada, they identify and illustrate more than 60 species of indigenous Northwestern trees by characteristic shape, size, needles or leaves, and cones or seeds. This essential guide:

• Provides an easy-to-use illustrated identification key based on the most reliable and non-technical features of each species
• Features the ecology and human history associated with all Northwest trees
• Includes 185 exceptionally accurate drawings as well as historical photos that bring these trees to life

RECOMMENDATION: See below.

6) Jensen, Edward C.. Trees to Know in Oregon and Washington. 2020. Oregon State University Press. Paperback: 172 pages. Price: $20.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: For 70 years, people have turned to one book to learn about Northwest trees: Trees to Know in Oregon. This new edition, retitled Trees to Know in Oregon and Washington, expands its scope to cover more territory and include more trees.
      The book was first published in 1950. Charles R. Ross, an Oregon State University Extension forester, wanted to introduce readers to the towering giants in their backyards. Since then, Edward C. Jensen has stewarded the publication through several more editions. This edition features several rare species native to southwest Oregon. It also updates scientific names and adds a new section on how Northwest forests are likely to be affected by changing climates.

      Since its initial publication, Trees to Know has become a mainstay for students, gardeners, small woodland owners and visitors to the Pacific Northwest. Along with all the details on native conifers, broadleaves, and more than 50 ornamental trees, readers will find:

• More than 400 full-color photos and 70 maps depicting habitat, range and forest type.
• Easy-to-follow identification keys.
• Handy guides to help distinguish one variety from another.
• The story of Northwest forests — past, present and future.

RECOMMENDATION: Of these two tree books, Arno's is illustrated with drawings and has more text. Jensen's is illustrated by color photos and has range maps (for the native species). Therefore I see Arno's book mainly as a reference book and Jensen's as a field guide.