New Titles

 

1) Pyle, Peter. Identification Guide to North American Birds (Part 1, Second Edition). 2022. Slate Creek Press. Paperback: 698 pages. Price: $80.00 U.S.

SUMMARY: This second edition of the Identification Guide to North American Birds (Part 1) is the definitive guide for identifying and ageing the North American (north of Mexico) passerines and near passerines (Pigeons to Tropical Tanagers) in the hand, and although aimed primarily at banders, it is a useful reference for any serious birder. It now treats 421 species in all. There are descriptors for 1736 subspecies, expanded and detailed sections on molt for all species, and all known hybrids are listed. Most of the literature cited is now available on-line, so the book is a little smaller than the first (732 pages for the first vs 698 pages in the 2nd).

RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must have for all banders of the region! Hard core birders will find the detailed identification information very useful! The book can be ordered from Buteo Books here.

 

2) Benito, Juan and Roc Olivé Pous. Birds of the Mesozoic: An Illustrated Field Guide. 2022. Lynx Edicions. Paperback: 272 pages. Price: 29.00 Euros (about $32.00 U.S.).

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: Birds are the most diverse tetrapod group today, but they have a rich and complex evolutionary history beyond that of their modern radiation. Appearing during the Jurassic, more than 160 million years ago, birds took to the skies and evolved into a plethora of forms during the Age of the Dinosaurs.

     This comprehensive and up to date illustrated field guide, by palaeontologist Juan Benito and palaeoartist Roc Olivé, aims to illustrate in unprecedented detail the staggering diversity of avialans (modern birds and their closest fossil relatives) that lived from the origin of the group until the Mass Extinction that ended the reign of the non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago: the birds of the Mesozoic.

     This beautifully illustrated field guide includes over 250 full-colour illustrations covering more than 200 types of bird that populated the world during the Mesozoic Era. In addition to detailed fact files on the diverse avifauna of the Mesozoic, including a description of each species, with information on its name, location, size, period, habitat, and general characteristics, Birds of the Mesozoic also seeks to explain the origins of the group and their evolution from other feathered dinosaurs up to the origins of modern birds in the Late Cretaceous. It also covers in detail multiple facets of their phylogenetic, morphological, and ecological diversity, and provides an introduction to bird skeletal anatomy and several of the most recent and cutting-edge methods palaeontologists use to reconstruct fossil bird colour, diet, and biology.

     Easy-to-use and pleasant to contemplate, this book is a must for both bird and palaeontology enthusiasts!

RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must have for anyone with an interest in prehistoric birds!

 

 

3) Debus, Stephen. Australian Falcons: Ecology, Behaviour and Conservation. 2022. CSIRO Publishing. Paperback: 207 pages. Price: $36.99 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: Falcons are stunning and iconic birds. Australia has six falcon species, with two endemic to the continent and two others endemic to the Australasian region. They are important indicators of the health of our ecosystems, due to their position at the top of the food chain. But several species are declining, with two species threatened in some states.

     In Australian Falcons: Ecology, Behaviour and Conservation, Dr. Stephen Debus provides a 30-year update of knowledge on these six species, as well as a falcon-like hawk, the Black-shouldered Kite. This book is based partly on the author’s field studies, as well as being a supplement to the Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds (HANZAB) and recent global treatises. It offers up-to-date information on the Australian species, including their behaviors, ecology, and biology. It reviews their population status and threats, and suggests what needs to be done to ensure the future of these spectacular birds.

     Australian Falcons is an invaluable resource for raptor biologists, birdwatchers, wildlife rescuers and carers, raptor rehabilitators and zookeepers.

Features:

• Provides up-to-date information on the biology, ecology, behavior, conservation and management of the six falcon species, and one falcon-like hawk.
• Reviews the population status and threats of the Australian falcons.
• First comprehensive book on Australian falcons since the 1993 publication of HANZAB Volume 2.
  
• Features striking color photos by photographer David Whelan.
  

RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must have for anyone with an interest in Australian falcons!

 

4) Crisp, Margie. Duck Walk: A Birder's Improbable Path to Hunting as Conservation. 2023. Texas A&M University Press. Hardbound: 217 pages. Price: $33.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: In fall 2016, lifelong birdwatcher, naturalist, and esteemed Texas artist Margie Crisp decided to take up a shotgun and start hunting ducks.

      Few nature enthusiasts understand the role that the hunting industry plays in the conservation of wildlands and wildlife—protecting far more critical habitat than birdwatchers do. With many bird species in a precipitous decline, duck and geese populations continue to rise steadily year after year. Why? Because of the money waterfowl hunters spend on licenses, firearms, and ammunition, or donate to nonprofit conservation organizations.

      Here, Crisp goes beyond birdwatching to challenge her notions about hunting. Could duck hunters be considered conservationists? Could she overcome a life-long aversion to guns and learn to shoot birds? And could doing so help conservation of habitats for ducks and other migratory bird species? In writing her experiences, Crisp explores these questions and illustrates to both communities—hunters and naturalists—that one woman can be a birdwatcher, a bird hunter, and above all, a conservationist devoted to preserving habitat for birds and other wildlife.

      Readers journey with the author as she learns to hunt—to experience the emotional impacts of killing, cleaning, cooking and eating birds. First-hand accounts are seamlessly integrated with information about conservation history as well as interviews with hunters, biologists, and birdwatchers. Along the Central Flyway from the Texas coast to Canada, this revealing personal narrative traces hunting and birdwatching trips, and even a solo road trip following the birds’ migration, all through the eye of an artist whose words and drawings bring her journey to life. 

RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must read for anyone with an interest in waterfowl conservation.

 

 

5) Ngiam, Robin and Marcus Ng. A Photographic Field Guide to the Dragonflies & Damselflies of Singapore. 2022. John Beaufoy Publishing. Hardbound: 340 pages. Price: $59.99 U.S. 

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: A Photographic Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Singapore is a fully comprehensive field guide to the 136 species of dragonfly and damselfly found in Singapore. With stunning, close-up photographs from the authors, each species is illustrated with multiple variants. The general introduction provides a comprehensive overview of dragonfly anatomy, feeding habits, courtship, and reproduction; also dragonfly research and conservation in Singapore, plus the best places for dragonfly watching in Singapore. Detailed coverage of every species includes key features for field identification; telling apart similar species; habitat and habits; presence in Singapore; etymology; wider distribution; national and IUCN conservation statuses; and larval features. Additionally, a QR code links to detailed larvae images from the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum website. The final section gives a checklist of the country status and conservation status of all of Singapore's odonates. 

RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must have for anyone with an interest in the Odonata of Singapore!

6) Trudell, Steve. Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest, Revised Edition. 2022. Timber Press. Flexibound: ‎ 416 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: In Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest, Steve Trudell describes and illustrates 493 species of the most conspicuous, distinctive, and ecologically important mushrooms found in Oregon, Washington, southern British Columbia, Idaho, and western Montana. With helpful identification keys and photographs and a clear, color-coded layout, Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest is ideal for hikers, foragers, and natural history buffs and is the perfect tool for loving where you live.

RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must have for anyone with an interest in the mushrooms of the region! 

 

7) Greenwalt, Dale. Remnants of Ancient Life: The New Science of Old Fossils. 2022. Princeton University Press. Hardbound: 278 pages. Price: $27.95 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: We used to think of fossils as being composed of nothing but rock and minerals, all molecular traces of life having vanished long ago. We were wrong. Remnants of Ancient Life reveals how the new science of ancient biomolecules―pigments, proteins, and DNA that once functioned in living organisms tens of millions of years ago―is opening a new window onto the evolution of life on Earth.

     Paleobiologists are now uncovering these ancient remnants in the fossil record with increasing frequency, shedding vital new light on long-extinct creatures and the lost world they inhabited. Dale Greenwalt is your guide to these astonishing breakthroughs. He explains how ancient biomolecules hold the secrets to how mammoths dealt with the bitter cold, what colors dinosaurs exhibited in mating displays, how ancient viruses evolved to become more dangerous, and much more. Each chapter discusses different types of biomolecules and the insights they provide about the physiology, behavior, and evolution of extinct organisms, many of which existed long before the age of dinosaurs.

     A marvelous adventure of discovery, Remnants of Ancient Life offers an unparalleled look at an emerging science that is transforming our picture of the remote past. You will never think of fossils in the same way again.

RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must read for anyone with an interest in biomolecular paleontology.