New Titles

 

1) Yang, Liu and Chen Shuihua. Birds of China. 2024. Princeton University Press. Flexibound: 672 pages. Price: $39.95 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: China is home to some of the most spectacular birdlife to be found anywhere in the world. This richly illustrated field guide covers every species found throughout the region, including numerous endemic and globally threatened species. Detailed species accounts cover everything from biometrics and habitat to behavior, distribution, and voice, and each one comes with illustrations of the species and a color distribution map. A landmark achievement, Birds of China is the ideal companion for travelers to China and a must for any birder’s bookshelf.

• The first complete English-language field guide to China’s wondrously diverse birdlife
• Covers nearly 1,500 species, including endemics and threatened birds
• Features a wealth of breathtaking color plates painted by leading Chinese artists
• Includes some 4,000 images that illustrate every species
• Discusses China’s geography and zoogeography
• Shares invaluable advice on birding practices and ethics

 RECOMMENDATION: This book is a MUST-HAVE for anyone birding China!

 

 

2) Van Nieuwenhuyse, Dries et al.. The Little Owl: Population Dynamics, Behavior and Management of Athene noctua (2nd Edition). 2024. ‎ Cambridge University Press. Hardbound: 616 pages. Price: $99.99 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: The basic biology of owls is poorly understood compared to that of other bird species. The Little Owl, Athene noctua, is one of the best models for biological and conservation research. Though widespread across Europe, Asia and North Africa, populations of the Little Owl are now in decline, making studies of its behavior and ecology all the more important. This extensively revised and updated second edition features substantial new long-term data on population dynamics, behavioral observations and breeding biology of the Little Owl. The authors discuss its wide-ranging ecology, genetics, subspecies, and population status by country. In addition, they outline a research strategy and monitoring program. Exceptional illustrations of all fourteen subspecies cover embryonic and chick development, feather growth and moult, including high-quality drawings presenting concrete management suggestions. Whilst being an invaluable resource for academic researchers, its accessible and straightforward style will also appeal to amateur ornithologists and enthusiasts.

RECOMMENDATION: This book is a MUST-HAVE for anyone with a serious interest in the species. The artwork by Joris De Raedt highlights this book!

 

 

3) Seng, Lim Kim et al.. A Field Guide to the Birds of Singapore. 2024. John Beaufoy Publishing. Paperback: 236 pages. Price: $35.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: A Field Guide to the Birds of Singapore is a fully comprehensive field guide to the 422 bird species of Singapore, as well as ‘escapees’ not formally accepted as ‘wild’ birds. The species are clearly illustrated in over 100 plates, with many variants. The main identifying features of each species are described and key facts cover size, voice, range and status, habitat and breeding. The book also includes information on taxonomy and nomenclature, observing birds, climate, habitats, the breeding cycle, migration and conservation as well as a section on 25 key birdwatching sites with maps.

RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must-have for anyone birding Singapore.

 

 

4) Light, Liz and Oscar Thomas. The 50 Best Birdwatching Sites in New Zealand. 2024. John Beaufoy Publishing. Paperback: 220 pages. Price: $29.99 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: Aotearoa New Zealand has a diverse range of bird species but is especially renowned for its seabirds. Fifteen of the world's 18 penguin species have been recorded in the New Zealand region. Nine of these species breed here. Of petrels, 40 of the world's 127 species breed in the New Zealand region, some on the mainland or nearby islands where they can be seen with ease, and many more are throughout the Southern Ocean. Twelve of the world’s 21 albatross species nest in New Zealand and of those seven do not nest elsewhere. As well as these specific species, the book covers 50 sites on the North and South Islands, Rakiura/Stewart Island and Rekohu/Chatham Islands that are best for birdwatching. Detailed descriptions of each site cover the terrain, tracks and trails where certain species are likely to be encountered. Particular species for each site are highlighted. A fact file for each site lists land or sea access; type of habitat, best time to visit, facilities and accommodation. Key species checklists are provided for each site and particular ones are highlighted with detailed summaries. The second edition is fully updated by Oscar Thomas with 90 new photographs and with three new sites.

RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must-have for anyone birding New Zealand.

 

 

5) Zalesky, Philip H. et al.. Birding In Snohomish County and Camano Island (Third Edition). 2023. Pilchuck Audubon Society. Spiro-bound: 133 pages. Price: $20.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: A full-color, updated and expanded 3rd edition of Philip Zalesky's original book, Birding in Snohomish County and Camano Island, 3rd Edition is a celebration of the variety and bountiful birding locations in the area. This new edition covers more than 80 locations, noting general information about the sites and which birds are common at each. Philip Zalesky's original site descriptions have been revised and updated, including new observations, recent sightings, and historical and natural history information. A checklist includes all 355 species of birds ever sighted in Snohomish County and Camano Island.

RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must-have for anyone birding Snohomish County and Camano Island.

 

 

6) O’Shea, Mark. The Book of Snakes: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from around the World. 2023. The University of Chicago Press. Hardbound: 656 pages. Price: $60.00 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: For millennia, humans have regarded snakes with an exceptional combination of fascination and revulsion. Some people recoil in fear at the very suggestion of these creatures, while others happily keep them as pets. Snakes can convey both beauty and menace in a single tongue flick, and so these creatures have held a special place in our cultures. Yet, for as many meanings as we attribute to snakes—from fertility and birth to sin and death—the real-life species represent an even wider array of wonders.

      Now in a new edition, reflecting the most recent species classifications, The Book of Snakes presents 600 species of snakes from around the world, covering roughly one in seven of all snake species. It will bring greater understanding of a group of reptiles that have existed for more than 160 million years and that now inhabit every continent except Antarctica, as well as two of the great oceans.

       This volume pairs spectacular photos with easy-to-digest text. It is the first book on these creatures that combines a broad, worldwide sample with full-color, life-size accounts. Entries include close-ups of the snake’s head and a section of the snake at actual size. The detailed images allow readers to examine the intricate scale patterns and rainbow of colors as well as special features like a cobra’s hood or a rattlesnake’s rattle. The text is written for laypeople and includes a glossary of frequently used terms. Herpetologists and herpetoculturists alike will delight in this collection, and even those with a more cautious stance on snakes will find themselves drawn in by the wild diversity of the suborder Serpentes.

RECOMMENDATION: This book is a well-illustrated overview of the World's snakes.

7) Secher, Andy. The Trilobite Collector's Guide. 2024. Columbia University Press. Hardbound: 453 pages. Price: $59.95 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: For more than 250 million years, the primeval oceans of the Paleozoic teemed with trilobites. These hardy invertebrates evolved into an astonishing array of separate species―more than 25,000 at last count―and much remains unknown about these once-ubiquitous creatures. Fossil enthusiasts are captivated by trilobites’ diversity and adaptability, enthralled by the possibility of catching a glimpse of a transcendentally strange past.

     Andy Secher―one of the most prolific trilobite collectors in the world―takes readers on an entertaining and enlightening journey to the distant epoch when these ancient arthropods swarmed through the seas. The Trilobite Collector’s Guide presents a series of “Top Ten” lists covering everything from celebrated Cambrian localities and world-class fossil shows to invaluable collecting tips and ways to spot a fake trilobite. These brisk and often witty chapters enumerate trilobites in all their beauty and strangeness, from the most common to the ridiculously rare, the outrageously old to the last in line. The Trilobite Collector’s Guide showcases more than 350 full-color photographs, mostly of stunning specimens from Secher’s personal collection, that put trilobites’ staggering variety and complexity on full display. Engaging and informative, this book lets readers see the world of trilobites as it’s never been seen before.

 

RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must-have for anyone with an interest in trilobites! 

 

 

8) Stevens, Margaret Skeels, Donald R. Prothero et al.. Systematics of the Late Oligocene and Miocene Oreodonts. 2023. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. Paperback: 226 pages. Price: $20.00 U.S. (plus shipping).

 

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: The Oreodonts were among the most common mammals in the Oligocene and Miocene of North America, but their systematics has been a shambles for more than a century. In this volume, all the post-Whitneyan Oreodonts are finally revised and updated, and their biogeography and paleoecology are also discussed. All the information on paleobiology databases and previous literature is now out of date.

RECOMMENDATION: A must have for those with a serious interest in Oreodonts fossils. You can order this publication by calling the museum at (505) 841-2803.

 

 

 

 

9) Nayler, Ray. The Tusks of Extinction. 2024. Tordotcom. Hardbound: 101 pages. Price: $26.99 U.S.

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: When you bring back a long-extinct species, there’s more to success than the DNA.

     Moscow has resurrected the mammoth. But someone must teach them how to be mammoths, or they are doomed to die out again.

     Dr. Damira Khismatullina, an expert in elephant behavior, was brutally murdered trying to defend the world's last elephants from the brutal ivory trade. Now, her digitized consciousness has been downloaded into the mind of a mammoth.

    As the herd's new matriarch, can Damira help fend off poachers long enough for the species to take hold? Or will her own ghosts, and Moscow's real reason for bringing the mammoth back, doom them to a new extinction?

     A tense SF thriller from a new master of the genre.

RECOMMENDATION: If you enjoyed the author's other writings, you should enjoy this book.