1) Urfi, Abdul Jamil. Pelagic Publishing. Paperback: 191 pages. Price: $36.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: A charismatic and arresting bird, the Painted Stork inhabits the plains and wetlands of India and Southeast Asia. This near-threatened species provides a good model through which to explore a variety of ecology and conservation issues. As a colonial nester, it is also useful for considering questions related to evolution and the development of avian coloniality. The Painted Stork sometimes nests opportunistically in the middle of large cities – the Delhi Zoo colony, for instance, has been active since 1960. This offers a splendid opportunity to study the species at close range, as attested by this book's lively photographic component.
The Painted Stork is an important indicator of its wetland habitats, which themselves are highly threatened. Since environmental toxins, particularly organochlorine pesticides, travel rapidly along aquatic food chains, the study of piscivorous birds like the Painted Stork assumes special significance. Equally vulnerable today are the nesting colonies, located in marshes, village reservoirs and the wider countryside, including in urban settings. Perhaps because their natural nesting areas are becoming scarce due to habitat loss, colonial waterbirds look for suitable sites in parks and gardens. Hence, the behaviour of this species reflects changes occurring in its environment.
Birds also help us monitor the effects of global climate change, and one of the most significant dimensions of the Painted Stork is its dependence upon the monsoon. How exactly do these seasonal rains govern the food cycles in wetlands? And what happens when the monsoon fails? Covering all aspects of Painted Stork ecology, behaviour, conservation and its relationship with humans, this accessible monograph contains a wealth of new insights.
RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must-read for anyone with a serious interest in the Painted Stork.
2) Rappole, John H.. Texas A&M University Press. Hardbound: 335 pages. Price: $ 42.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: Research scientist John H. Rappole’s lifelong journey has been in search of one thing—finding out why birds migrate. The developer and chief proponent of the “dispersal theory” of bird migration, Rappole takes readers on a tour of the decades-long discovery process that led him to propose a counter to the still–widely accepted “northern home,” or weather-based theory of migration. Migration Mysteries: Adventures, Disasters, and Epiphanies in a Life with Birds starts with Rappole’s early field work and follows through all of the subsequent twists and turns of his career and life.
In a delightfully approachable style, Rappole introduces the people, places, quandaries, and dangers he encountered during the years he spent in Mexico, Central America, and the United States studying the migration patterns of birds. His account also serves as a wake-up call for conservation as, Rappole observes, the habitats for migratory birds are disappearing year by year.
Cast as the author’s “swan song” on the topic of bird migration, this lively account of Rappole’s life’s work will delight birders, researchers, and general readers alike. Offered as both a follow-up to his recent, more theoretical work, Bird Migration: A New Understanding, and as a kind of valedictory message to colleagues, friends, supporters, and interested onlookers, Migration Mysteries is more than just what the author describes as “a biography of an idea,” it is also an entertaining and informative portrait of the life and work of one of America’s most influential wildlife biologists.
RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must-read for anyone with an interest in bird migration.
3) Sharp, Arthur G.. McFarland. Paperback: 259 pages. Price: $39.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: During the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was common practice for milliners to decorate women's hats with birds' feathers and plumes--and sometimes with the birds themselves. As many as 300 million birds per year were killed for this fashionable enterprise, causing the extinction of some entire species and the endangerment of others. Lawmakers and bird aficionados were slow to react to the effects of this practice, which went on almost unabated for a quarter of a century. Then, noted naturalists like George Bird Grinnell, William T. Hornaday, and President Theodore Roosevelt, who recognized the economic benefits birds provided, banded together to pass meaningful legislation to protect them and to curb the production of murderous millinery.
4) Bonino, Enrico and Carlo Kier. The Back to the Past Museum Guide to Trilobites II. 2024. Back to the Past Museum. Hardbound: 435 pages. Price: $115.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: This book takes the reader through all aspects of trilobite life over their 300 million years in the Earth's oceans, from their first appearance in the Cambrian to the final living members of the Permian. This new book expands upon the authors' seminal work, The Back to the Past Museum Guide to Trilobites from 2010, with extensive updated sections on trilobites' origins, morphology, and paleoecology. This book includes over 160 pages of full-color photographs of trilobite specimens from various museums and private collections and are organized by the geological formations in which they were discovered.
RECOMMENDATION: This book is available in North America from Fossilera here. I recommend this book and Andy Secher's The Trilobite Collector's Guide for all hardcore trilobite collectors!
5) Guard, B. Jennifer. Lone Pine Publishing. Paperback: 240 pages. Price: $22.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: This concise and easy-to-use field guide provides a wealth of information about the plants of the rich wetland ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. Grouped by habitat, this guide describes wooded wetland, wetland prairie, marshy shore, shrub swamp, and the submerged and floating communities. Wetland Plants of Oregon and Washington includes: * Descriptions of more than 330 plants species * Over 300 exceptional color photos * 74 line drawings providing additional detail * Hints for distinguishing easily confused species * Intriguing notes on endangered plants, wildlife uses, associated species and natural history. * This authoritative and attractive field guide will help raise awareness and improve stewardship of an irreplaceable natural resource. Whether you are a naturalist or an armchair adventurer, you will find this book an indispensable addition to your bookshelf or backpack.
RECOMMENDATION: I recommend this book and
6) Sessa, Emily. 29.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: A comprehensive, richly illustrated photographic field guide to the ferns and lycophytes of the eastern United States and Canada
