1) Scherzinger, Wolfgang and Theodor Mebs. Helm. Hardbound: 416 pages. Price: $
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: An essential compendium on the biology, identification, distribution and conservation of Europe's 13 species of owls.
Owls
are fascinating birds, with remarkable adaptations for their lives as
nocturnal hunters. Covering the 13 species of owls that occur across the
continent, Owls of Europe
features detailed drawings of typical positions, behaviours and facial
expressions, alongside more than 300 photos selected to demonstrate age
and subspecific variation, colour phases and the birds in flight.
This
book includes up-to-date distribution maps and the latest European
population estimates, along with detailed text on behaviour, voice,
brood biology and juvenile development, life strategies, hunting
techniques, choice of prey and habitat requirements for each species. It
also explores human interactions with owls, from the threats posed to
determined conservation efforts.
Owls of Europe is an essential book for birdwatchers, professional ornithologists and those who simply love owls.
RECOMMENDATION: This book is a MUST-HAVE for anyone with an interest in European Owls!
2) Ridley, Matt. Harper. Hardbound: 352 pages. Price: $
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: The New York Times bestselling author of Genome and The Evolution of Everything revisits Darwin’s revelatory theory of mate choice through the close study of the peculiar rituals of birds, and considers how this mating process complicates our own view of human evolution.
In all animals, mating is a deal. But few creatures behave as if sex is a simple, even mutually beneficial, transaction. Many more treat it with reverence, suspicion, angst, and violence. In the case of the Black Grouse, the bird at the center of Matt Ridley’s investigation, the males dance and sing for hours a day, for several exhausting months, in an arduous and even deadly ritual called a “lek.” To prepare for the ordeal, they grow, preen and display fancy, twisted, bold-colored feathers. When achieved, consummation with a female takes seconds. So why the months of practice and preparation that is elaborate, extravagant, exhausting and elegant?
The full answer remains a mystery. Evolutionary biologists can explain why males are generally the eager sellers, females the discriminating buyers. But they struggle to explain why, in some species, this extravagance goes beyond the mere gaudy, taking on bizarre shapes, postures, and behavior. And further, why these bird displays seem beautiful to us humans, a species with seemingly no skin in the game.
Using an early morning “lek" as his starting point, Ridley explores the scientific research into the evolution of bright colors, exotic ornaments, and elaborate displays in birds around the world. Charles Darwin thought the purpose of such displays was to "charm" females. Though Darwin’s theory was initially dismissed and buried for decades, recent scientific research has proven him newly right—there is a powerful evolutionary force quite distinct from natural selection: mate choice. In Birds, Sex and Beauty, Ridley reopens the history of Darwin’s vexed theory, laying bare a century of disagreement about an idea so powerful, so weird, and so wonderful, we may have yet to fully understand its implications.
RECOMMENDATION: If you enjoyed Richard Prum's The Evolution of Beauty, you should like this book too!
3) Rüppell, Georg and Dagmar Hilfert-Rüppell. Springer. Hardbound: 229 pages. Price: $
