New Title

1) Beedy, Edward C. and Edward R. Pandolfino. Birds of the Sierra Nevada: Their Natural History, Status, and Distribution. 2013. University of California Press. Paperback: 430 pages. Price: $39.95 U.S./ £27.95.

SUMMARY: This beautifully illustrated and user-friendly book presents the most up-to-date information available about the natural histories of birds of the Sierra Nevada, the origins of their names, the habitats they prefer, how they communicate and interact with one another, their relative abundance, and where they occur within the region. Each species account features original illustrations by Keith Hansen.
     In addition to characterizing individual species, Birds of the Sierra Nevada also describes ecological zones and bird habitats, recent trends in populations and ranges, conservation efforts, and more than 160 rare species. It also includes a glossary of terms, detailed maps, and an extensive bibliography with over 500 citations.
RECOMMENDATION: A MUST have for those with an interest in the birds of the region.

The Weekly Birdbooker Report

      

           Photo copyright: Joe Fuhrman

My WEEKLY Birdbooker Report can be found here:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/grrlscientist/2013/jun/09/1

New Title

                       
1) Campbell, Iain and Sam Woods. Wildlife of Australia. 2013. Princeton University Press. Paperback: 286 pages. Price: $19.95 U.S./ £13.95.

SUMMARY: Ideal for the nature-loving traveler, Wildlife of Australia is a handy photographic pocket guide to the most widely seen birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and habitats of Australia. The guide features more than 400 stunning color photographs, and coverage includes 350 birds, 70 mammals, 30 reptiles, and 16 frogs likely to be encountered in Australia's major tourist destinations.
Accessible species accounts are useful for both general travelers and serious naturalists, and the invaluable habitat section describes the Australian bush and its specific wildlife. Animal species with similar features are placed on the same plates in order to aid identification. Wildlife of Australia is an indispensable and thorough resource for any nature enthusiast interested in this remarkable continent.
     This book features:
*Easy-to-use pocket guide
*More than 400 high-quality photographs
*Accessible text aids identification
*Habitat guide describes the Australian bush and its specific wildlife
*Coverage includes the 350 birds, 70 mammals, 30 reptiles, and 16 frogs most likely to be seen on a trip around Australia

RECOMMENDATION: A good introduction to the wildlife of Australia.

New Title

                              
1) Rothenberg, David. Bug Music: How Insects Gave Us Rhythm and Noise. 2013. St. Martin's Press. Hardbound: 278 pages. Price: $26.99 U.S.

SUMMARY: In the spring of 2013 the cicadas in the Northeastern United States will yet again emerge from their seventeen-year cycle—the longest gestation period of any animal. Those who experience this great sonic invasion compare their sense of wonder to the arrival of a comet or a solar eclipse. This unending rhythmic cycle is just one unique example of how the pulse and noise of insects has taught humans the meaning of rhythm, from the whirr of a cricket’s wings to this unfathomable and exact seventeen-year beat.
     In listening to cicadas, as well as other humming, clicking, and thrumming insects, Bug Music is the first book to consider the radical notion that we humans got our idea of rhythm, synchronization, and dance from the world of insect sounds that surrounded our species over the millions of years over which we evolved. Completing the trilogy he began with Why Birds Sing and Thousand Mile Song, David Rothenberg explores a unique part of our relationship with nature and sound—the music of insects that has provided a soundtrack for humanity throughout the history of our species. Bug Music continues Rothenberg’s in-depth research and spirited writing on the relationship between human and animal music, and it follows him as he explores insect influences in classical and modern music, plays his saxophone with crickets and other insects, and confers with researchers and scientists nationwide.
     This engaging and thought-provoking book challenges our understanding of our place in nature and our relationship to the creatures surrounding us, and makes a passionate case for the interconnectedness of species.
RECOMMENDATION: A CD of "Bug Music" is available separately. Samples of the music can be heard here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/davidrothenberg5
If you enjoyed the author's other books, you should enjoy this one.

New Titles

                               
1) Bradley, Patricia E. and Yves-Jacques Rey-Millet. A Photographic Guide to the Birds of the Cayman Islands. 2013. Helm. Paperback: 288 pages. Price: $40.00 U.S./£25.00.

SUMMARY: With a rich avifauna of more than 300 species, the three islands that make up the Cayman Islands - Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac - form an increasingly popular birding destination. Although the islands' sole endemic species, Cayman Islands Thrush, was extinct by the 1940s, the islands have a healthy crop of regional scarcities and are an important migrant stopping point as they cross the Caribbean.
     Containing hundreds of stunning photographs by Yves-Jacques Rey-Millet, A Photographic Guide to the Birds of the Cayman Islands, the latest addition to Helm's Photographic Guides series, provides full photographic coverage of every species on the Cayman Islands list. Concise text for each species includes identification, similar species, voice, habitats and behaviour, status and distribution.
     This guide is an essential companion for anyone visiting these beautiful islands.
RECOMMENDATION: Birders to these islands will find this book useful.


                                     
2) Mackrill, Tim, Tim Appleton, and Helen McIntyre . The Rutland Water Ospreys. 2013. Bloomsbury. Hardbound: 160 pages. Price: $30.00 U.S./ £20.00. SUMMARY: Anglian Water's project to reintroduce the Osprey to England has been an outstanding success, but is also a very personal project for the volunteers who have been involved in the Ospreys' journey from Scotland to Africa via Rutland.
     This new book, published in close collaboration with Anglian Water and the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust, is a celebration of their project and a chance for Osprey fans everywhere to discover the many amazing stories behind the Rutland Osprey team's efforts over the last two decades to re-establish these magnificent birds in England.
     Historically the Osprey was widely distributed throughout England but by at the end of the last century Ospreys hadn't bred in England for more than 150 years. Thanks to Anglian Water's close work with the LRWT English chicks hatched in 2001 at Rutland Water, their largest reservoir.
     This ground-breaking project was the first of its kind in Europe, and is now in its eighteenth year. Other Osprey translocation projects in Italy and Spain have come about as a direct result of it, and breeding pairs are also now established in Wales as an indirect result of the work of the Rutland Osprey team.
     The Rutland Water team monitor the Ospreys from their arrival from Senegal and the Gambia in March, through to their autumn migration. The nest sites at Rutland allow visitors to get close views to the Ospreys, and artist and photographer John Wright has been working for Anglian Water for several years to document the Rutland Ospreys from even closer.
     Stories will reveal early disappointments, detail the Ospreys' incredible journeys as they migrate to Africa, and convey the pride the Rutland field team and many locals feel as 'their' Ospreys return to the same roost year on year.
RECOMMENDATION: For those with an interest in British Ospreys.


                                 
3) Potapov, Eugene and Richard Sale. The Snowy Owl. 2012. T & A D Poyser. Hardbound: 304 pages. Price: $90.00 U.S./£50.00. SUMMARY: The Snowy Owl - possibly the world's sexiest bird - needs little introduction. This massive white owl breeds throughout the Arctic, wherever there are voles or lemmings to hunt, from Scandinavia through northern Russia to Canada and Greenland. Southerly movements in winter see North American birds travel as far south as the northern United States, while infrequent vagrants on the Shetlands and other northern isles are a magnet for birders.      The Snowy Owl gives this popular bird the full Poyser treatment, with sections looking at morphology, distribution, palaeontology and evolution, habitat, breeding, diet, population dynamics, movements, interspecific relationships and conservation, supported by some fabulous photography and the art of Jackie Garner. A major strength is the availability to the authors of Russian literature, which is generally out of reach for Western scientists.
RECOMMENDATION: A MUST have for those with a technical or semi-technical interest in the species.

New Title

                                  
1) Anderson, Ted R.. The Life of David Lack: Father of Evolutionary Ecology. 2013. Oxford University Press. Hardbound: 246 pages. Price: $59.00 U.S./£37.50.

SUMMARY: Most people who have taken a biology course in the past 50 years are familiar with the work of David Lack, but few remember his name. Almost all general biology texts produced during that period have a figure showing the beak size differences among the finches of the Galapagos Islands from Lack's 1947 classic, Darwin's Finches. Lack's pioneering conclusions in Darwin's Finches mark the beginning of a new scientific discipline, evolutionary ecology. Tim Birkhead, in his acclaimed book, The Wisdom of Birds, calls Lack the 'hero of modern ornithology.' Who was this influential, yet relatively unknown man? The Life of David Lack, Father of Evolutionary Ecology provides an answer to that question based on Ted Anderson's personal interviews with colleagues, family members and former students as well as material in the extensive Lack Archive at Oxford University.
RECOMMENDATION: For those with an interest in the history of science.

The Weekly Birdbooker Report

          
    
               Photo copyright: Joe Fuhrman

My WEEKLY Birdbooker Report can be found here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/grrlscientist/2013/jun/02/1