New Title

1) Jiguet, Frédéric and Aurélien Audevard. Birds of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East: A Photographic Guide. 2017. Princeton University Press. Paperback: 446 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Birds of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East is the first comprehensive pocket-sized photographic field guide to every bird species in Europe--this includes winter visitors and common migrants but also all rarities to the region, even if they have been recorded only once. The guide also covers hypothetical species--those that have a good chance of being recorded due to such factors as range expansion and changing weather patterns.
     The book's 2,200 stunning color photographs mean that every species is pictured, making field identification quick and easy. Succinct text covers key identification features, voice, habitat, and distribution, and distribution maps are provided for regular breeding species. Particular attention and details are given to help differentiate similar-looking species.
      Lavishly illustrated, up-to-date, and wide-ranging, Birds of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East is an essential field guide for every naturalist and birder.
RECOMMENDATION: A well illustrated photographic guide to the birds of the region.

New Title

1) White, Lisa A. and Jeffrey A. Gordon (editors). Good Birders Still Don't Wear White. 2017. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Paperback: 269 pages. Price: $13.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Avid North American birders share wit, wisdom, advice, and what fuels their passion for birds.
     Birding gets you outside, helps you de-stress, exercises your body and mind, puts your day-to-day problems in perspective, and can be lots of fun. Birders know this, and in this collection of thirty-seven brief essays, birders from diverse backgrounds share their sense of wonder, joy, and purpose about their passion (and sometimes obsession).
     From the Pacific Ocean to Central Park, from the rainforest in Panama to suburban backyards-no matter what their habitat, what good birders have in common is a curiosity about the natural world and a desire to share it with others. In these delightful essays, each accompanied by an endearing drawing, devoted birders reveal their passion to be fulfilling, joyful, exhilarating, and maybe even contagious.
     Contributors include many well-known birders, such as Richard Crossley, Pete Dunne, Kenn Kaufman, Michael O'Brien, Bill Thompson, and Julie Zickefoose.
     A portion of the proceeds goes to the American Birding Association, North America's largest membership organization for active birders.
RECOMMENDATION: If you liked the original book, you should like this one.

New Titles

1) Breisch, Alvin R. and Matt Patterson. The Snake and the Salamander: Reptiles and Amphibians from Maine to Virginia. 2017. Johns Hopkins University Press. Hardbound: 222 pages. Price: $49.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: In the best tradition of natural history writing and art, The Snake and the Salamander explores the diverse collection of reptiles and amphibians that inhabit the northeastern quadrant of the United States. Covering 13 states that run from Maine to Virginia, author Alvin R. Breisch and artist Matt Patterson showcase the lives of 83 species of snakes, lizards, turtles, frogs, and salamanders. These intriguing animals are organized by habitat and type, from forest to grassland to bogs to big waters, and revealed through a combination of Breisch’s engaging prose and Patterson’s original color illustrations.

     Breisch’s guided tour combines historical notes and conservation issues with lessons on genetics, evolution, habitats, life histories, and more. Discover how careful attention to frog calls coupled with DNA analysis led to the discovery of a new species of frog in New York City, why evolutionary adaptations made the Eastern Ratsnake a superb climber, and the surprising fact that Spiny Softshell turtles actually sprint on land to retreat from predators. Breisch also tells the odd tale of the Green Frog and the Smooth Greensnake, two "green species" that do not actually have any green pigment in their skin. Every species has a story to tell―one that will keep the reader wanting to learn more.
     The breadth of herpetofauna in the area will surprise many readers: more than 8% of the world’s salamanders and 11% of all turtle species live in the region. Beyond numbers, however, lie aesthetics. The surprising colors and fascinating lifestyles of the reptile and amphibian species in this book will mesmerize readers young and old.
RECOMMENDATION: A well illustrated introduction to the natural history of these species in the region.

2) Pieplow, Nathan. Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America. 2017. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Paperback: 593 pages. Price: $28.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: The first comprehensive guide to the sounds of eastern North American birds, featuring an innovative visual index that allows readers to quickly look up unfamiliar sounds in the field.​

     Bird songs and calls are just as important as visual field marks in identifying birds. But until now, the only way to learn them was by memorization. With this groundbreaking book, it’s possible to visually distinguish bird sounds and identify birds using a field guide format. 

      At the core of this guide is the spectrogram, a visual graph of sound. With a brief introduction to five key aspects—speed, repetition, pauses, pitch pattern, and tone quality—readers can learn to visualize sounds, without any musical training or auditory memorization. Picturing sounds makes it possible to search this book visually for a bird song heard in the field.  

      The Sound Index groups similar songs together, narrowing the identification choices quickly to a brief list of birds that sound alike. Readers can then turn to the species account for more information and/or listen to the accompanying audio tracks available online, through Cornell's Lab of Ornithology. 

      Identifying birds by sound is arguably the most challenging and important skill in birding. This book makes it vastly easier to master than ever before.

RECOMMENDATION: An interesting way to learn bird sounds. A Western version is in the works.

New Titles

1) Brennan,  Leonard A. et al.. The Upland and Webless Migratory Game Birds of Texas. 2017.
Texas A&M University Press. Hardbound: 253 pages. Price: $40.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Authored by some of the state’s top wildlife scientists, The Upland and Webless Migratory Game Birds of Texas presents the most up-to-date and comprehensive information covering twenty-one species of game birds. Ranging from the most well-known, like the Wild Turkey and Mourning Dove, to the marsh-loving rails and other more elusive species, these birds have widespread appeal among both hunters and birders and underscore the diverse challenges facing wildlife scientists, land managers, and conservationists in Texas today.
     From cultural significance to taxonomy and evolutionary history, this volume provides a wealth of background information on these species. Additionally, the book offers illustrated species accounts, detailed range maps, and information about habitat and management requirements, hunting regulations, and research priorities. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of these game birds and the array of terrestrial and wetland landscapes key to their survival. This will serve as a convenient and thorough reference volume for wildlife biologists and enthusiasts, as well as landowners and hunters.
RECOMMENDATION: For those with a serious interest in these game birds of Texas.

2) Huskey, Steve. The Skeleton Revealed: An Illustrated Tour of the Vertebrates. 2017. Johns Hopkins University Press. Hardbound: 351 pages. Price: $49.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: The vertebrate skeleton is one of nature’s most amazing feats. Composed of cartilage and bone, it forms the supportive structure for all the remaining aspects of our anatomy. Stripped of skin, we can see the body’s fascinating underlying architecture.

     In this one-of-a-kind book, biologist and skeletal reconstructionist Steve Huskey lays bare the vertebrate skeleton, providing a guided tour of the nuanced differences among the many featured vertebrate species. Using skeletal preparations he has spent decades assembling, Huskey helps us understand why animals live the way they do. He shows us the jaw and fang structures that allow venomous snakes to both kill and consume their prey whole. We see that the eastern mole is built like a weightlifter, allowing it to "swim through soil." Startling images demonstrate that the odd-looking trumpetfish is built not for music but for suction, with a skull that expands to vacuum in its prey.
     The pages of The Skeleton Revealed illuminate not only the elegance of each skeleton, but also the natural history story each skeleton tells. Come along―let’s take a voyage through the boneyard.
RECOMMENDATION: For those with an interest in vertebrate anatomy.

3) Koch, Falynn Christine. Science Comics: Bats: Learning to Fly. 2017. First Second. Paperback: 122 pages. Price: $12.99 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: Every volume of Science Comics offers a complete introduction to a particular topic―dinosaurs, coral reefs, the solar system, volcanoes, bats, flying machines, and more. These gorgeously illustrated graphic novels offer wildly entertaining views of their subjects. Whether you're a fourth grader doing a natural science unit at school or a thirty year old with a secret passion for airplanes, these books are for you!

     This volume: In Bats, we follow a little brown bat whose wing is injured by humans on a nature hike. He is taken to a bat rehabilitation center where he meets many different species of bats. They teach him how they fly, what they eat, and where they like to live.
RECOMMENDATION: If you like the other books in the Science Comics series, you should enjoy this one too!

New Title

1) Unwin, Mike and David Tipling. The Enigma of the Owl: An Illustrated Natural History. 2017. Yale University Press. Hardbound: 288 pages. Price: $40.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: A rare invitation into the mysterious lives of owls around the world, with spectacularly revealing photographs and fascinating details.
     Perhaps no other creature has so compelling a gaze as the owl. Its unblinking stare mesmerizes; its nocturnal lifestyle suggests secrets and mystery. This lavishly illustrated book celebrates owls from every corner of the world and offers abundant details on fifty-three of the most striking and interesting species, from the tiny Elf Owl of southwestern American deserts to the formidable Blakiston’s Fish Owl, the largest of all owls.  
     Mike Unwin has long studied and admired these remarkable birds from cold northern forests to tropical rivers and beyond. He explains how owls evolved into the supreme feathered predators of the night, and he examines their breeding and hunting behaviors, unusual calls, and the cultural myths and superstitions that surround different species. More than two hundred dramatic color photographs in the wild, taken or selected by David Tipling, capture the wondrous beauty of each owl and the drama of life in its own home region. 
RECOMMENDATION: A well illustrated introduction to the owls of the World.

New Title

1) Schutt, Bill. Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History. 2017. Algonquin Books. Hardbound: 332 pages. Price: $26.95 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: For centuries scientists have written off cannibalism as a bizarre phenomenon with little biological significance. Its presence in nature was dismissed as a desperate response to starvation or other life-threatening circumstances, and few spent time studying it. A taboo subject in our culture, the behavior was portrayed mostly through horror movies or tabloids sensationalizing the crimes of real-life flesh-eaters. But the true nature of cannibalism--the role it plays in evolution as well as human history--is even more intriguing (and more normal) than the misconceptions we’ve come to accept as fact.
     In Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History,zoologist Bill Schutt sets the record straight, debunking common myths and investigating our new understanding of cannibalism’s role in biology, anthropology, and history in the most fascinating account yet written on this complex topic. Schutt takes readers from Arizona’s Chiricahua Mountains, where he wades through ponds full of tadpoles devouring their siblings, to the Sierra Nevadas, where he joins researchers who are shedding new light on what happened to the Donner Party--the most infamous episode of cannibalism in American history. He even meets with an expert on the preparation and consumption of human placenta (and, yes, it goes well with Chianti).
     Bringing together the latest cutting-edge science, Schutt answers questions such as why some amphibians consume their mother’s skin; why certain insects bite the heads off their partners after sex; why, up until the end of the twentieth century, Europeans regularly ate human body parts as medical curatives; and how cannibalism might be linked to the extinction of the Neanderthals. He takes us into the future as well, investigating whether, as climate change causes famine, disease, and overcrowding, we may see more outbreaks of cannibalism in many more species--including our own. 
     Cannibalism places a perfectly natural occurrence into a vital new context and invites us to explore why it both enthralls and repels us.
RECOMMENDATION: This book offers food for thought!

New Title

1) del Hoyo, Josep and Nigel J. Collar. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: Passerines. 2016. Lynx Edicions. Hardbound: 1013 pages. Price: $275.00 U.S.
PUBLISHER'S SUMMARY: The first ever Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World is really two works in one. It is a complete checklist whose taxonomy incorporates the most up-to-date information and an exhaustive methodology (Tobias et al. 2010) in an entirely systematic and consistent way. At the same time, it contains illustrations and distribution maps for every bird species in the world. This includes the original artwork from the HBW series, as well as hundreds of new illustrations. This volume covers the passerines with 440 plates, 12,100 bird illustrations and 6,638 distribution maps.
RECOMMENDATION: A MUST have for anyone with a serious interest in birds!