FEATURED TITLE

                                                                              
1) Kirwan, Guy and Graeme Green. Cotingas and Manakins. 2011. Helm Identification Guides. Hardbound: 624 pages. Price: GBP 60.00.

SUMMARY: This book looks in detail at two families of South American birds, the cotingas and manakins, perhaps the most colourful of all neotropical bird groups, and widely regarded as the South American equivalent of New Guinea's Birds of Paradise. The book is a synthesis of the very latest research into the identification, taxonomy and behaviour of each of the 160 species, along with detailed colour maps, several hundred previously unpublished colour photographs, and Eustace Barnes's stunning 34 colour plates.
RECOMMENDATION: A MUST have for those with an interest in Neotropical birds or collectors of family monographs! Princeton University Press will be co-publishing this title in February 2012 for $55.00 U.S.

The Weekly Birdbooker Report

                                         Photo copyright: Joe Fuhrman 

My WEEKLY Birdbooker Report can be found here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/nov/13/1

New Title

                                                                              
1) Harvey, Michael J. et al.. Bats of the United States and Canada. 2011. Johns Hopkins University Press. Paperback: 202 pages. Price: 24.95 U.S.

SUMMARY: The only mammals capable of true flight, bats are among the world's most fascinating creatures. This accessible guide to the forty-seven species of bats found in the United States and Canada captures and explains the amazing diversity of these marvels of evolution.
     A wide variety of bat species live in the United States and Canada, ranging from the California leaf-nosed bat to the Florida bonneted bat, from the eastern small-footed bat to the northern long-eared bat. The authors provide an overview of bat classification, biology, feeding behavior, habitats, migration, and reproduction. They discuss the ever-increasing danger bats face from destruction of habitat, wind turbines, chemical toxicants, and devastating diseases like white-nose syndrome, which is killing millions of cave bats in North America. Illustrated species accounts include range maps and useful identification tips.
     Written by three of the world's leading bat experts and featuring J. Scott Altenbach's stunning photographs, this fact-filled and easy-to-use book is the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of bats in the U.S. and Canada
RECOMMENDATION: A thorough introduction to the bats of the region.

New Title

                                                                              
1) Dickinson, Edward C. et al. (editors). Priority! The Dating of Scientific Names in Ornithology: Directory to the Literature & its Reviewers. 2011. Aves Press. Hardbound: 319 pages. Price: 80.00 GBP ($135.00 U.S.).

SUMMARY: This is the first book to explain the importance of priority in relation to names in ornithology and in the context of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Backgrounds are first provided on the Code and on printing and publishing over the last 250 years. The compilers then bring together reports on 148 books and 121 periodicals in zoology which, between them, present almost all the challenges that can make date determination problematic.
     The reports provide links to the published authorities and are supported by tables containing extensive detail about the subsidiary parts or issues with their pagination and dates. This book and the included CD Rom are a searchable treasure trove.
RECOMMENDATION: A must have for those with a technical interest in ornithological nomenclature. The title is available from Aves Press here: http://www.avespress.com/books/ and from Buteo Books here: http://www.buteobooks.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=BBBAO&Product_Code=13614&Category_Code=

New Title

                                                                              
1) Chaline, Eric. Fifty Animals that Changed the Course of History. 2011. Firefly Books. Hardbound: 223 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S.

SUMMARY: Fifty Animals that Changed the Course of History is a beautifully presented guide to the animals that have had the greatest impact on human civilization. Entries are organized by scientific name, except for Homo sapiens, which is featured last.
     The 50 animals include the horse, dog, rat, whale, reindeer, beaver, flea, leech, dodo, falcon, oyster and shark. These creatures, great and small, have played central roles in the evolution of humankind, but they have remained at the periphery of our understanding of history. Whether it is an advancement in scientific knowledge, a trade war, disease and death, battles won and lost, or encounters with explorers in unknown lands, these animals have changed the course of history.
     More than 150 elegant drawings, photographs and paintings, as well as excerpts from literature, highlight the concise text. Each animal is judged by its influence in four categories:

*Edible -- animals that have shaped agriculture, such as the cow
*Medical -- animals that are "disease vectors," spreading bacteria and viruses, from malaria to plague
*Commercial -- animals used for trade or in manufacturing
*Practical -- animals used for transportation or clothing.

The animals described in Fifty Animals that Changed the Course of History are familiar, but their roles in human history are easily overlooked. This attractive reference gives us a fresh perspective on our place in the animal kingdom.
RECOMMENDATION: A well illustrated account of human/animal interactions over the centuries.

New Titles

                                                                              
1) Hayes, Derek. Historical Atlas of Washington and Oregon. 2011. University of California Press. Hardbound: 240 pages. Price: $39.95 U.S.

SUMMARY: This gorgeous atlas, illustrated throughout with more than 500 colorful images and maps, provides a visually rich and textually engaging history of the states of Oregon and Washington. Derek Hayes brings his enthusiasm and expertise to a full range of topics, beginning with the first inhabitants and tracing the westward expansion, conflict between settlers and Native Americans, and the establishment of the Oregon Trail. We see in vivid images, old maps, and lively text the coming of the railroads and the rapid establishment of the coastal ports, northwest cities and roads, the fur and lumber industries, and the large farms. We also witness the twentieth-century development of the war industries, the establishment of the aviation industry, and the celebratory 1962 Seattle World’s Fair. At once a valuable reference and an exhilarating adventure through history, the Historical Atlas of Washington and Oregon presents readers with a fascinating chronicle of how these proud states came into their own and how they each look toward the future.
RECOMMENDATION: A must have for those interested in the history of these two states!

                                                                              
2) Kirk, Jay. Kingdom Under Glass: A Tale of Obsession, Adventure, and One Man's Quest to Preserve the World's Great Animals. 2011. Picador. Paperback: 387 pages. Price: $18.00 U.S.
SUMMARY: In this epic account of an extraordinary life lived during remarkable times, Jay Kirk follows the adventures of legendary explorer and taxidermist Carl Akeley, who revolutionized taxidermy and environmental conservation and created the famed African Hall at New York’s Museum of Natural History. Akeley risked death time and again in the jungles of Africa as he stalked animals for his dioramas and hobnobbed with outsized personalities of the era, such as Theodore Roosevelt and P. T. Barnum.
RECOMMENDATION: An interesting read, but could have used more than the five photos provided to illustrated the story.

Forthcoming Title

                                                                              
Here's a sneak peak of the forthcoming Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America:
http://seabrookeleckie.com/the-new-peterson-moth-guide/