10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 2, 2014

Phillipps’ Field Guide (I’ll be using this shortened form of the title) covers 673 avian species, including 59 endemics, and 53 species that have not been documented yet for the area but which may show up in the next few years. Borneo, the authors say, is under-birded. I think we need to do something about that.

Brunei 179

Brunei Birds Asia China 179

10,000 Birds

JULY 4, 2023

What the Owl Knows is organized into nine chapters: introduction, adaptation (including vision and flight), research and researchers, vocalization, courtship and breeding, roosting and migration, cognition, and two chapters on owls and humans–captive owls (not zoos, educational owls) and owls in our cultural history.

Owls 224

Owls Science Barn Owls Penguins 224

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

As you can easily judge from the dullness of this information, it is not something I made up but rather an appalling example of nepotism in the naming of birds. The breeding ecology of the Yellow-bellied Warbler was actually studied exactly here at Nonggang in 2019 by 3 Chinese researchers. Sir James McGrigor (1771-1858) Director Gen.

China 242

China Birds Pythons Eagles 242

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 3, 2020

The goal of Around the World For Penguins is simple: Describe the 18 species of penguin and their breeding grounds “from the perspective of a traveller.” Plantema gives highly detailed information about the weather, terrain, ownership of and access to the islands and coasts where penguins breed.

Penguins 278

Penguins Georgia New Zealand Albatross 278

10,000 Birds

JUNE 7, 2022

Practically every sentence is documented with these studies. Gorman’s personal field experience informs much of the text and his total grasp of the field means he relates one research finding to another with narrative ease. A 10-page Index is very helpful in locating topics, including country information.

Woodpeckers 247

Woodpeckers Hungary Thailand 2014 247

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 3, 2017

The guide covers 747 breeding residents or regular migrants, 29 introduced species, and 160 vagrants, a total of 936 species. The authors emphasize in the Introduction the great degree to which the text and illustrations are based on current scientific information. The maps, however are small.

Australia 109

Australia Birds Penguins 2015 109

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 6, 2013

The books (and, I assume the series) share a web-type design construct in which information is organized visually, by blocked colored spaces, bar separators, and size and color of font. The where and how of egg laying and larva emergence is briefly treated, with page references to larval drawings at the back of the book.

Ireland 180

Ireland France Breeding Eggs 180

10,000 Birds

JULY 2, 2019

This range of illustration continues throughout the 24 plates, reflecting, I assume, what has been documented and not documented for each species and the degree of difference between sexes and amongst subspecies. Most conveniently, we are given the page number of the species account for more–much more–information.

Research 149

Research Eggs South America Costa Rica 149

10,000 Birds

MARCH 1, 2019

While the hunting of game with trained birds of prey can be a controversial topic among birders , falconry was a valuable early source of information on birds, and its history, culture, and imagery continue to fascinate bird lovers, as we shall see. Few hobbies place such value on the written knowledge contained in books as does birding.

2015 113

2015 Italy Falcons Europe 113

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2015

Chapters on taxonomy, distribution, anatomy and morphology, habitat, behavior, breeding, plumage and moult, food and foraging, flight, calls, drumming, and conservation follow. No political boundaries are indicated, which makes using the book awkward when the map and the textual range information are on different pages.

Woodpeckers 252

Woodpeckers 2002 Europe Research 252