Book News

American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of California
by Alvaro Jaramillo and Brian E. Small

From Scott & Nix, Inc.:

California has it all for birders—lush coastal coniferous forests, dry chaparral, oak woodlands, grasslands, alpine slides, riparian valleys, watered suburbs, and desert scrubs. Hundreds of types of birds nest in the Golden State or stop by seasonally on migration routes. California has one of the largest state and federal parks programs, as well as extensive protected wildlife areas, which preserve and protect bird habitats. From geese and ducks, herons and storks, eagles, hawks, and owls to hummingbirds, warblers, and sparrows, California is one of the finest birding destinations on earth. The American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of California includes more than 300 species birders are most likely to see in the state. Illustrated with nearly 450 crisp, color photographs, it includes clearly written descriptions along with tips of when and where to see birds penned by an expert Californian birder. It’s the perfect companion for anyone interested in the amazing diversity and beauty of California’s birds.

If you’ve read my review of the American Birding Association Field Guide series, you know that I like these field guides. This new volume on California is no exception. Intended for beginning and intermediate birders, I would recommend this to any such residents of California, or, perhaps especially, to any Californian who would like to be more knowledgeable about the birds around them.

American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of California
by Alvaro Jaramillo and Brian E. Small
Flexicover; 352 pages
Scott & Nix, Inc.; September 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1935622505
$24.95

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Birds and Animals of Australia’s Top End: Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine, and Kununurra
by Nick Leseberg and Iain Campbell

From Princeton University Press:

One of the most amazing and accessible wildlife-watching destinations on earth, the “Top End” of Australia’s Northern Territory is home to incredible birds and animals–from gaudy Red-collared Lorikeets to sinister Estuarine Crocodiles and raucous Black Flying-foxes. With this lavishly illustrated photographic field guide, you will be able to identify the most common creatures and learn about their fascinating biology–from how Agile Wallaby mothers can pause their pregnancies to why Giant Frogs spend half the year buried underground in waterproof cocoons.

The Top End stretches from the tropical city of Darwin in the north, to the savannas of Mataranka in the south, and southwest across the vast Victoria River escarpments to the Western Australian border. The region includes some of Australia’s most popular and impressive tourist destinations, such as Kakadu, Litchfield, Nitmiluk, and Gregory national parks, and is visited by more than two hundred thousand tourists every year.

An essential field guide for anyone visiting the Top End, this book will vastly enhance your appreciation of the region’s remarkable wildlife.

• Features hundreds of stunning color photographs
• Includes concise information on identification and preferred habitat for each species
• Provides a summary of each species’ life history, including interesting habits, and suggestions on where to see it
• Offers valuable tips on searching for wildlife in the Top End
• An essential guide for visitors to the Top End, from Darwin south to Katherine and Kununurra, including Kakadu, Litchfield, Nitmiluk and Gregory national parks

This new field guide is essential to anyone visiting Australia’s Top End who is even remotely interested in the wildlife. Even though it is not a comprehensive field guide to birds, it is still recommended to birders as a supplemental guide for its extra information, gorgeous photos, and coverage of other animals.

Birds and Animals of Australia’s Top End: Darwin, Kakadu, Katherine, and Kununurra
by Nick Leseberg and Iain Campbell
Paperback; 272 pages
Princeton University Press; July 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-0691161464
$27.95

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Field Guide to the Neighborhood Birds of New York City
by Leslie Day

From Johns Hopkins University Press:

Look around New York, and you’ll probably see birds: wood ducks swimming in Queens, a stalking black-crowned night-heron in Brooklyn, great horned owls perching in the Bronx, warblers feeding in Central Park, or Staten Island’s purple martins flying to and fro. You might spot hawks and falcons nesting on skyscrapers or robins belting out songs from trees along the street.

America’s largest metropolis teems with birdlife in part because it sits within the great Atlantic flyway where migratory birds travel seasonally between north and south. The Big Apple’s miles of coastline, magnificent parks, and millions of trees attract dozens of migrating species every year and are also home year-round to scores of resident birds.

There is no better way to identify and learn about New York’s birds than with this comprehensive field guide from New York City naturalist Leslie Day. Her book will quickly teach you what each species looks like, where they build their nests, what they eat, the sounds of their songs, what time of year they appear in the city, the shapes and colors of their eggs, and where in the five boroughs you can find them―which is often in the neighborhood you call home. The hundreds of stunning photographs by Beth Bergman and gorgeous illustrations by Trudy Smoke will help you identify the ninety avian species commonly seen in New York. Once you enter the world of the city’s birds, life in the great metropolis will never look the same.

An excellent guide for New York City residents. If you have any interest in the birds around you (and there are plenty of birds around you, even in NYC), this guide will really open your eyes.

Field Guide to the Neighborhood Birds of New York City
by Leslie Day
Paperback; 384 pages
Johns Hopkins University Press; June 23, 2015
ISBN: 978-1421416182
$24.95

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When the second edition of the “Big Sibley” was published last year, you knew it was just a matter of time before the smaller Eastern and Western regional guides were revised as well. And now, thanks to Amazon, we have a potential date: March 29, 2016.

There are no additional details, other than page count, at this time. But you can go ahead and place a pre-order:

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America: Revised Edition

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America: Revised Edition

Kaufman Field Guide to Nature of the Midwest
by Kenn Kaufman, Kimberly Kaufman, and Jeff Sayre

From Houghton Mifflin Harcourt:

The only field guide to bring along to identify the birds, mammals, trees, wildflowers, insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish, spiders, mushrooms, ferns, rocks, and sky of the Midwest.

Even if we focus on certain things in the outdoors, most of us are curious about everything else that might turn up. Serious birders, botanists, and entomologists all have their specialized guides, but this book is the guide to “everything else”—the one guide to take when you go out for a walk. Wow, that’s a cool-looking mushroom. Wonder what it is. Hey, look at that weird insect.

Birds, mammals, trees, wildflowers, insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish, spiders, mushrooms, ferns, grasses, even constellations overhead and rocks underfoot—it’s all here. With authoritative yet broad coverage, nontechnical language, and more than two thousand color photographs, this book is an essential reference for nature lovers living in or visiting Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

If you live in one of the states covered, or will be visiting and spending significant time outdoors, I would highly recommend having this guide close by. “Combo guides” such as this can be really valuable if done well, and this series is done very well.

Kaufman Field Guide to Nature of the Midwest
by Kenn Kaufman, Kimberly Kaufman, and Jeff Sayre
Flexicover; 416 pages
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-0618456949
$20.00

Bird Ringing Station Manual
by Przemysław Busse and Włodzimierz Meissner

From De Gruyter:

In an attempt to standardise elements of the station routine, Bird Ringing Station Manual describes the procedures used in passerine and wader ringing stations. It offers a comparative analysis of versatile evaluation techniques such as measurements, orientation experiments and monitoring. The authors meticulously analyse different methods used to track birds, including catching passerines with mist-nets in land and wetland habitat, as well as the use of the Heligoland trap. Bird Ringing Station Manual, as a successful bid to establish a bird station routine that is favourable to both birds and ringers, will benefit all professional and amateur ringers.

Anyone involved in bird banding (ringing) should check this out. The hardcover book is expensive, but the eBook (either PDF or ePub format) is available for FREE from the publisher.

Bird Ringing Station Manual
by Przemysław Busse and Włodzimierz Meissner
Hardcover; 211 pages
De Gruyter; March, 2015
ISBN: 978-83-7656-053-3
$140.00

Peterson Field Guide to Finding Mammals in North America
by Vladimir Dinets

From Houghton Mifflin Harcourt:

To see a fog shrew, should you go to Muir Woods National Monument? If you’re planning to visit Yellowstone National Park, what animals can you expect to see? When should a photographer visit to get a shot of a gray fox?

A mammal finder’s guide (rather than an identification guide), this book tells you how to look, where to go, and what you are likely to find there. Two main sections provide a choice of looking up information by place or by species: The first includes regions of North America, highlighting the best places to look for mammals. The species-finding guide has accounts of more than four hundred species of mammals, including detailed directions to specific parks, refuges, and other locations; the best times of day (or night) to look; and much more information specific to each mammal.

A guide such as this was LONG overdue. This should prove useful both to those looking for specific mammals and those who want to know what to look for on their travels. I’ve got a feeling I’m going to get a lot of use out of this new guide.

Peterson Field Guide to Finding Mammals in North America
by Vladimir Dinets
Paperback; 368 pages
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-0544373273
$19.95

Feeding Wild Birds in America: Culture, Commerce, and Conservation
by Paul J. Baicich, Margaret A. Barker, and Carrol L. Henderson

From Texas A&M University Press:

Today, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, more than fifty million Americans feed birds around their homes, and over the last sixty years, billions of pounds of birdseed have filled millions of feeders in backyards everywhere. Feeding Wild Birds in America tells why and how a modest act of provision has become such a pervasive, popular, and often passionate aspect of people’s lives.

Each chapter provides details on one or more bird-feeding development or trend including the “discovery” of seeds, the invention of different kinds of feeders, and the creation of new companies. Also woven into the book are the worlds of education, publishing, commerce, professional ornithology, and citizen science, all of which have embraced bird feeding at different times and from different perspectives.

The authors take a decade-by-decade approach starting in the late nineteenth century, providing a historical overview in each chapter before covering topical developments (such as hummingbird feeding and birdbaths). On the one hand, they show that the story of bird feeding is one of entrepreneurial invention; on the other hand, they reveal how Americans, through a seemingly simple practice, have come to value the natural world.

A history of bird-feeding? Yes, and it’s actually interesting.

Feeding Wild Birds in America: Culture, Commerce, and Conservation
by Paul J. Baicich, Margaret A. Barker, and Carrol L. Henderson
Flexicover; 319 pages
Texas A&M University Press; March 30, 2015
ISBN: 978-1623492113
$27.95

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The House of Owls
by Tony Angell

From Yale University Press:

For a quarter of a century, Tony Angell and his family shared the remarkable experience of closely observing pairs of western screech owls that occupied a nesting box outside the window of their forest home. The journals in which the author recorded his observations, and the captivating drawings he created, form the heart of this compelling book—a personal account of an artist-naturalist’s life with owls. Angell’s extensive illustrations show owls engaged in what owls do—hunting, courting, raising families, and exercising their inquisitive natures—and reveal his immeasurable respect for their secret lives and daunting challenges.

Angell discusses the unique characteristics that distinguish owls from other bird species and provides a fascinating overview of the impact owls have had on human culture and thought. He also offers detailed scientific descriptions of the nineteen species of owls found in North America, as well as their close relatives elsewhere. Always emphasizing the interaction of humans and owls, the author affirms by his own example the power of these birds both to beguile and to inspire.

Yes, another book about owls. But from what I understand, this is a good one.

The House of Owls
by Tony Angell
Hardcover; 224 pages
Yale University Press; April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-0300203448
$30.00

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The Narrow Edge: A Tiny Bird, an Ancient Crab, and an Epic Journey
by Deborah Cramer

From Yale University Press:

Each year, red knots, sandpipers weighing no more than a coffee cup, fly a near-miraculous 19,000 miles from the tip of South America to their nesting grounds in the Arctic and back. Along the way, they double their weight by gorging on millions of tiny horseshoe crab eggs. Horseshoe crabs, ancient animals that come ashore but once a year, are vital to humans, too: their blue blood safeguards our health. Now, the rufa red knot, newly listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, will likely face extinction in the foreseeable future across its entire range, 40 states and 27 countries. The first United States bird listed because global warming imperils its existence, it will not be the last: the red knot is the twenty-first century’s “canary in the coal mine.” Logging thousands of miles following the knots, shivering with the birds out on the snowy tundra, tracking them down in bug-infested marshes, Cramer vividly portrays what’s at stake for millions of shorebirds and hundreds of millions of people living at the sea edge. The Narrow Edge offers an uplifting portrait of the tenacity of tiny birds and of the many people who, on the sea edge we all share, keep knots flying and offer them safe harbor.

The connections between Red Knots, Horseshoe Crabs, people, and, now, climate change are fascinating. It’s also something that we need to be aware of in order to prevent the extinction of this amazing bird, and possibly others.

The Narrow Edge: A Tiny Bird, an Ancient Crab, and an Epic Journey
by Deborah Cramer
Hardcover; 304 pages
Yale University Press; April 28, 2015
ISBN: 978-0300185195
$28.00

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