Birds do incredible things. The more I read about birds, the more amazing things I find out about them. But one of the most wonderful things about birds is something that virtually everyone is aware of and, I daresay, takes for granted: birds build nests.

The structures themselves are marvelous feats of engineering. Some are larger than a car, while others would fit in a child’s hand. Many are made up of sticks and twigs, as one usually thinks of a nest. But many other types of building materials are used. There is one commonality, however, one question that begs an answer – how? How do birds – creatures with no opposable thumbs, or even useful hands for that matter – build these elaborate structures? I’ve been wondering that for a long time, but now (finally) have the answer in Avian Architecture: How Birds Design, Engineer, and Build.

Peter Goodfellow divides his very-welcomed book into chapters based on the type of structure constructed:

1. Scrape Nests
2. Holes and Tunnels
3. Platform Nests
4. Aquatic Nests
5. Cup-shaped Nests
6. Domed Nests
7. Mud Nests
8. Hanging, Woven and Stitched Nests
9. Mound Nests
10. Colonies and Group Nests
11. Courts and Bowers
12. Edible Nests and Food Stores

Each begins with a two-page overview of the nest type. This is followed by some “blueprints” – drawings showing the architectural characteristics of the nest type, annotated with dimensions and other key information. Another dual-paged spread details the materials and features of a particular species’ nest. The chapters conclude with one to four “case studies” that spotlight the nests and nesting behavior of representative species.

Additionally, select chapters include a section on building techniques. This is my favorite part of the book, as it uses step-by-step illustrations to show exactly how birds build a particular style of nest. It’s still hard for me to grasp how birds manage to accomplish this, but these sections have greatly aided my understanding. The only thing better would be a high-resolution, up-close, painstakingly-edited video of a bird doing its thing.

I still can't believe that birds can do this!

Although the inclusion of blueprints seems a natural fit for a book with “architecture” in its title, it runs the risk of being gimmicky. But even though the blueprint drawings are simplistic, I found this feature very informative. In fact, scarcely a page was turned in Avian Architecture that I did not learn something new and incredible. Here are just a few fascinating tidbits:

• The Yellow-rumped Thornbill of Australia builds a “false nest” on top of its domed nest in order to confuse predators.
• There’s a bird named Firewood Gatherer. If you want to know why, just take one look at its nest.
• Sooty-capped Hermits (a kind of hummingbird) use a counterweight attached to the bottom of their nest in order to keep it balanced.

Blueprints are an unconventional, but useful, inclusion.

You may have noticed in the chapter list above that Avian Architecture also covers bird constructs other than nests. “Courts and Bowers” depicts the marvelous architecture of bowerbirds, a family found in New Guinea and Australia. Male bowerbirds build elaborate structures and decorate them with colorful objects as a part of the courtship process. To me, these bowers are one of the most astonishing things in the entire class Aves. The final chapter is a hodgepodge of two unrelated topics: the edible nests of some swiftlets and the food stores of woodpeckers and sapsuckers.

This is an attractive, well-designed book, illustrated throughout with great photographs and drawings. The latter are essential as they can show things, like a cross-section of the Horned Coot’s aquatic mound nest, that photographs cannot capture.

Recommendation

I’ve been waiting a long while for a book like Avian Architecture. I was not disappointed. It is nothing short of a revelation to discover not only the variety of structures that birds build, but also (especially) how they are constructed.

While on a field trip recently at a water treatment facility someone found a bird wing. It wasn’t immediately obvious to me what species had been the unlucky victim, but another birder identified it as belonging to a Wilson’s Snipe. I had no reason to doubt the identification, as I had probably seen more snipe that day than I had in my entire life beforehand. And then there’s the fact that the identifying birder was none other than David Sibley.

You may never stumble across a complete wing, but most people find bird feathers from time to time. As a birder, it’s impossible not to wonder what species they may have belonged to. But it’s usually not easy to figure out; traditional field guides are great for entire birds, but not so much for individual feathers. In order to have a shot at identification, you can either make sure to always bird with Sibley, or you can use Bird Feathers: A Guide to North American Species.

Bird Feathers presents representative feathers from 397 North American birds. For each species, 6-28 feathers (average of 10-12) are laid out next to each other and photographed against a neutral background. Multiple primaries, secondaries, and tail feathers are included for most, along with a sampling of body feathers. A caption identifies the kind of feather and gives the length in both inches and centimeters.

The accounts also indicate what kind of wing type the bird has (as defined in the introduction) and whether the feathers shown came from a male, female, juvenile, or if this is unknown. Color range maps show permanent, summer, winter, and migration ranges.

Bird topography illustrations and a list of abbreviations used are included on the inside of the covers. The inside edges are also marked like a ruler, with inches on the inside-front cover and centimeters on the back, facilitating the measurement of found feathers. These additions are very handy and most appreciated.

I happened to have this guide in my car during the aforementioned field trip when the wing was found. I took the opportunity to compare the actual feathers with what is shown in the book, and they were clearly a match. Even if we didn’t have the correct identification to begin with, taking the authors’ suggestion of considering where it was found would have led us to check it against a snipe relatively early in the identification process.

Bird Feathers is obviously valuable as a reference, but I have found it surprisingly interesting to simply flip through. I suppose this should be obvious, but looking at individual feathers can be a radically different experience than looking at the full bird. For instance, I don’t think anyone could imagine that the feathers shown here could belong to something as gorgeous as a Painted Bunting. Conversely, I found the individual Pine Siskin feathers much more striking than the bird as a whole.

It’s also fun and educational to see how well-known field marks are formed by the individual feathers. For instance, the secondaries of ducks with iridescent speculums are iridescent on only one vane of the feather. The vane that will be covered by the neighboring feather is “normal”. Presumably, iridescence is more costly to produce. Also, it’s not immediately apparent that these Magnolia Warbler tail feathers would produce the bird’s classic “dipped in ink” pattern. In the field the base of the tail appears white. However, the white portion is actually at the mid-way point of the feather, and the base is dark. But this dark portion is hidden by the undertail coverts. I never realized how much of a tail is covered by the coverts.

You will also learn a great deal from the introduction. The first part covers feather origins, types, and how they contribute to flight. A chapter on flight feather identification describes each of the wing and tail types and their respective feathers. Numerous photos accompany the text, including very helpful shots of each wing type as a whole, along with all of the individual flight feathers laid out side by side. This 63-page introduction is very helpful and instructive, and should not be skipped.

Adult birders aren’t the only ones who can learn from Bird Feathers. It can also lead to teaching opportunities for kids. Examining feathers can facilitate discussions about flight and all the other concepts covered in the book’s introduction. This includes conservation. When the child asks why they can’t keep the feather, you can tell them it was made illegal to possess feathers in order to protect birds from the plume harvest that almost resulted in the extinction of our herons and egrets.

Obviously, at fewer than 400 species, Scott and McFarland have not included every bird in the United States and Canada. Nor do they show every type of feather for each bird that is included. But that would go beyond the scope of this book as an introduction and field guide to bird feathers. The birds here are those of which you’re most likely to find a feather.

Recommendation

As a reference, Bird Feathers will be useful to anyone who spends significant time outdoors. But for birders, it’s even more valuable for the insight it provides into birds’ lives, form, and appearance.

Do you break out in a cold sweat whenever someone utters the word “molt”? Instead of Freddy and Jason, do Humphrey and Parkes haunt your dreams? If so, then you no longer need to fear fallen feathers, for Molt in North American Birds is here.

Most birders, and even many nonbirders, are familiar with the concept of molt. Simply put, it is “the systematic process of feather growth ”. This process is of great significance to both birds and those who watch them. Molt is critical to birds, as feathers would become too worn to support flight and thermoregulation if not replaced regularly. For birders, understanding and recognizing molt can aid in identification and bring insight into birds’ lives.

But the concepts and terms associated with molt can be very confusing. I’ve read about it multiple times, but I still get confused about what complex alternate strategy means. That is, until I read Molt in North American Birds. Howell has a way of making this subject surprisingly interesting and, if not simple, at least understandable.

Unless you already have a strong understanding of molt and its terminology, then start with the 66 page introduction. Let me say that again: read the introduction first, preferably in its entirety, before proceeding to the rest of the book. Unlike most bird books consisting primarily of family accounts, you’ll have a hard time comprehending the accounts if you aren’t familiar with the basics.

Through clear text and helpful photographs and figures, the introduction describes what molt is, the fundamental molt strategies, how it impacts birds, how birders can recognize it, and much more. Frankly, I was a little surprised at how extensive the introduction was. Granted, a good portion of the real estate is occupied by illustrations, but there is so much more information here than one would expect for a “limited” subject like molt. One such subtopic, wing molt strategy, is given extensive coverage, which is very welcome since it’s one of the easiest artifacts of molt to detect.

The family accounts “review the molting strategies of North American bird families and relate them to different aspects of their life history and ancestry, showing how molt offers new insights into the fascinating world of birds”. Each one starts with a general description of the family and their molt, and then proceeds to more specific details on their preformative, prebasic, and/or prealternate molts. They conclude with a list of references.

The accounts range from one to eight and a half pages, with an average of two or three. Some of the shorter ones, like Creepers and Kinglets, take up a full page only because of extra-large photographs.

Honestly, I was expecting the family accounts to be great references to turn to if you have a specific question on the subject, but otherwise relatively dull and monotonous. Well, they are, indeed, a superb reference, but I was wrong about the rest. I was delighted to find that they were all worth reading through. Howell’s writing is clear and easy to understand, but even better is the way he keeps it interesting. He goes into details, raises questions, and offers insight into birds’ lives. For instance, he doesn’t simply report that most Empidonax flycatchers complete their prebasic molt on their wintering grounds. Nor does he mention that Hammond’s Flycatcher is an exception to this and leave it at that. He asks why Hammond’s would have such a drastically different schedule than Dusky Flycatchers, even though they often breed and winter in the same mountains. Howell posits that it could be related to variations in the food supply within their specific habitats. Hammond’s breed in higher forests that offer more food later in the year, enough to fuel their molt. Dusky Flycatchers, on the other hand, breed in drier and scrubbier places that may not offer as much food as their wintering grounds, and thus wait to molt.

It’s like this throughout the book; you never know what fascinating tidbits you may uncover. Here are just a few more examples. Bullock’s x Baltimore Oriole hybrids may attempt to molt twice in a season, the stress of which could hinder their survival. Ever wonder why adult male and young Red Crossbills vary so much in coloration? It’s likely due to when they molt. Finally, the Black-capped Petrel might actually comprise two separate species. Observed differences in molt timing indicate disjunct breeding schedules, which would make these populations effectively isolated even though they breed in the same location.

The many photographs, most by Howell himself, are large and of very high quality. There is nary a page without at least one photo, making this a very attractive, in addition to informative, book. But the photos are there for more than just looks, they are often instructive in and of themselves, especially in the introduction. They have been carefully chosen to illustrate the various concepts and show what molt actually looks like. I’m also happy to note that all captions include the location and date the picture was taken.

The only problem I found was a weird yellow box in the corner of two photos (the Golden Eagle on page 122 and Pauraque on page 173). I’m not sure exactly what they are for, but my guess is that it is an overlooked leftover from the layout/printing process.

Recommendation

As Howell writes, “paying attention to molt can also help you get more out of your birding” – it can provide insight into behavior, add value to your field notes, and even aid in identification. And now birders have the definitive guide to this process in Molt in North American Birds. I wouldn’t recommend it to beginning or casual birders, but for those serious about the study of birds, it will be indispensable.

There are many great things about birding. To me, one of the foremost is that the birds we seek out are endlessly fascinating and so much more than mere ticks on a checklist. You could watch the same birds daily and every day gain insight into their lives. Or, and this is in no way a substitute for making your own observations, you can learn from those who have devoted themselves to the study of birds, such as Bridget Stutchbury, the author of The Private Lives of Birds.

According to the author, she is…

…a bird detective, revealing the behind-the-scenes details of the social lives of birds to understand why females cheat on their mates, what makes a male attractive, why some pairs divorce, how birds claim a territory – and what all this means not only for our avian friends, but for us as well.

The author pulls back the curtain (or the branch, if you will) on the day-to-day lives of birds, including:

• Mating – including infidelity and the influence of appearance and song
• Divorce
• Parenting
• Finding a territory
• Territoriality
• Coloniality
• Migration

Birders of all knowledge levels will learn something from this book. It makes a great introduction to bird behavior, while also presenting cool facts, and even entire topics, with which long-time birders may not be familiar. For instance, why do many migrant songbirds not attempt to breed multiple times a year, even though it seems like they have time to raise another brood? Stutchbury provides a likely answer*. I was also very pleased with the chapter on how birds find a territory, as I don’t think I had ever read anything dealing with that topic before.

The author uses birds that she has studied, or otherwise is most familiar with, as examples. This means that North American species are referred to for the most part, along with a few from the tropics of Central America. While the specific details presented here will be most relevant to those familiar with these birds, the overall concepts, and thus the book as a whole, are globally germane.

I realize that learning about how birds live may sound dull to many people, and even some birders may wonder of what benefit it is to them. But most people would be shocked to find out how much like a soap opera birds’ lives are. There are loose females, jealous males, and putting on appearances to make yourself look better than your neighbor. This is juicy stuff, and that’s just the first couple of chapters!

Further, knowing more about a bird and its behavior will enhance your birding. If I were to see a Blackpoll Warbler in New England during the fall, I’d know that it is trying to eat enough to fuel an amazing, non-stop, 2,200 mile, overwater flight all the way to South America! On the other hand, if I saw one at home in Georgia at that time, I’d be very surprised, as the bird should be somewhere over the Atlantic at that moment. So I’d know that I should carefully determine that it is, in fact, a Blackpoll instead of the very similar Bay-breasted Warbler. And if it is, I should alert others to this unusual sighting.

But the author gives an even more compelling reason why we should learn about birds’ lives: how can you save a species that you don’t know? Stutchbury ties many of the topics she covers to conservation. For example, one drastic effect humans may have on bird populations was uncovered by a study of mate choice in Savannah Sparrows. The fields they were breeding in were mowed mid-season, destroying the nests. Afterward, the larger, fitter males no longer held better territories and had fewer mates. The result is that, even though the sparrows renested, the young produced were less fit and probably less likely to survive, contributing to the species’ decline.

Stutchbury is a professional ornithologist, but since her target audience is amateur birders, she writes like a non-scientist. Her writing isn’t as riveting as a good novelist’s is, but it is far from the dry and impersonal text of academia. I appreciate that she does more than just present the facts; she often describes the studies that were done to uncover those facts. However, she eschews the practice of giving references within the text, but does include an appendix with a list of sources for each chapter for those who want to delve deeper.

This book is not heavily illustrated, but there are a few. A lovely, black-and-white drawing by Julie Zickefoose graces the first page of each chapter, usually depicting a bird discussed therein. Additionally, eight color photographs are clustered together in middle of the book.

Recommendation

The Private Lives of Birds is an excellent introduction to the behavior and social lives of birds. Anyone wanting to learn more about how birds live would be well advised to give it a read.

*Possible reason why more birds don’t attempt second broods: I’m summarizing extensively here, this is explained much better in the book. Many migrants actually would have time to raise another brood. But the problem is that they wouldn’t be able to do that AND complete their molt in time to migrate. Molt is either too expensive to be done at the same time as raising young, or if they try it, it just takes too much out of them so that they have a lower survival rate. And if they try to fit it all in, either they or their young might not have time to make it to the wintering grounds in time to get a good territory, thus making them less likely to be able to breed the next year. It’s a give-and-take that Stutchbury describes excellently.

Birds are beautiful. Ok, so vultures aren’t the most visually appealing creatures around. But birds, from the most fantastical bird-of-paradise to the plainest sparrow, have an undeniable beauty. Color is the primary component of their attractiveness and one of the most noticeable characteristics of these remarkable creatures. But how much do we, as birdwatchers, actually know about these colors? How do birds produce them? What purpose do they actually serve?

In Bird Coloration, Professor Geoffrey Hill answers these questions and many more. He starts by introducing basic terminology and describing color variation and how birds see colors. He then moves on to the production of colors and how a bird’s genetics and environment influences them. Finally, there is a discussion of the functions and evolution of coloration.

The information presented here is, in a word, fascinating. I thought I knew a good bit about bird coloration, but I found myself learning something new on every page. You may already know, for instance, that blue feathers are not the result of pigment but rather arise from the structure of the feathers themselves. But the author demonstrates exactly how this works. Even better, he shows us what happens when the structural components are missing or don’t work as they’re supposed to (in the form of an all white Steller’s Jay). Here are just a few additional interesting facts:

• Many otherwise entirely white birds have black flight feathers. This is because the melanin that makes the feathers black also makes them more durable. Hill illustrates just how important this is with a startling case of an albino Great Frigatebird. This bird’s flight feathers were completely abraded away (by air), leaving it flightless and doomed. The picture is unbelievable.
• Color can be used to scare up prey, as when Northern Mockingbirds and American Redstarts flash their colorful wings and tails. But it has also been shown to be the case in penguins; their contrasting plumage startles fish into leaving protective schools, thus making them easier to catch.
• Contrary to what you would think, dark plumage keeps birds cool in hot climates, while white birds are warmer in cold weather.
• Black masks are very common in birds, and can serve many different functions. They hide eyes, making the bird less conspicuous, they reduce glare, and can be a signal in dominance interactions and help to attract mates.
• The dark upper mandible of Willow Flycatchers reduces glare, allowing them to forage in non-shaded habitat.

One of the best things about this book is that, for all of the interesting information it contains, it encourages you to ask your own questions and think for yourself. For instance, male American Redstarts have a delayed definitive plumage, where they look similar to females during their first year even though they are capable of breeding. Hill presents some possible advantages of this scheme. But what isn’t mentioned is why don’t other sexually dichromatic warblers do this? I wonder what it is about the redstart in particular that it possesses this trait but others don’t. In the same way, likely reasons for a distinct juvenile (or juvenal) plumage are given. But there are some birds, such as Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, where the immature females look similar to adult females, but the young males have their own plumage (a red crown in this case). Why would the young males need to look distinctive but females do not?

Hill wrote this volume for non-professionals, especially birders. He did a commendable job in making a very complicated, technical topic not only readable, but also enjoyable. There were a few instances where I thought he simplified things too much, but for the most part, I felt that the writing level was spot on for the target audience. Also in keeping with this, sources are not cited in the text, but are rather listed by chapter in the back.

The topics presented here are incredibly interesting, but are they important for non-professional ornithologists to learn? It is the author’s opinion that “few realms of study improve the competence of a birder more than learning about avian coloration”. I’m not entirely convinced of that, but it is certainly relevant for all birders.

Here’s a practical example of how the knowledge of color formation can be useful for birders. Recently, an unusual light-blue bird was photographed in southern Georgia. Superficially, it looks very much like a Blue-gray Tanager, which would be a major find. However, David Sibley has identified it as a Painted Bunting, even though it doesn’t look like any Painted Bunting depicted in any field guide. If you ignore the color, you’ll see that it looks good for a bunting, but it could plausibly be a Painted or Indigo Bunting based on location. Green feathers, like those on a female-type Painted Bunting, are the product of yellow pigment combined with blue structural coloration (remember yellow plus blue makes green?). Thus, you could reasonably deduce that this bird is a female-type Painted Bunting that lacks yellow pigmentation, leaving just the blue color from the feather structures.

Naturally, you can’t discuss bird coloration and not actually show birds and their colors. You will find plenty of colorful birds here, mostly in the form of photographs along with some paintings taken from the National Geographic field guide. The illustrations, especially the photos, are certainly attractive, but they mainly serve to reinforce the concepts mentioned in the text.

Recommendation

Color permeates every part of a bird’s life. Knowing how birds perceive, produce, and respond to color will grant insight into their lives and behavior, and even hone your skills as a birder. If that sounds good to you, then I highly recommend National Geographic Bird Coloration.

I really should know better than to judge a book by its cover. Yet that’s precisely what I did when I saw this book’s entry on an online retailer. The cover, and especially the title (more on that later), made me envision a small book, probably a miscellany of bird facts and quotes. Not the sort of thing that really interests me, so I didn’t look into it any further.

A few weeks later I encountered Wisdom again, but this time at a local bookstore. It was immediately obvious that my first preconception was wrong. The trim size was larger than anticipated, but the thickness was most surprising. This is one hefty book! So this time I looked at it in greater detail, leafing through the pages and reading the jacket. My initial judgment had been way off base. And I couldn’t have been more pleased.

We (the collective we) know a lot about birds, from identification to physiology to behavior. Take a large and complex topic like migration, for example. There is still plenty to learn, but for the most part, we know what species migrate, where they go, and how they get there. Moreover, the general mechanics of how and why they do so are also understood. But that wasn’t always the case. In fact, until relatively recently, the idea that birds migrated at all was controversial.

In this book, Birkhead explores this progression of knowledge and explains how we know the things that we do. He approaches this in a very interesting manner. This history is balanced around Birkhead’s pick for the most influential ornithologist of all time – John Ray. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of him, you’re not the only one. He was a late 17th century English naturalist who wrote some very influential books. Birkhead believes that Ray “was the turning point”, and that his ideas “launched the study of modern ornithology”. Thus, Birkhead uses Ray as the fulcrum point in the history of ornithology:

This book is a journey during which we will assess Ray’s remarkable contribution to the study of birds, both by looking back at his predecessors and by looking forwards and exploring the range of topics that comprise modern ornithology.

These topics include:

• Development of chicks
• Instinct and intelligence
• Migration
• Breeding
• Territory
• Song
• Sex
• Infidelity
• Reproduction and longevity

For each of these, the author describes how our understanding of it has changed throughout time. This is important, because we tend to take these basic concepts for granted. Anyone interested in birds learns quickly that territory is very important. Indeed, it is one of the main reasons why birds sing. However, someone had to have that first spark of inspiration that this is so, and then carry out the necessary studies to prove it.

The choice to base a historical exploration around individual topics rather than chronology was a wise decision. A straight timeline of events, people, and theories from Aristotle to the present would have been impossible to keep straight. That approach may work in some cases, but not for this book’s purpose. I found this topic based approach very easy to read and understand.

On the other hand, it would seem like this organizational format would leave out a great deal. However, although this history is by no means comprehensive, Birkhead deftly uses these specific topics to illustrate general themes as well. For example, the discovery of the importance of territory is also used to show the shift in ornithology from a strictly museum based enterprise to one also conducted in the field.

In addition to learning about the study of birds, readers will also be presented with many interesting things about birds themselves. One of the things that I learned concerned the Ruff, a lekking European shorebird. The male’s breeding plumage includes a fantastic “ruff” of feathers on the neck. After breeding, however, the males molt into a female-like plumage. Thus, researchers studying these birds on their fall migration use size to determine the gender, since males are distinctly larger. But occasionally they encountered birds that were of intermediate size, so it was not obvious which sex they were. Eventually, it was determined that they were a previously unknown male morph that never develops the male’s normal breeding plumage. Why would some males not display their namesake feature, even though it is the primary characteristic females use to determine with whom they will mate? It turns out that these female look-alikes could safely remain on another male’s territory without incurring his wrath, and then attempted to sneak copulations with passing females!

This volume also includes a good number of high-quality reproductions of vintage paintings and diagrams. Ranging in origin from the medieval period through the early 20th century, they depict birds and activities mentioned in the text. I don’t know if they are sufficient to truly consider this an “illustrated history”, but they are definitely a welcome inclusion.

Recommendation

In The Wisdom of Birds, Birkhead takes a complicated and extensive subject and presents it in manner accessible to professionals and amateurs alike. Even more impressive is that it is fun to read! Don’t let the book’s size or subject put you off, as it would be unfortunate to let your preconceptions cause you to miss this wonderful book, as mine almost did.

Highly recommended to anyone interested in birds and their study.

Finally, a thought on this book’s seemingly awkward title. I believe it was meant as a homage to one of John Ray’s books – The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation.

Flight. It is undeniably one of the primary characteristics that draw people to birds. If you’re a birdwatcher, I think it is safe to say that you are keenly aware of bird flight, especially as it pertains to identification. But have you ever wondered why certain birds fly the way they do? Or why there are so many different wing and tail shapes? Or an even more basic question: how are birds able to fly at all?

To answer these questions, the author starts with an explanation of the aerodynamic principles involved. He describes how it is possible for a bird (or an airplane, for that matter) to break the chains of gravity and fly. But in order for a bird to take advantage of these principles, certain adaptations are required. Henderson goes on to explain how a bird’s feathers, bones, wings, and tail all work together to allow flight.

I found the chapter on tails especially interesting. It highlights several unusual tail shapes, such as streamers, forked, and wedge-shaped, and describes the advantages of each. Birders notice such things as it applies to identification, but we don’t often stop to wonder why there are such differences (I may be speaking too broadly there, but I will admit that I do not). This information brings to mind many interesting questions. For instance, birders know that the primary field mark for distinguishing ravens and crows is the tail – ravens are wedge-shaped, and crows square-tipped. Why the difference? According to this book, wedge-shaped tails confer greater maneuverability. So why would ravens need to be more maneuverable than crows? I haven’t been able to come up with a good reason.

Next, the stages of flight are analyzed, starting with taking off, continuing to the different types of flight, and ending with the landing. It is somewhat surprising to see how many different ways birds take off and land.

Numerous photographs and diagrams illustrate the concepts described by the text. Overall, the photographs of Birds in Flight are quite good. Some are outstanding, but others are not necessarily technically perfect in terms of sharpness, focus, and the like (unlike On Feathered Wings [review], for example). But that’s not a problem here. It is more important that the photos are instructive, and well illustrate the concepts. And in that regard, they excel.

Additionally, a third of the book consists of an annotated photo gallery devoted to displaying the art of flight. As with the rest of the photos, some of these are incredible. However, others are so blurry that it’s hard to tell what species is shown! But this is intentional. The author is trying to get the reader to look beyond the technical merits of a bird photograph, and even beyond species identification, to see the underlying beauty of flight. And it is undeniably beautiful. Some of these pictures, especially the more unconventional ones, look more like paintings than photographs.

The only real problem with the photos is that not all of them are captioned with the species name. A few only identify the bird to the family level (ie “goose”). Granted, identification is not the point of the book, but I would imagine that most readers would appreciate knowing exactly what they’re looking at. We are birders after all!

Recommendation

Birds in Flight takes a very complicated subject, which includes elements of anatomy, ecology, and physics, and presents it in a way that non-professionals can understand. This is the best general treatment of avian flight that I have seen. Moreover, there is an abundance of interesting information, such as the aforementioned explanation of tail shapes, and a possible reason why Turkey Vultures fly with their wings in a dihedral position and rock back and forth. Anyone who wants to learn more about this fundamental aspect of birds’ lives would be well advised to start here.

Between the Wingtips is a unique book. At first glance, it appears to be a standard photography showcase book. But after reading some of the captions, it becomes clear that it aspires to be more.

The book is divided into seven sections: The Flying Machine; The Life of Birds; Body and Plumage; Feeding; Habitats; Breeding; Migration and Distribution. Each consists of a one-page introduction, then a myriad of pictures, and their accompanying captions. The photos and captions work together to illustrate and describe aspects of a bird’s life and biology. For instance, the Feeding section shows birds with different types of bills, and the captions describe how each particular form is suited to obtaining specific food. The majority of the birds here are from Europe and North America, with some African and Antarctic subjects as well. There’s a good balance of the familiar and exotic.

The photographs by Ostling are stunning and are reproduced nicely on good quality paper. Just about every style of photograph is included here. There are standard, full-body profile shots of some species, and close-up portraits of others. Among them are some of the most artistic and exquisite bird photographs that I’ve ever seen, such as the Little Blue Heron on page 87 and the Great Egret on 154-5, where the lighting and composition are used to brilliant effect. Others depict characteristic behavior. Perhaps the most spectacular capture a “frozen moment” view, such as the Long-tailed Duck running across water trying to get airborne, with drops of water like jewels suspended mid-air.

Though by no means comprehensive, the book does present a good introduction to many topics in ornithology and birding including molt, distribution, and even terms such as sympatric and allopatric (where similar birds have overlapping and non-overlapping ranges, respectively). Even very experienced birders will likely learn something new. In one photo, an African Harrier-hawk is shown perched on the side of a tree trunk with its wings and tail spread out. Without any explanation, anyone unfamiliar with these birds would assume that the photographer captured the raptor in a peculiar situation. However, the caption explains that this is how the bird forages – climbing trees with its tail and wings spread for balance. Who knew there were raptors that foraged like a creeper? Additionally, we learn that unlike other shorebirds, oystercatchers have to feed their chicks since the chicks are not yet able to open the shells of their preferred food, mollusks. While verifying this statement I found that not only is this so, but oystercatchers are the only birds in the world that have fully mobile (precocious) chicks, and yet the parents provide all their food until well after fledging.

The writing is generally adequate, but at times seemed a bit awkward. Sometimes I had to re-read sections because at first I didn’t understand what was being said (which, honestly, could be a failing on my part rather than the writing). There are also some questionable, and even incorrect, statements. The author claims that the reason birds sing more in the morning is because once their mates wake up they are too busy making sure they don’t “cheat” on them with other males. That may indeed be the case for some birds, but as far as I know, the prevailing theory is that early morning offers the best acoustics for sound, and thus that is when birds sing the most. Also, one caption suggests that all birds have two sets of plumage, including a nuptial one. However, plenty of birds, such as the Northern Cardinal, molt only once a year as adults and look the same throughout the year. Additionally, the text states that only juveniles grow all the feathers in a given tract simultaneously. That is true for most birds, but some ducks and most auks will molt all of their flight feathers at once. For these birds, the loss of even one or two primaries would make it difficult or impossible for them to fly. Thus, instead of the normal protracted molting of the wing feathers they do them all at once in order to minimize the time that they are flightless. Finally, even though it is somewhat ambiguous which birds can be considered “birds of prey”, it is generally assumed to include at least hawks, eagles, falcons, and their close relatives, and owls. This book, though, specifically excludes owls from this group, which could easily confuse some readers.

Recommendation

The photographs alone would make this an easy book to recommend. And the use of the captions to teach about birds adds to its value. However, the errors and misconceptions in the text give me pause, and make me wonder if there are other problems that I didn’t catch. But then I consider the cases where the images and words work together magnificently, such as a head-on shot of a Whooper Swan about to land. The wings are spread wide and feet pushed forward in a breaking maneuver. In the midst of all the action, the viewer may overlook small feathers curled upward at the wrist joints of the wings. But the caption calls attention to these feathers, the alula, and explains how these small feathers play an integral role in the aerodynamics of flight. This synthesis of words and image work together to teach this subject so much better than any regular ornithological text could.

Therefore, despite the flaws, Between the Wingtips is worth serious consideration. If you are a fan of bird photography, I daresay that you won’t be disappointed. And even though I would not recommend this book based on the text alone, there is some interesting stuff here and everyone can learn something from it.

Migration is perhaps the most interesting behavior that birds exhibit. At least it is to me. In this book Kenneth Able brings together works from others to present an interesting examination of bird migration. Eight authors have provided chapters on topics or migratory birds that they are expertly familiar with, preceded by two chapters from the editor giving a general overview of migration.

Background

The first two chapters were written by the editor to give an overview of migration in general – the how, when, where, and why. They are basically a primer, giving the background information necessary to understand the following material. Here he defines the various types of migration, touches on how it may have evolved, and explains how birds can navigate the astounding distances that they travel. Able gives an adequate summary for the purposes of this book. You will definitely want to read these chapters first before tackling any of the others unless you have a very good general grasp on migration. However, 25 pages is not nearly enough room to truly do the subject justice. In the likely case that this brief synopsis whets your appetite to learn more about these things then you will need to find your fill elsewhere (some suggestions to follow).

The Gulf of Mexico

Chapters three and four focus on migrants and the Gulf of Mexico. Birders today are well aware that neotropical migrants wintering in Central or South America and breeding in eastern North America have a couple of options available to travel back-and-forth. They can skirt around the Gulf of Mexico along the coast of Mexico and Texas, or via the Caribbean islands and Florida, in what is known as “circum-Gulf migration”. Or they can take the direct route and fly straight over the gulf (“trans-Gulf”). In the first of these chapters Sidney Gauthreaux describes both of these strategies. He reminds us that the idea of trans-Gulf migration has been highly controversial and was not entirely settled until relatively recently. The best evidence for this phenomenon was provided by an unlikely source – weather radar. It was discovered that the radar was actually detecting flocks of migrating birds in the echoes that radar operators called “angels” (from which this book gets its title). Gauthreaux goes on to discuss the evolution, characteristics, and timing of this migration.

Frank Moore then discusses what the migrants do in the spring once they make it across the Gulf, focusing on the cheniers of Louisiana. These are isolated forested habitats along slight rises of the ground in the marsh and prairie of coastal Louisiana. Moore describes the migrants’ choices in where to stop, what to eat, and even when to sleep. This chapter provides an interesting glimpse into a very small, but important, aspect of the lives of these birds.

Amazing Migrants

Among the “confusing fall warblers”, perhaps the trickiest to tell apart are the Blackpoll and Bay-breasted. You know it’s bad when birders have coined a term for a bird that was either one or the other – the “Baypoll Warbler”. But birders in the south don’t face this conundrum as much as those further north. It’s not that we’re any better at identifying them; it’s simply that we don’t see very many Blackpolls in the fall. The reason is that their migration path takes them hundreds of miles away, not to the west where you would expect, but to the east over the Atlantic Ocean! In the fifth chapter of this book James Baird describes this amazing performance. The fact that this tiny bird can take off from the upper Atlantic coast and fly nonstop to Venezuela, a distance of 2,200 miles, is almost unbelievable. The account here is a wonderful read, even if you’re already familiar with this trek. The only glaring omission is the answer to the obvious question of “Why?!?” How in the world could this migration strategy have come to be? For a possible answer to that question I highly recommend Scott Weidensaul’s Living on the Wind

Up next is Keith Bildstein’s account of the migration of Broad-winged Hawks. Along with the expected species specific information, general concepts in raptor migration are also introduced. There’s even a brief history and description of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. This is a fine introduction to raptor migration, but is no more than a cursory glance when compared to the author’s Migrating Raptors of the World (my review). Unless you are specifically interested in the Broad-wings I would suggest skipping this appetizer and proceeding directly to the main course.

Perhaps the most obscure bird featured in this book is the White-rumped Sandpiper, treated here by Brian Harrington. But that obscurity makes it all the more interesting. The writing is both informative and intriguing as Harrington chronicles this shorebird’s migration across the two hemispheres. In fact, it made me want to select the author’s The Flight of the Red Knot as my next book to read.

Some insight into hummingbird migration is offered by William Calder. Calder bands hummingbirds, mostly Rufous and Broad-tailed, every year in the meadows of the Rocky Mountains. He details their behavior during migration and reveals some patterns of their migration routes based on banding and recovery data. However, the small number of recoveries makes this tentative at best. I was also disappointed that more attention wasn’t paid to the increasing number of these birds wintering in the southeastern United States (although I suppose the age of the book could have something to do with that).

Amazing Locations

Among the greatest migration spectacles in the world has to be the gathering of Sandhill Cranes on the Platte River in Nebraska. Here Gary Krapu describes the setting, its history, and his studies to find out why so many cranes gather there and what kind of habitat they need. The results of those studies are very important, because the suitable habitat for cranes along the Platte has been declining due to human activity.

And finally, Stanley Senner takes us to the Copper River Delta along the Alaskan coast, where unfathomable numbers of shorebirds congregate each spring. After studying the birds there he found that this was a stopover point, a staging area where the birds come to rest and (mainly) eat. After a few days at the delta they will move along to their breeding grounds. Through some amazing cooperation with other researchers a string of these stopover locations were identified all along the Pacific coast. This information is extremely significant to conservationists, as these places need to be protected just as much as nesting habitat. After all, when this one location hosts virtually the entire world population of Western Sandpipers its loss would be catastrophic.

A common theme in many of these chapters is conservation, so it is appropriate that the editor dedicates the epilogue to this topic. This is an excellent summary of the trials, mostly of human origin, that these birds face.

Additionally, there are 24 pages of color photographs that show some of the birds and places mentioned. Even though the photo sizes are fairly small in order to accommodate as many as possible, they are a welcome inclusion.

The writings contained in this book were uniformly informative, and most of them were a true joy to read. If you’re looking for a general survey on migration, or are interested in any of the specific birds covered, then this book is recommended. However, there are some shortcomings. As you may have noticed, the book focuses on American birds. Most of the concepts can be generalized so as to be applicable to migrants everywhere, but it would have been nice to hear specifically about some birds from different places. Also, while it presents a detailed look at some particular birds, the general topic of migration is very lightly covered. If you want more than a hurried explanation of why and how birds migrate then you will need to look elsewhere, such as in the books listed below.

Further Reading:

• Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere With Migratory Birds, by Scott Weidensaul – Highly Recommended!!
• How Birds Migrate, by Paul Kerlinger – I haven’t read this, but have heard good things.
• Migrating Raptors of the World: Their Ecology and Conservation, by Keith L. Bildstein – my review
• The Flight of the Red Knot, by Brian Harrington

The authors had been inspired to write this book by The New Approach to Identification, by Peter Grant and Killian Mullarney. Apparently, that was a revolutionary publication that summarized and revolutionized birding by physical characteristics such as plumage, age, molt, etc. (I say “apparently” because it was before my birding lifetime and I haven’t had the pleasure of reading this classic). This work seeks to do the same thing with bird vocalizations. The goal is “to try to provide the vocabulary and biological background needed to bridge the gap between bird sounds and the much better known visual aspect of birding”.

That’s a very lofty goal, but it’s a niche that desperately needed to be filled. There are plenty of audio CD’s of bird vocalizations, and these are essential to birding by ear. But they do not lead to an understanding of the sounds you hear. Sure, they may help to identify the singer, but you don’t get any understanding of the sound itself, or why the bird is making that sound. This book seeks to fill in those gaps. And it will also help with some difficult identifications.

It is very hard to describe sounds, so audio examples are a necessity for a book like this. Thus, two audio CD’s are included with the book, each one packed full with 99 tracks. Every one of the tracks is used as an example in the text, and detailed information is given for each one. The species name, time and location of the recording, brief description, and list of sounds heard in the background (great idea!) are included. Sonagrams are given for most of the tracks, which helps to reinforce the concepts and information in the text.

The book starts with a general introduction to sound, including such concepts as pitch, tone, and rhythm. This is vital, as it gives birders a common vocabulary to use when describing sounds. It goes on to give a tutorial in interpreting sonagrams. I get the impression that many birders shy away from sonagrams, probably because they don’t understand them. But after reading this book and The Singing Life of Birds by Donald Kroodsma before it, I’ve come to realize how important they can be. Like anything else they take practice to learn. That’s where these two books come in. They both give many examples that can be used along with the included audio CD’s to develop this skill. But even if you don’t get to the point that you can convert sound to sonagram in your head, they can still come in handy. Many times while reading this book I found that there were qualities of the sound that were evident in the sonagram that I couldn’t distinguish with my ear.

The authors give a good bit of attention to ageing bird sounds, something that I had not given much thought to. Vocalizations start while the chicks are still in the egg! It has been found that many chicks will call to each other prior to hatching. Songbirds have to learn their song, and there is a progression of stages that they go through before they consistently sing their adult songs. Immature birds start with a subsong. This is usually a quiet, steady stream of babbled sounds, nothing like adult songs. By spring they usually are singing a “plastic” song, which is shorter and often includes identifiable song phrases. But the timing is usually different and thus they have the potential to greatly confuse birders. By the end of their first year most have graduated to full adult-like songs. So if you’ve ever seen an apparent adult bird in spring singing an unusual tune, it might be that you’re listening to a plastic song. I know that I’m going to be listening closer now, trying to pick out these different stages.

Extensive treatment is given to bird sounds and their relationship with taxonomy. The main example here is crossbills. In North America there are 9 different “types” of Red Crossbill, mainly differing in their calls. It’s possible that these are entirely different species (which would be an absolute headache for birders). It seems that the situation is similar in Europe. The various calls of all the European crossbills are described, included on the CD, and shown in sonagrams. This is a very important topic for birders, as there could be many such “cryptic species” out there, even among some very well-known species. The only way to differentiate them would be by voice.

Many other topics are covered as well, such as playback, recording equipment, mimicry, and dialects. One very interesting fact has to do with sound degradation and recordings. Have you ever found that playback of certain recordings just never solicit a response from birds? It could be that the sound in the original recording was degraded, either by the recording equipment or by the environment. The authors have demonstrated that it is usually the sound quality (how degraded it is) and not the volume of a rival’s song that causes a bird to respond. Therefore, if you are playing a degraded song it is unlikely to evoke a response, no matter how loudly you play it.

The authors have focused almost exclusively on European birds. Even so, those not familiar with the European avifauna will have little difficulty as the concepts covered are the same regardless of the species used as examples. However, in a few cases I found that my lack of familiarity with these birds lessened the impact of what was being presented. For instance, many recordings and tips are given for Old World Warblers. These birds are predominately drab things that all look remarkably alike, and thus must be identified primarily by voice (for North American birders, think empidonax flycatchers). I got the impression that this information was new and different and would be incredibly useful for identification purposes. But since I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting one of these birds, I’m just not sure.

The only problem I found was that a couple of sonagrams are missing. The text refers to sonagrams for tracks 26 and 27 on the second CD, but I couldn’t find them.

There are plenty of commercially available recordings to help birders learn bird sounds. But there really haven’t been any tools available to improve your birding by ear skills. Until now, that is. This book is a no-brainer, must-buy for European birders. While the examples are less relevant to everyone else, the concepts are not. It is very much recommended to anyone anywhere who wants to increase their auditory expertise.