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A Vulture Landscape: Twelve months in Extremadura
by Ian Parsons

From Whittles Publishing:

A Vulture Landscape is more than just a book about vultures, in the same way that these majestic flyers are more than just birds. Vultures are a crucial part of many of the world’s ecosystems, and without these specialist environmental cleansers the ecosystems wouldn’t work properly. A calendar year in the lives of these gargantuan raptors is explored as they live, breed, feed and fly with effortless ease across the skies of the vulture landscape that is Extremadura in central Spain.

There are four species of vulture in Europe, and a fifth that is becoming more of a regular visitor as its own global population plummets. The serious conservation issues faced on a day-to-day basis by these species, and their relatives spread across the globe, are explored, issues that in many cases threaten their very survival. However, this book is a celebration of the vulture and the landscape in which it reigns.

Using the latest science, his keen eye and his passion for the birds themselves, the author takes the reader on a journey, introducing readers to the vultures, their lives and their landscape. Along the way, much of the other wonderful wildlife of the vulture landscape, from exotic Bee-eaters and bewitching Montagu’s Harriers to rutting Red Stags, are included. Ian explains how watching vultures is not only addictive, but that it can often lead to vulture gazing, surely the most relaxing form of bird watching there is!

With his fine descriptions, readers can enter the world of the vulture, get to know these brilliant birds, learn how they control diseases, why some species have bald necks and how they have mastered the art of flying without expending any energy. The author has spent several years living permanently in Extremadura and now splits his time between his native county of Devon and his beloved vulture landscape, where he leads bird tours introducing people to the birds and the area he clearly loves.

This book has been sitting next to my spot on the couch for a while, waiting for me to check it out in preparation for this post. I intended to read just the first chapter to get an idea of the book. I’ve now read three, and won’t be stopping. Parsons writes about this landscape and these birds so passionately and evocatively, it is such a joy to read. This is easily recommended to anyone who enjoys reading about birds.

A Vulture Landscape: Twelve months in Extremadura
by Ian Parsons
Paperback; 141 pages
Whittles Publishing; January 14, 2021
ISBN: 9781849954570
$23.95

Celebrating Birds: An Interactive Field Guide Featuring Art from Wingspan
by Natalia Rojas and Ana Maria Martinez

From Harper Design:

A gorgeously illustrated and interactive full-color guide to more than 181 birds of North America, based on the bestselling board game, Wingspan.

Praised for its gorgeous illustrations, accurate portrayal of bird habitats, and its gameplay, the bird-focused board game Wingspan has become an international sensation, available in a dozen languages and selling more than 200,000 copies its first year. Celebrating Birds is the ultimate companion to the game for fans, as well as a beautiful and in-depth field guide for avian and nature enthusiasts.

In addition to large-size representations of each bird and the most up-to-date bird descriptions provided by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Celebrating Birds includes a step-by-step guide that can be used to take the game into the real world. Players can collect points based on the birds, nests, and various habitat and feeding clues they find outside.

Artists and best friends Natalia Rojas and Ana Maria Martinez collaborated to create the beautiful depictions featured in the original Wingspan board game. Celebrating Birds features larger illustrations of the 170 North American birds from the game, plus eleven exciting new birds.

With Celebrating Birds, players and amateur naturalists can discover details about many of the birds currently at risk for extinction. As the number of birds in the United States and Canada has declined precipitously, Celebrating Birds is a fun way to raise awareness, educate, encourage activism, and provide resources on some of the most important ecological issues facing us today.

This book is born out of Wingspan, an extremely popular and highly-rated board game. I haven’t played the game myself, but it’s one that I would love to try out. The game uses cards for various birds, illustrated with some beautiful artwork. That art is reproduced in this book, in a much larger, easier-to-appreciate size. Accompanying the art is some basic information about the bird, pulled from Cornell’s All About Birds. This book is perfect for players of the game who would like to learn more about these birds and who may be interested in seeing them in real life.

Celebrating Birds: An Interactive Field Guide Featuring Art from Wingspan
by Natalia Rojas and Ana Maria Martinez
Hardcover; 352 pages
Harper Design; April 6, 2021
ISBN: 9780063045743
$29.99

Casual Birding in Trinidad & Tobago: Introducing More Than 175 of T&T’s Common and Iconic Birds
by Faraaz Abdool

From Faraaz Abdool:

Perfect for anyone who has ever seen a bird before, this book is designed to awaken wonder and excitement about the feathered friends that we see on a daily basis. It is an invitation to stop and take a minute or two to give more than simply a passing glance at the masters of the air. It is encouragement to explore; to see and experience new sights and sounds, all within the twin island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, the richest in the Caribbean in terms of biodiversity, a unique place that almost 1.4 million people are fortunate to call home.

With more than 500 full-colour photographs, relaxed descriptions and accounts based on a fine mix of historical data and personal experience, this book strikes the ideal balance between a good read and a handy reference.

Available on Amazon as a Kindle eBook or paperback hardcopy (though that version is expensive!), this book’s goal is to spark an interest of birds in the residents of Trinidad and Tobago. As such, it provides an introduction to birds in general, birding, and a selection of T&T’s common birds. The photographs are gorgeous and the information presented is perfect for such an audience.

Visitors to the islands who are interested in nature, but not necessarily hard-core birders, would also profit from it. If you are visiting primarily for birding, though the information here may be interesting and helpful, you would still need one of the full field guides available.

Casual Birding in Trinidad & Tobago: Introducing More Than 175 of T&T’s Common and Iconic Birds
by Faraaz Abdool
Kindle ebook; 647 pages
Independently published; November 5, 2020
ISBN: 9798698748038

Ageing & Sexing of Migratory East Asian Passerines
by Gabriel Norevik, Magnus Hellström, Dongping Liu, and Bo Petersson

From Avium Förlag:

This generously illustrated handbook covers 62 East Asian passerine species, including many that appear as sought-after vagrants in both Europe and North America. It provides a comprehensive and detailed summary of current knowledge, based on data and photographs of birds in the hand, collected during three years of study in China, primarily at Beidaihe, Hebei province.

The texts are presented in a pedagogical manner and, together with an ample collection of over 1,400 photographs, guide the reader through the process of determining the age and sex of the bird in both autumn and spring. This guide is an essential introduction to the subject for bird ringers in China, and it will also prove indispensable for any birdwatcher with an interest in the ageing and sexing of East Asian passerines.

The title made me think of the venerable Pyle guides, the North American bird bander’s Bible. But while the goal of the book is the same – the identification, including age and sex, of birds in the hand – that’s where the similarities cease. This guide looks more like a coffee-table book than a manual you would throw in your field bag. It’s large, filled with color photography, and even has a ribbon bookmark! Dual text in English and Chinese help explain its size, and add to its usefulness. Anyone ringing (banding) or researching these birds needs a copy. Birders who want to go beyond the detail available in field guides may also want to consider adding it to their library.

Ageing & Sexing of Migratory East Asian Passerines
by Gabriel Norevik, Magnus Hellström, Dongping Liu, and Bo Petersson
Hardcover; 423 pages
Avium Förlag; October, 2020
ISBN: 9789198516579
£94.99