Infopet || Books : Birdwatching and bird biology

Books on Animals Birdwatching and bird biology If you want to buy a book, clicking on the book cover will take you directly to that book on the Amazon.co.uk web site. See also: Books on Birds of Prey and Falconry Books on The Parrot Family Advice: Birdwatching in Your Garden News and Research: Birds General, Including Bird Behavior Please click here for Birds on Stamps Please see Books on The Parrot Family for books on Alex the Parrot.

Click on the cover above to go to this book at Amazon.co.uk	Bird Sense: What it's Like to be a Bird Tim Birkhead Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (2012) ISBN-10: 1408820137 ISBN-13: 978-1408820131 Tim Birkhead teaches animal behaviour and the history of science at Sheffield University, and has spent his life studying birds from all over the world. Readers of New Scientist will be familar with his thought-provoking articles, and he has written several books, such as the award winning Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Birds and The Red Canary. One of his best-known books is The Wisdom of Birds, which explains the many ways in which birds are much more intelligent than we often give them credit for. Bird Sense: What it's Like to be a Bird carries on from The Wisdom of Birds, and deals with questions that many bird watchers ask, such as how birds perceive the world, how they manage to do complex feats that humans cannot, such as migrate long distances with no maps or other help, and what emotions they may feel. This book is fascinating for birdwatchers who want to understand what they are seeing. Anyone interested in animal behaviour will also find Tim Birkhead's accounts gripping. He wears his expertise lightly, and makes research on birds, including his own, accessible to anyone who wants to understand them better. Top of page
Click on the cover above to go to this book at Amazon.co.uk	While Flocks Last Charlie Elder Corgi (2009) ISBN-10: 0552157546 ISBN-13: 978-0552157544 Charlie Elder's While Flocks Last is an account of his travels through the UK to locate and record forty endangered bird species. This is more than an account of his travels, which is fascinating on its own, it's also an exploration into why some species are declining, so what, if anything, has been done, and can be done to halt this decline. While Flocks Last is a very special book which works on many levels, as an adventure story, as an historical account of changes in human lives which have affected birds, and it involves anyone interested in birdwatching in the effort to conserve our rarer species. It is a well-written, funny book, which would make a good present for anyone interested in birds, even if it's just watching them when they appear on a bird table. You could also buy it as a special present for yourself! Top of page
Click on the cover above to go to this book at Amazon.co.uk	A Guide to British Garden Birds (BBC Audio) [Audiobook] [Audio CD] Brett Westwood BBC Audiobooks Ltd (2008) ISBN-10: 1405689315 ISBN-13: 978-1405689311 We can learn to recognise birds from their songs, as well as from their appearance, and this CD is an excellent introductory guide, covering the most common British garden birds. It is based on a series from Radio 4, and is organised in episodes covering different kinds of bird, like finches, thrushes, and titmice. The CD offers more than just the songs, there is also a commentary to help listeners to understand and recognise the songs, and learn more about the birds themselves. It is a good introduction for adults who have just started to become interested in birds on their garden. The CD will also interest children who want to know more about the bird life around them. There are other, more complete, guides to birdsong available, but as an introductory guide for someone on a budget or who prefers to learn to walk before they try running, this CD offers excellent value. Top of page
Click on the cover above to go to this book at Amazon.co.uk	RSPB Complete Birds of Britain and Europe Rob Hume Dorling Kindersley (2009) ISBN-10: 1405345896 ISBN-13: 978-1405345897 Rob Hume's RSPB Complete Birds of Britain and Europe is a very solid, heavy book. You could use it as the book you keep at home for consulting when you get back from bird watching expeditions, (or holidays where you have seen interesting birds), or you could keep it in the back of a car, or in your holiday cottage, whether it's in the UK, or further afield in Europe. The book won't fit in your pocket! One of the strengths of this book are the excellent illustrations, both photos (often of the juvenile, female and male of each species, and changes in plumage over the seasons), and pictures showing the bird when it is flying, but it offers far more than help in identifying birds. There is a lot on the ecology of different species, which will appeal to anyone interested in bird conservation. There is also a CD, which offers more help with identification, through songs. This may not be the cheapest option, but it's probably the best guide to European birds around. Top of page
Click on the cover above to go to this book at Amazon.co.uk	Birdsong: 150 British and Irish birds and their amazing sounds Jonathan Elphick, Lars Svensson, and Jan Pedersen Quadrille Publishing Ltd (2012) ISBN-10: 1849491348 ISBN-13: 978-1849491341 Birdsong: 150 British and Irish Birds and Their Amazing Sounds, is a book which will appeal for people who like to watch birds in their gardens, and who travel by car to see birds. It is too bulky to carry if you are walking, but has the great advantage that you can listen to birds out in the open, with no need for a CD player. The book is well illustrated, so you can identify birds by appearance as well as by sound. The 150 birds include many birds of prey, as well as sea birds, and common garden birds, including migrants. There is a lot of information on when, and why birds sing, which helps with understanding bird behaviour. Sometimes their songs are to attract a mate, other times they want to see off intruders in their territory, for example. Birdsong is not quite as comprehensive as the RSPB Complete Birds of Britain and Europe, nor is the recording quality of Birdsong quite as good, however, it does offer a deeper understanding to why birds sing, and you can use it out of doors, so it is a very useful supplement to the RSPB guide. It's also handy if you don't own a CD player, because it is easy to use, in fact much easier than a CD player if you want to pick and choose the songs you listen to. Great fun for people who want to know more about Birdsong. Top of page
Click on the cover above to go to this book at Amazon.co.uk	Where to Watch Birds in Southern and Western Spain: Andalucia, Extremadura and Gibraltar Andrew Paterson and Ernest Garcia Christpher Helm Publisher ISBN-10: 0713683155 ISBN-13: 978-0713683158 This guide covers some of the richest birdwatching territory in Europe, both coastal regions, and some of the less well known inland parts of Spain. Andalucia has long fascinated Britons, following in the footsteps of Gerald Brenan. Extremadura is well worth exploring during the spring and autumn, though is best avoided in the high summer due to the intense heat! Extremadura is a region of Spain which is rich in wildlife, and is of especial interest to those who love birds of prey. The terrain includes mountains, plains, arid areas and rivers, forests and bleak, sun-scorched expanses which seem incapable of sustaining life, and yet, if you look upwards, you can see hovering birds of prey. Village rubbish tips are often good birdwatching sites, as are some of the more breathtakingly beautiful mountainous locations. Both authors live in Spain, and their local knowledge and enthusiasm shine through as they guide readers on a fascinating journey round the south and wild west of Spain. Top of page
Click on the cover above to go to this book at Amazon.co.uk	Collins Bird Guide, Second edition edition (7 Jan 2010) Lars Svensson (Author) Killian Mullarney (Author), Dan Zetterström (Author), Peter J. Grant (Author) Collins ISBN-10: 0007267266 ISBN-13: 978-0007267262 This field guide has become a classic, with its well written descriptions and illustrations that are beautiful as well as informative. It is a good introduction for anyone you might want to turn onto bird watching, as well as an invaluable guide for experienced birders. The text is a little crammed, and you might need a magnifying glass for some of the text if your eyesight is not as good as it was! The book is designed to be taken on holiday, rather than sitting on a coffee table, so it has to be compact, and it will enrich the holiday of anyone who uses it. Top of page
Click on the cover above to go to this book at Amazon.co.uk	The Zebra Finch: A Synthesis of Field and Laboratory Studies Richard A. Zann, illustrated by Michael Bamford Oxford University Press ISBN: 0198540795 Zebra finches are tough little birds which are found in Australia and parts of Indonesia. They became popular cage birds in Europe in the 19th century, and were then taken up by laboratories researching bird behaviour and other aspects of biology. Richard Zann is a great admirer of zebra finches, and his affection for these birds is evident in his book, which brings together studies on pet, laboratory and wild zebra finches. 'The Zebra Finch' is a serious academic work, which is nevertheless accessible to hobbyists who simply like zebra finches. The charming illustrations of Michael Bamford are both informative, and have that 'aah' factor. Non-biologists who read New Scientist for pleasure should have enough knowledge to understand the text, though you may need to resort to a dictionary of biology now and then. It is definitely worth persevering if you keep zebra finches. There is a lot of useful material on bird behaviour, for example how zebra finches court and communicate with each other, which can greatly add to the pleasure of keeping these birds. This is an especially useful book for anyone who wants to breed zebra finches, because of the wealth of information on how the birds breed in the wild, which can help keepers to create ideal conditions for their captive zebra finches. There are also useful appendices, for example on colour morphs found in domesticated zebra finches, seeds eaten by wild zebra finches, and zebra finch body languge and calls. There's an extensive bibliography, and an author and a subject index. It's quite a pricey book, but well worth the investment for people who keep zebra finches, because it's a text that you are likely to turn to again and again Top of page
Click on the cover above to go to this book at Amazon.co.uk	Bird Migration: A General Survey (Oxford Ornithology S.) Peter Berthold Oxford University Press Inc, USA ISBN: 0198507879 This is a revised, updated and expanded version of Peter Berthold's classic study which first came out in 1990. It brings together work on different aspects of bird migration, and is quite easy to read, even for people who aren't biologists but just find the topic fascinating. As late as the 18th century, some experts believed that swallows went into swamps for the winter, coming out into daylight to fly in the spring. Today we know a little more about where birds travel to, but there are still areas of controversy, which Berthold skillfully outlines. 'Bird Migration' is essential reading for birdwatchers who want to deepen their knowledge. It also very interesting reading for people who keep captive birds. Many different types of migration are explained, from the heroic long-distance journeys of swallows and warblers, to shorter forays. There is an interesting discussion of why birds migrate, and why their migratory patterns can change. Berthold also gives a useful account of changes in the behaviour and physiology of migratory birds kept in captivity. People who are interested in ecology will also find this book interesting, for its account on the effects of global warming and other environmental trends on bird migration, and the effects of human activity on migrating birds. This book is well illustrated, with maps, graphs and photographs. There is a useful glossary, a very long bibliography for readers wanting to follow up sources, and a comprehensive index. Top of page

Please see Books on The Parrot Family for books on Alex the Parrot.