tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, natural history books, ecology books
"One cannot have too many good bird books"
--Ralph Hoffmann, Birds of the Pacific States (1927).
Here's this week's issue of the Birdbooker Report by Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase. If you despair of ever having enough summer reading material, this issue is just for you because you will find that the total page count in these books is 4277 pages!
FEATURED TITLE:
Olsen, Penny. Glimpses of Paradise: The Quest for the Beautiful Parrakeet. 2007. National Library of Australia. Paperback: 259 pages. Price: about $31.00 U.S. (plus shipping). SUMMARY: A detailed and well illustrated monograph on the extinct Paradise Parrot of Australia.
New and Recent Titles:
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Denny, Mark W. and Steven D. Gaines (editors). Encyclopedia of Tidepools and Rocky Shores. 2007. University of California Press. Hardbound: 707 pages. Price: $95.00 U.S. [Amazon: $76.40]. SUMMARY: A comprehensive review of the marine life and ecology of tidepools and rocky shores. -
Fogden, Michael and Patricia Fogden. Hummingbirds of Costa Rica. 2006. Firefly Books. Harbound: 153 pages. Price: $49.95 U.S. [Amazon: $37.96]. SUMMARY: Excellent photographs highlight this account of Costa Rican hummingbirds. -
Goodman, Steven M. and Jonathan P. Benstead (editors). The Natural History of Madagascar. 2003. University of Chicago Press. Paperback: 1709 pages. Price: $50.00 U.S. [Amazon: $36.00]. SUMMARY: This title is the standard reference for Malagasy natural history. -
Guthrie, R. Dale. The Nature of Paleolithic Art. 2005. University of Chicago Press. Hardbound: 507 pages. Price: $45.00 U.S. [Amazon: $29.70]. SUMMARY: The author's views on paleolithic art are interesting, if not controversial. -
Ratsch, Christian. The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and its Applications. 2005. Park Street Press. Hardbound: 942 pages. Price: $125.00 U.S. [Amazon: $78.75]. SUMMARY: This book will become the standard reference on the subject of psychoactive plants. [GrrlScientist comment: Wow, I'd sure love to field test this book!]

GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist and her five parrots are currently relocating to Germany, where she will continue writing her blog while also writing a book and learning German. (Meanwhile, her parrots will continue to nibble on her extensive personal library.) If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, you can help pay her living expenses by hiring her to "blog" your conference, speak at your club or write articles for your publication (or by clicking on the Paypal button below). If you read an essay on this blog that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for inclusion in 

























