Birdbooker Report 53

tags: Birdbooker Report, bird books, animal books, natural history books, ecology books

The Birdbooker Report is a special weekly report of a wide variety of science, nature and behavior books that currently are, or soon will be available for purchase. This report is written by one of my Seattle birding pals and book collector, Ian "Birdbooker" Paulsen, and is edited by me and published here for your information and enjoyment. Below the fold is this week's issue of The Birdbooker Report which lists ecology, environment, natural history and bird books that are (or will soon be) available for purchase.

FEATURED TITLE:

1. Brazil, Mark. Birds of East Asia: China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Russia. 2009. Princeton University Press. Paperback: 528 pages. Price: $39.95 U.S. [Amazon: $26.37]. SUMMARY: This book is the first single-volume field guide for eastern Asia. The text (with color range maps) faces the 236 color plates. The plates are done by 14 different artists and are quite well done. This handy-sized field guide will be useful for birders traveling the region and for those trying to identify Asiatic rarities at home. I highly recommend this book!

New and Recent Titles:

1. Elliott, Lang, Carl Gerhardt, and Carlos Davidson. The Frogs and Toads of North America: A comprehensive guide to their identification, behavior, and calls. 2009. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Paperback: 344 pages. Prices: $19.95 U.S. [Amazon: $13.57]. SUMMARY: This title is the first to feature all 101 species of frogs and toads found in the United States and Canada. Included in this book is an audio CD of their calls. The color photography highlight this book. Anyone interested in Anurans will want this book!
2. Jonsson, Lars. Lars Jonsson's Birds. 2008. Princeton University Press. Hardbound: 192 pages. Price: $55.00 U.S. [Amazon: $34.65]. SUMMARY: Jonsson is a well known Swedish bird artist. This book gives examples of his artwork from six different categories: early works, sketchbooks, watercolors, oil paintings, ornithological projects and lithographs.
3. Mass, Cliff. The Weather of the Pacific Northwest. 2008. University of Washington Press. Paperback: 281 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S. [Amazon: $19.77]. SUMMARY: "Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it." This best selling book (already in its 3rd printing) explains the weather of the Pacific Northwest. It's well illustrated and easy to understand. People living in the region will find this book useful.
4. Pranty, B. et al. ABA Checklist: Birds of the Continental United States and Canada, seventh edition. 2008. American Birding Association. Spiralbound: 203 pages. Price: $19.95 U.S. [ABA Sales]. SUMMARY: The ABA Checklist has been completely revised. The feature I like the best is the "Accounts of Species Marked Code 4, 5, and 6" ( the rarer species of the ABA area), which gives an annotated account of those species. Any birder in the ABA area will find this book useful!

The following two titles are by Ber van Perlo, published by Princeton University Press (2009), and are paperbacks at $29.95 U.S. each.

5. Birds of Eastern Africa. 301 pages. [Amazon: $21.86].
6. Birds of Southern Africa. 320 pages. [Amazon: $22.76].

SUMMARY: These two compact illustrated checklists are designed for novice birders in or visiting the given regions.