Bird Watch: A Survey of Planet Earth's Changing Ecosystems - Hardcover

Walters, Martin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226872262 ISBN 13: 9780226872261

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2011

Synopsis

From the tufted puffin in the Pacific Northwest to the hook-billed hermit in the Brazilian rainforest, birds suffer from the effects of climate change in every corner of the globe. Scientists have found declines of up to 90 percent in some troubled bird populations and unprecedented reproductive failure in others. The most recent studies suggest dire prospects: 1,227 avian species are threatened with extinction and an additional 838 near-threatened species are urgent priorities for conservation action.

As much an indispensable guide as a timely call to action, Bird Watch is an illustrated tour of these endangered birds and their habitats. Encyclopedic in scope, this book features all 1,227 species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, thoroughly detailing the environmental pressures and conservation prescriptions that hold their futures in the balance. After introducing readers to the main threats to birds and regions at high risk, Bird Watch presents a visually stunning and scientifically accurate flight over the major bird habitats, including tropical forests; temperate and northern forests; deserts; mountains; grasslands; and Mediterranean, marine, freshwater, and oceanic islands. The volume concludes with an overview of bird species by region—categorized by family within each region, and a guide to the world’s best birding sites. Produced in cooperation with BirdLife International, Bird Watch is a celebration of the beauty and diversity of birds and their habitats—and a warning of the dangers they face around the world.

About this title

About the Author

 

Martin Walters is a writer, editor, and naturalist based in Cambridge, England. He studied Zoology at the University of Oxford and spent several years as Biological Sciences Editor at Cambridge University Press, where he was responsible for developing the botany, ecology, and natural history lists. 

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0226872262
• ISBN 13: 9780226872261
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256