Simon and Schuster's Guide to Birds

With more than 500 full-color photographs and illustrations, Simon & Schuster's Guide to Birds is a stunning, thorough, easy-to-use reference to 424 species of birds from around the world. General information about the evolution, physiology, and traits of these unique animals provides a fascinating introduction to the encyclopedic listing of individual species. Each entry includes the classification, physical characteristics, habitat, and current distribution of the bird, along with insights into its life and habits. Photographs and black-and-white drawings ensure accurate identification in the field. Concise and informative, this is the ideal guide for the backyard bird watcher as well as the expert ornithologist.

BIRDS OF THE WORLD

1 ACANTHIS FLAMMEA
Common Redpoll

Classification Order Passeriformes, Family Fringillidae.

Characteristics About 12.5 cm long (5"). The upper parts have a grayish-brown coloring streaked with black; the throat and upper part of the breast are pink in the male; the sides are yellowish pink with black streaks; the belly is whitish; the forehead and top of the head are red or crimson, and on the head itself there is a brighter red marking. There are black markings above and beneath the beak.

Habitat Northern forests, especially birch, conifers (or with alder, willows and junipers); mountainous regions, tundra

Distribution Northern Europe, northern Asia and North America. Sometimes moves farther southward.

Life and habits Generally nests in conifers, birch, alder or willows. The nest is cup-shaped, made of brushwood, twigs, roots, lichens and down. Female lays 3-7 eggs (usually 4 or 5), and hatches them herself for 10-13 days. The nidicolous nestlings are fed by both parents and leave the nest after 11-14 days. The Redpoll lays 1 or 2 clutches each year. It feeds principally on seeds (especially birch and alder), but is also insectivorous.

2 ACCIPITER GENTILIS
Northern Goshawk

Classification Order Falconiformes, Family Accipitridae.

Characteristics About 48-58 cm. long (19-23"), resembling a large Sparrow Hawk. The male is smaller than the female. The adults have a dark ash-brown coloring in the upper parts, while the lower parts are whitish and closely barred with dark markings. The upper parts of the young are paler, tending to reddish, and the lower parts are tawny, with large dark brown markings.

Habitat Lowland and mountain forests and woods, interspersed with open spaces.

Distribution Europe, palaearctic Asia, North America.

Life and habits Nests in trees. Lays 1-5 eggs (more commonly 2 or 3) at intervals of 3 days. Incubation falls largely to the female, who is fed by the male during this period, and lasts 36-41 days. The nestlings develop their feathers within 18-38 days after being born. At about 40 days they leave the nest and at about 45 days will make their first flight, becoming fairly independent at about 70 days. The Goshawk is a fearsome woodland hunter, pursuing its prey through trees, and often flying very low and swiftly, showing great agility. It hunts birds, particularly crows, pigeons, thrushes, pheasants and partridges, and members of the Tetraonidae, as well as mammals (hares and mice), lizards and insects. It eats its prey on the ground.

3 ACCIPITER NISUS
Eurasian Sparrow Hawk

Classification Order Falconiformes, Family Accipitridae.

Characteristics About 27-37 cm long (11-15"). The female, which is larger than the male, has dark-colored upper parts and whitish lower parts finely barred with dark brown markings. The male is dark (blackboard- or slate-gray) in the upper parts and barred reddish lower parts. In the young the upper parts are brown with reddish-edged feathers, and the lower parts have broader bars.

Habitat Lowland and mountain woods and forests interspersed with open spaces.

Distribution Europe, palaearctic Asia, northwest Africa.

Life and habits Lays just one clutch of 4 or 5 eggs (sometimes 2, 6 or 7), in a nest made of brushwood, branches, vegetable matter, et cetera, and built in trees, preferably coniferous woods. The eggs are laid at intervals of 2-4 days. The incubation, which is the task of the female alone, starts when the second or third egg is laid and lasts 35-42 days. The male feeds the female during the incubation period. The young develop their feathers within 13-28 days and are ready for their first flight after 32 days, but continue to depend on their parents for a further 27 days, approximately. The Sparrow Hawk hunts by flying low along the edge of woodland above the undergrowth, catching mainly birds and their nestlings, as well as small mammals and insects.

4 ACROCEPHALUS ARUNDINACEUS
Great Reed Warbler

Classification Order Passeriformes, Family Sylviidae.

Characteristics About 19.5 cm. long (7") the largest of the European marsh or reed warblers. The beak is longer and broader than in other species of European warbler, and there is a conspicuous eyebrow. The plumage is dark chestnut brown in the upper parts and paler in the lower.

Habitat Marshlands, canebrakes, by rivers and lakes.

Distribution Europe, Africa and Asia.

Life and habits Nests among reeds, building a nest made of interwoven vegetable matter and supported by the reeds themselves. There is a single clutch, usually of 4-6 eggs (rarely 3), which are incubated for a period of 14-15 days by both parents. The nestlings are reared by both parents and remain for about 12 days in the nest. The Great Reed Warbler emits a song that ornithologist G. Mountfort defines as "harsh and prolonged" -- a wide range of notes that sound like karra-karra, krik-krik, gurk-gurk-gurk. It feeds mainly on various insects and invertebrates. A pair has been observed in Hungary feeding its young with small fish.

5 ACROCEPHALUS SCHOENOBAENUS
Sedge Warbler

Classification Order Passeriformes, Family Sylviidae.

Characteristics About 12.5 cm. long (5"), with striking cream-colored eyebrows. The coloring is dark brownish, with several bars in the upper parts; the rump is tawny, and the lower parts are paler. Young individuals have a more yellowish coloring with a few markings at the top of the breast and on the throat.

Habitat Wetlands, canebrakes, low vegetation with scrub.

Distribution Europe, Asia and Africa.

Life and habits Nests among reeds or in low vegetation. Lays a single clutch consisting of 3-8 eggs (usually 5 or 6). Incubation is the responsibility largely of the female, for 13 or 14 days. The nidicolous nestlings are reared by both parents and remain in the nest for 10-12 days. The Sedge Warbler feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

6 AEGITHALOS CAUDATUS
Long-tailed Tit

Classification Order Passeriformes, Family Paridae.

Characteristics About 14 cm. long (6"). The adults have a white head, neck and lower parts (of the numerous subspecies A. c. caudatus has a completely white head, whereas A. c. rosaceus has a broad black eyebrow). The back is usually grayish black, the rump reddish, and the tail long and tapering. In young individuals the sides of the head and nape of the neck are brownish, and the back is brown. Flight is undulating and irregular.

Habitat Woodlands, parks and gardens.

Distribution Europe and Asia.

Life and habits It builds a nest typically in the fork of a tree or in bushes. Both the male and female help to build it. The resulting nest is oval shaped, made of mosses, lichens and vegetable matter, with an opening in the upper part. The pair may take up to three weeks to build it. In it 5-16 eggs (usually 8-12) are laid and incubated mainly by the female, who is fed by the male, for 12-14 days. The nidicolous nestlings leave the nest after 14-18 days; the Long-tailed Tit makes erratic movements, sometimes in groups of fifty-or-so individuals. It feeds on insects, larvae, spiders and other invertebrates.

7 AEGYPIUS MONACHUS
Cinereous Vulture

Classification Order Falconiformes, Family Accipitridae.

Characteristics About 105 cm. long (40"), it has a uniform dark coloring tending to dark brown. The head and neck have bluish-gray naked skin with blackish down on the head and a collar of feathers round the neck. Immature birds have the head covered with thick black down. In flight it looks impressively large, with a slightly wedge-shaped tail.

Habitat