Beaks, Bones & Bird Songs

May 15, 2016

This thoughtful, well-researched title comprises seven beefy chapters on migration and navigation, flying skills, foraging behavior, survival strategies (including adaptations to widely varying weather and climate conditions), sensory abilities, and community life, and the effects of human influences. Lederer's (emeritus, biological sciences, California State Univ.; Amazing Birds: A Treasury of Facts and Trivia About the Avian World) review of world literature is impressive, but his compelling, wide-ranging text would be more valuable if cross-referenced to relevant citations in the extensive bibliography. Ninety-four solid black-and-white illustrations showcase many of the birds, habitats, and phenomena so thoroughly described in his narrative, such as the bar-tailed godwit, many of which fly nonstop for seven days from Alaska to New Zealand (6,600 miles), and bar-headed geese, which migrate above the Himalayas. Lederer does a superlative job of incorporating contemporary issues: climate change; urbanization; noise, light, and other pollutions; feral cat predation, glass collision, and other hazards and developing changes. This is an exceptional overview of the life, adaptations, and impressive skill sets of wild birds. VERDICT Highly recommended for all interested in natural history and the impact of humans on the natural world.--Henry T. Armistead, formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia

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