A Seemingly Forgotten Book Every Serious Birder Will Be Absolutely Delighted To Own

On a cold night this past January here in Wisconsin, I was browsing the books at a local Goodwill store when I happened upon a book I did not recognize entitled BIRDS OF THE WORLD. I opened the cover and checked the copyright date: 1961...This format, 1983. I thought that seems a bit out of date but I began leafing through the book out of curiosity. I was immediately enamored of the book because of the all the really beautiful illustrations (by Arthur Singer)! I am one who is always in the market to learn, and birds are one of the great loves of my life, so a book about birds of the world held great appeal. I decided to purchase it and have never looked back. What a great decision! Already it has provided me with a lot of wonderful times reading and enjoying the beautiful drawings. It is reminiscent of my childhood when I used to peruse the SONG AND GARDEN BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA (National Geographic, 1964) in a state of rapture over the beautiful photographs of birds (e.g. Red-faced Warbler, which I was subsequently thrilled to finally see in 1988). I will not be able to come close to doing justice to these drawings with these smartphone photos, but let me attempt to give you a feel for this terrific bird book.

Cover

Title page

A potpourri of colorful interesting birds on facing pages!

Hummingbirds!

Hummingbird distribution map

Toucans

Trogons!

It is fun to just randomly browse through the text as you will learn things right and left. On occassion the bird names are out of date e.g. North American Brown Creeper is called Tree Creeper, but don't let this detract from an extraordinary book!

I want to insert several reviews that I found - they are helpful in conveying how cool this book really is:

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.

Inspirational, invaluable, still great today
By goosefish
Twenty years ago, when I was a young boy, I refused to leave a bookstore until this book was bought for me. To this day, I still enjoy referring to it. In the intervening years, I've traveled the world watching birds. I've studied them at the highest levels. And yet I continue to find intriguing facts in this book which are new to me. I continue to be awed by the beauty of birds I've not yet seen, and may never see.

The illustrations by Singer can quickly transport the reader emotionally. In contrast with his illustrations for the Golden Field Guide to Birds of North America, these paintings are far more artistic. In most cases, the species chosen to represent families are just right: exemplary, yet extraordinary. There are only a few families missing the ideal illustration, e.g. the herons have no Goliath Heron, the cuckoos have no Chestnut Malkoha. One look at the toucans, the hummingbirds, the birds of paradise... and you wonder how anyone could dare harm a feather on these birds.

Austin's text is remarkably current, despite being 20+ years old. His ornithology is first rate. Sources cited are exhaustive, and include Mayr, Lorenz, and Charles Sibley, whose later works include the landmark "Phylogeny" and "Taxonomy" tomes. The chart of species diversity through time... who would have thought that there were once as many species of Gruiformes as there are now of Passeriformes? What drove the Diatryma group to extinction 30 million years ago? -or the section on hummingbirds... it's amazing to think that some species are known to science thanks only to the 19th century millenary trade, which preserved now-extinct hummingbirds as brooches. -Little morphological facts like the Touraco's water-soluble copper-based pigment, turacin... they can stimulate a thousand more questions. When most bird colors are due to refraction, why does this group rely on real pigments?

I glanced at the dust cover's list price. Back in 1984, $26.95 was a significant sum. In today's dollars, that would be about $53 according to Fed Reserve CPI stats. I'd say the book is worth even more. If only all children grew up with a book like this at home, the world would have no trouble conserving nature; everyone would be on the same page.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Excellent book with lots of beautiful drawings.
By twopurringcats
This book is loaded with color pictures of numerous birds from around the world..I found pictures of birds in this book that I couldn't find in my other bird books (I have many). Though it's an older book,it's a useful addition to my bird reference library. Definitely worth buying if you like pictorial bird books.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
AUSTIN: BIRDS OF THE WOLD
By Dr. Larry W. REED
THIS VOLUME STILL STANDS AS ONE OF THE GREAT DEFINITIVE WORKS ON BIRDS. EVEN THOUGH OUT OF PRINT FOR MANY YEARS, I WAS HAPPY TO FIND THE BOOK ON AMAZON. I HAPPENED TO BE A FRIEND OF DR AUSTIN AND AM GLAD NOW TO ADD HIS WORK TO MY COLLECTION.

"Coming home to a place he'd never been before"

This line from a John Denver song seems appropriate for a post on pictures from nature that illustrate the transcendental beauty of the natural world. Enjoy!



Wenkchemna Peaks Reflected in Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
Adam Jones



Colorful Way
Philippe Sainte-Laudy



Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Feeding on Flower
Adam Jones


A Loon Chick Rides Piggy-Back on its Parent
Michael S. Quinton




A Channel Billed Toucan, Ramphastos Vitellinus, Eating Fruit
George Grall




Mountain Lion and an Eight-Week-Old Kitten





Swift River with Aspen and Maple Trees in the White Mountains, New Hampshire
Darrell Gulin




Beach and Palm Trees, Oahu, HI
Bill Romerhaus




Dawn Over Mountains and Lago Pehoe in Torres Del Paine National Park
Beth Wald




A Male Magellanic Woodpecker, Torres Del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile
Marco Simoni




Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus Mocinno), Costa Rica
Gregory Basco


Tropical Underwater-Ocean




Sand Verbena and Dune Primrose Wildflowers at Sunset, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
Christopher ...




Barn Owl
Andy Harmer




California, Sequoia National Park, General Sherman Tree, USA
Michele Falzone




Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock, Crescent Beach, Ecola State Park, Oregon, USA
Jamie & Judy...




Iguazu Waterfalls and Rainbow
Joseph Sohm

Strikingly Beautiful Birds - Cardinals

It seems appropriate to start a post on this special and beloved bird with a poem. Here is the first stanza of a poem by William Davis Gallagher written in the 19th century.

The Cardinal Bird

A day and then a week passed by:
  The redbird hanging from the sill
Sang not; and all were wondering why
It was so still—
When one bright morning, loud and clear,
Its whistle smote my drowsy ear,
Ten times repeated, till the sound
Filled every echoing niche around;
And all things earliest loved by me,—
The bird, the brook, the flower, the tree,—
Came back again, as thus I heard
    The cardinal bird.

- See more at: http://allpoetry.com/The-Cardinal-Bird#sthash.4xnbsY2t.dpuf

Now some beautiful pictures of Cardinals - keep the poem in the back of your mind as you view these images beginning with Audubon and the Northern Cardinal of North America.


Audubon: Cardinal
John James Audubon






Female Northern Cardinal in Snowy Pine Tree
Adam Jones







Male Cardinal With Wings Spread
Wendy Kaveney





Red Crested Cardinal
F.w. Frohawk





Dominican Cardinal
F.w. Frohawk





Green Cardinal
F.w. Frohawk





Yellow Billed Cardinal
F.w. Frohawk







Northern Cardinal Female on Snowy Ground
Tom Vezo/Minden...





A Touch of Red
Kevin Daniel







Male Northern Cardinal among Crabapple Blossoms
Adam Jones

Birding Hotspots - Baxter's Hollow, Wisconsin

I recently got a newsletter from The Nature Conservancy in the mail called Wisconsin Update where they mentioned that they had added two parcels of land totaling 30 acres, to the Baxter's Hollow Preserve, bringing the total acreage protected at this "Baraboo Hills gem" to 5,615 acres (I found out later that this is the largest TNC holding in Wisconsin). When I saw this, I thought "Great!" because I love Baxter's Hollow. Right then and there I decided to write this post because if you are a birder, and you are in the neighborhood, especially in June, you should definitely head there (see maps shown below).

I would say the "glamour" bird to find at Baxter's Hollow is the Worm Eating Warbler. It is found, it seems like every year in late May-June in the area around the bridge over Otter Creek. Listen for the song (a trill), the bird is hard to see but is often heard. Two other notable species found in June (92 species of birds have been found breeding at Baxter's Hollow) are the Kentucky Warbler (heard loudly calling in the woods along with Acadian Flycatcher (explosive "peet-sah call)) and the Hooded Warbler. I personally enjoy hearing and seeing the pretty reliable and very beautiful Blue Winged Warbler (♫ Bee-buzz ♫) and the Lousiana Waterthrush (found singing along Otter Creek. Needless to say, brush up on your songs before you go - I recommend learning the Canada Warbler especially. Definitely keep your eyes out for the gorgeous Scarlet Tanager, I have seen them along the creek!

Enjoy your birding trip to this unique southern Wisconsin birding hotspot!

Make a virtual visit to Baxter's Hollow now:

YouTube video footage taken in June, 2012 at Baxter's Hollow Nature Preserve

For more information:

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources - Baxter's Hollow

Here is a birding report from WisBirdNet:

5/21/14 Baxter's Hollow (near Sauk City)

Enjoyed the serenity of this amazing birding venue from 7 am - 9 am,
noting:

- 2 VEERY (calling and singing)

- 1 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO (singing)

Best of the rest:

- 3 Acadian Flycatcher (heard vocalizing with typical "pi-ZZA"

- 1 Tennessee Warbler (heard singing)

- 1 N. Waterthrush (heard singing)

- 1 Scarlet Tanager (heard calling….not singing)

A Male Worm-Eating Warbler Singing a Territorial Song

 

Portrait of a Hooded Warbler

A Male Scarlet Tanager

Male Scarlet Tanager Video

Baxter's Hollow Regional Map

Baxter's Hollow Map

Baxter's Hollow State Natural Area

Directions

• Take US Hwy 12 northwest of Sauk City, WI for 7.5 miles to intersection with County Hwy C (across from Badger Army Ammunition Plant).
• Turn left (west) on County C and travel 1.5 miles to intersection with Stones Pocket Road.
• Turn right (north) on Stones Pocket; drive 1.25 miles where you will enter the preserve.
• Continue north and park at one of the designated parking areas along the road.

Book Review - Rare Birds of North America

Rare Birds of North America by Steven N. G. Howell

Right about the time I received a review copy of this book from Princeton University Press, someone on the Wisconsin Bird Net listserv thought they might have seen a vagrant bird called a Jackdaw. I looked it up in the book, and sure enough it was there. Now in this case, the person had some idea of what the vagrant could be, so they could have used the Internet to find information. But what if you see a strange bird you think is a vagrant, and have no idea what it could be? That is where this book becomes a "must-have" for the library of serious birders. Here is a resource that you can turn to in that situation!

First of all, the book is beautifully illustrated with 275 color plates by Ian Lewington. Below you can see the illustrations for the Bahama Woodstar, that show the male, female, and juvenile birds along with a "duller" plumage and a closeup of the tail. All of course go towards helping you identify your mystery bird.

Bahama Woodstar illustrations - page 271 Rare Birds of North America

In addition to the illustrations, the book has a Field Identification section of text to aid in your identification. Each species also has sections discussing the occurrence(s) of the birds both in time and geographically along with text on Habitat and Behavior. 

The book covers 262 species from the Old World, the New World tropics, and the world's oceans. It has birds that have only been seen once, so it is a very thorough guide to the vagrants of North America.

In addition to the identification of vagrants, which forms the heart and soul of the book, there is an interesting educational component to the book. One aspect of this is a discussion as to the 'why' of vagrancy. In summary, these theories are:

1. Drift
2. Misorientation
3. Overshooting
4. Dispersal
5. Association (with other birds of a closely related species)
6. Disorientation
7. False Vagrancy (they occur more frequently than we know)

There are some excellent maps included that help explain some of the theories - very nice.

And to continue your education on the topic of vagrancy there is a seventeen page section, complete with data laden tables, entitled Where Do North American Vagrants come From?

I personally think this book fills a much needed niche. A lot of filed guides have 'Accidental' species and that is what we have relied on in the past for identification of these birds. But now there is a comprehensive treatise on vagrants in North America and I recommend it for your library.

Book Review - The Warbler Guide

The Warbler Guide by Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle

When I was a young birdwatcher growing up in Wisconsin in the 1960s, I used to sit and look through this book from National Geographic called THE SONG AND GARDEN BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. One bird that had a full page picture was the Red-faced Warbler. I was quite taken with this colorful bird, and longed to visit the western US so that I could see one (This finally came true for me in May, 1988 on a trip to SE Arizona). This picture also made me enamored of warblers in general. So when I first learned of the existence of this book, I thought "Wow, a 500+ page book on nothing but warblers! What do we have here." Warblers are a fun family, because they are beautiful, are often a challenge to identify. So I asked myself the following question: "How can this book help me better identify and enjoy warblers?" This blog post seeks to evaluate this book around that question.

A quick listing of what is in this book:

Covers all 56 species of warblers in the United States and Canada

Visual quick finders help you identify warblers from any angle

Song and call finders make identification easy using a few simple questions

Uses sonograms to teach a new system of song identification that makes it easier to understand and hear differences between similar species

Detailed species accounts show multiple views with diagnostic points, direct comparisons of plumage and vocalizations with similar species, and complete aging and sexing descriptions

New aids to identification include song mnemonics and icons for undertail pattern, color impression, habitat, and behavior

Includes field exercises, flight shots, general identification strategies, and quizzes

My overarching impression of this book is that it contains an impressive amount of data (hats off to the authors for a stellar job of organization and compilation - it had to have been a "labor of love") including a lot of terrific photographs! I especially like the full page bird photos associated with each species sections and the pictures of birds from below. The full page photos are striking and beautiful. The pictures from below are a great addition because sometimes that is all you get and now you can take a shot at identification. I have focused on these two sets of photos but as I say there is a remarkable number of very good photos that will help any birder, beginning or advanced, identify these birds.

Figure 1. - Species Account page 1

Figure 2. - Species Account page 2 - Note maps and migration time spans
during Spring and Fall shown in lower right

Figure 3. - Species Account page 3 - Sonograms

Figure 4. - Sonogram close-up

Figure 5. - Supporting Chapter "What to Notice on a Warbler"

Another interesting aspect of the book is its treatment of songs. There is a section entitled "How to Listen to Warbler Songs" that outlines a system for learning and recognizing the songs of warblers. The authors state: "With careful study, this system of analyzing songs and calls will lead to a more confident identification of songs in the field'. Certainly I am all for this, and plan to work on this over the winter (and beyond) in expectation of the coming spring migration. 

They use sonograms (visual representations of the song - see Figures 3 and 4 above) and define a number of terms to describe the structure and organization of songs: Elements (each separate sound you hear), Phrases (groups of Elements e.g. the three Element Phrases of the Common Yellowthroat that often repeated three times) and Sections (a collection of the same sounding Phrases). The explanations in the book are much better because you can see the songs on the page, I only mention this a preface to my discussion of a song that I have struggled with - the Canada Warbler. On page 73 they talk about this song:

"Among eastern warblers, a short song with so many unique Sections is a diagnostic ID point for Canada Warbler" 

Interesting and helpful point that I plan to remember and use in the field!

A detail that I also really like are the maps and migration time spans for the Spring and Fall in wiht the species accounts. I have found bar graphs of time spans in a little checklist book "Wisconsin Birds" but this is the first time I have seen it with a species account. This migration info is great to have!

There is a supporting chapter called "What to Notice on a Warbler" that I found interesting. Right away they talked about a concept I had not thought about - Contrast. They talk about tonal contrast and color contrast and how this concept can be used to ID birds. This is a unique idea that I have not encountered before. This looks a good chapter to read and study during the winter.

If you're like me, you are always looking to learn things about birds and get better as a birder. I think this book will definitely help me to get better at identifying warblers and will also serve as a source of pleasure in looking a the beautiful photos (which I am want to do). It is a fine addition to any birdwatcher's library.

*******************

Audubon: Warbler, 1827-38

John James Audubon 

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Black & Yellow Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica Magnolia), Plate CXXIII, from 'The Birds of America'

John James Audubon

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Audubon: Warbler

John James Audubon

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Audubon: Warbler

John James Audubon

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Bay Breasted Wood-Warbler

John James Audubon

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Audubon: Warbler, 1827-38

John James Audubon

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