Overview

The ultimate illustrated, authoritative reference to the avian world. Written by a highly regarded ornithologist and natural history expert and sumptuously illustrated throughout with photographs and illustrations, The World of Birds is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to every aspect of bird life and a concise survey of the world's orders and families. Jonathan Elphick begins by defining the distinguishing features of birds before going on to describe their evolution since the age of the dinosaurs. With the aid of fact boxes and clear photographs, he then explores in greater detail each of the significant elements of bird life. Topics include: bird biology including anatomy, walking and swimming, plumage, calls and songs flight techniques and styles food and feeding bird lifestyles and social relationships breeding, growth and development bird geography and habitats the mysteries of migration. He also considers human attitudes towards birds through the ages. The book contains a comprehensive survey of the world's birds (including extinct species), detailing every one of the 29 orders and each of the approximately 200 families. Reflecting the latest classification changes to the Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, it explains how birds are classified and provides an outline of the system of classification. With special photography from award-winning wildlife photographer David Tipling, this book is a unique insight into the world of birds and essential reading for all ornithologists, bird watchers and natural history enthusiasts.

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9781770853041

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Reviews

[Review of UK edition: ] The book reminds me how even the most familiar birds are full of surprises.... Half the book's 600-odd pages are taken up with biological accounts of the 200 or so families of living birds--each a masterpiece of focused scientific research, condensed natural-history writing and beautiful photos. ... Perusing the chapters on feathers, physiology, nests and anatomy could be a life-changing experience.... Beautiful, inspiring and concise... While some may feel that a fat, fact-packed book full of dazzling images is a little old-fashioned, others will love leafing through it and letting the sheer splendour of birds...guide their reading. That and the enthusiasm of any small would-be biologist who just happens to be sitting on their knee.--Adrian Barnett New Scientist (08/26/2014)

Author Information

Jonathan Elphick, FZS, FLS, is a wildlife writer, editor, consultant, lecturer and broadcaster specializing in ornithology. During a career spanning almost 40 years, he has worked on many books, including spending five years as researcher on the acclaimed bestseller Birds Britannica. He has also written a variety of titles, such as the award-winning Birdwatcher's Handbook, and was a contributing editor on Natural History Museum Atlas of Bird Migration. He lives in Harringey, London.

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