- Paperback: 226 pages
- Publisher: Mountain Press Publishing Company (Nov 1 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0878425535
- ISBN-13: 978-0878425532
- Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.3 x 0.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 386 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #490,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rrripp! It's Super Bird!, Oct 22 2008
By Douglas Standing - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Falcons of North America (Paperback)
Falcons of North America could stand out just for its astonishing color photographs of falcons in action and at rest done by Robb Palmer, Nick Dunlop and others. But, combined with the totally accessible and thorough chapters by Kate Davis, this book is even more of a must have for bird or raptor enthusiasts. The book seems like a great resource for wildlife education, appropriate for any level from college down through junior high school science. Geez, even if you don't read, there are over 200 beautiful color photos in the book.The text includes details about Falcon physiology and physical structure, and the major anatomical points are introduced in a way that shows how they give these birds the advantages needed to be masters of raptor survival. There are good sections that introduce wing design and flight techniques that make falcons some of the speediest flying animals. I also liked the discussion of falcon eyesight - their vision is vastly quicker and more acute than ours. Other chapters include behavior, nesting and breeding, migratory information, environmental challenges, and falconry.
More group and species-specific chapters go on to cover Kestrels, Merlins, Aplomado, Prairie and Peregrine Falcons, and the Gyrfalcon. There are even directions for assembling a nest box. Finally, a glossary, 6 pages of references, and an index round the book out and make it one of the best introductions to the falcons that I've seen. If you are at all interested in falcons or even birds or bird watching generally, you need this book. Falcons of North America is well worth a close look from the bird enthusiast, and it's very user-friendly.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Wow, what a book", Dec 15 2008
By Ken Mirman - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Falcons of North America (Paperback)
After checking the customer reviews and looking at the picture of the front cover of Falcons of North America, I expected a pleasant book with nice photos and adequate text; by the time I had finished reading the first chapter, I realized I had in my hands a truly extraordinary book.The photographs are stunning as well as informative and are well integrated into each chapter. The text is substantive, interesting and very well written. For example, the chapter on falcon anatomy and physiology is presented with great clarity and the chapter on falcon threats is remarkably current. The chapter titled Finale even notes the disconnect between young people and their natural world. The book ends with outstanding in depth discussions of six North American falcons: American Kestrel, Merlin, Aplomado, Prairie, Peregrine, and Gyrfalcon.
The organization, layout, presentation, and editing are of the highest quality. Kate Davis's knowledge and enthusiasm for falcons is evident with the first two sentences in the Introduction as she describes a falcon on the hunt: "There is nothing like it. Nothing on earth."
As I finished the book, I said to myself, "Wow, what a book!" Read it; you will love it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb Photographs of Falcons with Equally Superb -- or Superior -- Text, Oct 29 2009
By Paul M. Roberts - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Falcons of North America (Paperback)
The spectacular photos of falcons in this small (6 x 9), reasonably priced book, are worth its price alone. The 200+ photos, including many dramatic flight shots, are primarily by Rob Palmer and Nick Dunlop, and simply some of the most spectacular - and unusual - hawk photos I have ever seen. The photos are beautifully printed in good size on glossy stock. As someone who has purchased many "coffee table" books with raptor photographs, Falcons of North America sets a new standard for raptor photography and reproduction.When I started reading Falcons, I found the prose equal -- or superior -- to the photography. That might seem outlandish when you first see the photos, but once you start reading, you'll understand what I mean. This book is a gem, finely cut and beautifully polished. Well organized, written with elegance, concision, clarity and contagious enthusiasm, it is among the most insightful and informative books on raptors for the lay reader I've seen.
It is not a field guide, but a brief introduction. Kate Davis, a falconer who runs a raptor rehab and education center in Missoula, Montana, devotes the first 150 pages to describing falcons in general, focusing on morphology and physiology, behavior and feeding, nesting and breeding, and movements, and three chapters on falcons and people, including threats and conservation status. She then devotes 8 pages each (half of which are photographs) to an overview of our six falcon species.
The six topical chapters are beautifully crafted and illustrated, incorporating timely new data from the recent technical literature. Everything is written clearly and simply for the lay reader, yet packed with insight. Davis also provides illuminating "sidebars" on such topics as "Peregrines Catching Salmonflies," and simple but elegant, informative line drawings. The species accounts include large range maps based on Brian Wheeler's 2007 volumes.
If you are at all interested in hawks, I encourage you to buy this book. I don't think you'll regret it.
Falcons of North America
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