This is the 3rd of 12 volumes in a series of handbooks on the world of birds. It provides coverage of birds, from New World vultures to guineafowl. The introductory chapter deals with such diverse aspects as evolutionary history, anatomy, physiology, migration and systematics. Each chapter covers a different family, headed by a summary box. Photographs illustrate more unusual features, such as courtship behaviour, thermoregulation or feeding techniques. Each chapter is subdivided into sections: systematics; morphological aspects; habitat; general habits; voice; food and feeding; breeding; movements; relationship with man; status and conservation; and general bibliography. The species account lists names in French, German and Spanish, in addition to scientific and English names. Each species has its own distribution map indicating resident, breeding and non-breeding ranges; its official status, according to BirdLife International; and the threats facing each species.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 2: New World Vultures to Guineafowl
Oct 23 2009
By Ernesto Alvarado Reyes
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Handbook of the Birds of the World is a superb work that illustrates most of the species of Birds in the World (I infer there are some species not yet described that have not been treated by this series).
This volume includes beautiful photographs and a taxonomic revision of all the species of the taxa included.
At the time this work was produced, it was not known that the Galliformes are in fact more basal than many of the groups treated in the first volume, so the overall phylogenetic order is outdated. However, the species and family accounts are still useful and there is no other recent revision of these groups that is so complete.
It cannot be used as a field guide due to its size, but it would be an excellent bookshelf resource for any keen birdwatcher interested in the world's avifauna.
If any one fancies raptors this is the book for him/her.
Illustrations are of outstanding quality.
This volume includes beautiful photographs and a taxonomic revision of all the species of the taxa included.
At the time this work was produced, it was not known that the Galliformes are in fact more basal than many of the groups treated in the first volume, so the overall phylogenetic order is outdated. However, the species and family accounts are still useful and there is no other recent revision of these groups that is so complete.
It cannot be used as a field guide due to its size, but it would be an excellent bookshelf resource for any keen birdwatcher interested in the world's avifauna.
If any one fancies raptors this is the book for him/her.
Illustrations are of outstanding quality.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent coverage of disgusting birds
July 25 2012
By Ashtar Command
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Seriously, you didn't *really* expect me to stop reviewing HBW volumes, did you now?
"The Handbook of the Birds of the World" (HBW for short) is a multi-volume encyclopedia describing and illustrating all 9000 extant species of bird. This is the third volume in this encyclopedia to end all encyclopedias. It covers the Opisthocomiformes, Gruiformes and Charadriiformes. Some of the birds covered are so common that they feel almost jaded, for instance the gulls. Others are exotic and somewhat bizarre. The hoatzin is a bird so unique that it has been placed in an order all by itself. Its chicks have claws on their wings (a bit like the fossil Ur-bird Archaeopteryx) and can swim, something the adult birds don't seem to master. We also get to know the sheathbills, who look a bit like a cross between pigeons and gulls. The sheathbills live on islands close to the Antarctic, and are "opportunistic feeders", to use the euphemistic expression. In plain English, they feed on everything: faeces, discarded placentae or umbilical cords from seal births, and they are even said to steal milk from seals by placing their beaks in between the suckling pups and their mother's mammary glands! I'm not sure if I even want to believe that...
The sheer volume of information contained in this gargantuan book is staggering, and so is its price. The HBW is really a reference work for libraries, and the text can be quite heavy for a general reader. However, these books contain excellent photos, all in color, of a wide variety of birds. Some of them are quite dramatic. This volume shows skuas attacking giant petrels, penguins and even sheep! The photos and color plates are the main reason why even an ordinary Joe might want to own some of the books in this series, but, alas, they are probably too expensive for the likes of you and me.
Still, HBW deserves five stars.
OK, what was that absolutely disgusting stuff about sheathbills, again?
"The Handbook of the Birds of the World" (HBW for short) is a multi-volume encyclopedia describing and illustrating all 9000 extant species of bird. This is the third volume in this encyclopedia to end all encyclopedias. It covers the Opisthocomiformes, Gruiformes and Charadriiformes. Some of the birds covered are so common that they feel almost jaded, for instance the gulls. Others are exotic and somewhat bizarre. The hoatzin is a bird so unique that it has been placed in an order all by itself. Its chicks have claws on their wings (a bit like the fossil Ur-bird Archaeopteryx) and can swim, something the adult birds don't seem to master. We also get to know the sheathbills, who look a bit like a cross between pigeons and gulls. The sheathbills live on islands close to the Antarctic, and are "opportunistic feeders", to use the euphemistic expression. In plain English, they feed on everything: faeces, discarded placentae or umbilical cords from seal births, and they are even said to steal milk from seals by placing their beaks in between the suckling pups and their mother's mammary glands! I'm not sure if I even want to believe that...
The sheer volume of information contained in this gargantuan book is staggering, and so is its price. The HBW is really a reference work for libraries, and the text can be quite heavy for a general reader. However, these books contain excellent photos, all in color, of a wide variety of birds. Some of them are quite dramatic. This volume shows skuas attacking giant petrels, penguins and even sheep! The photos and color plates are the main reason why even an ordinary Joe might want to own some of the books in this series, but, alas, they are probably too expensive for the likes of you and me.
Still, HBW deserves five stars.
OK, what was that absolutely disgusting stuff about sheathbills, again?
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5.0 out of 5 stars
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