The World of Birds

by Jonathan Elphick

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770853041
Publisher:	Firefly Books, Limited
Publication date:	09/11/2014
Pages:	608
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 11.30(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

Contents

INTRODUCTION
1 EARLY BIRDS
2 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
3 FLIGHT
4 FOOD AND FEEDING
5 BIRD SOCIETY AND POPULATIONS
6 BREEDING
7 WHERE DO BIRDS LIVE?
8 MIGRATION
9 BIRDS AND HUMANS
10 THE BIRD FAMILIES

Related families are grouped into orders, as follows:
Tinamiformes
Struthioniformes
Rheiformes
Casuariiformes
Apterygiformes
Galliformes
Anseriformes
Sphenisciformes
Gaviiformes
Procellariiformes
Podicipediformes
Phoenicopteriformes
Ciconiiformes
Pelecaniformes
Falconiformes
Gruiformes
Charadriiformes
Pteroclidiformes
Columbiformes
Psittaciformes
Opisthocomiformes
Cuculiformes
Strigiformes
Caprimulgiformes
Apodiformes
Coliiformes
Trogoniformes
Coraciiformes
Bucerotiformes
Piciformes
Galbuliformes
Passeriformes

Glossary
Appendix
Further information
Index
Picture credits
Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

The first bird I can remember having really noticed was a Common Pochard drake on a small lake. This was at the age of about six in North Wales, where I had the good fortune to be born and raised. The most recent, 62 years later, that had me leaping up from the desk to grab binoculars and run downstairs and into the garden, was an Osprey flying over the house where I now live, next to the bird-rich Exe Estuary in beautiful Devon. In between, birds have delighted, inspired and fascinated me on a daily basis. Although I consider myself an all-round naturalist, at least in my interest if not my detailed knowledge, birds have always held my main attention. It is true for many others too, not least zoologists, for birds have figured hugely in scientific research. Birds are so noticeable, since they are largely active by day and live virtually everywhere, we admire their mastery of flight or their beautiful plumage, and regard the songs and calls of many species as the most beautiful or remarkable of all natural sounds. As well as providing ornithologists such excellent subjects for research, they give delight to birders and all who love nature, and inspire writers, poets, artists and photographers. Today, their importance as a crucial part of all ecosystems, and as indicators of the damage we are wreaking on their - and our - environment, is established beyond question, but is, regrettably, all too often unheeded by politicians and other decision makers. If, as well as providing information, this book helps the reader to feel passionate about the birds with which we share the world, and to do something to help them, then I will be doubly pleased. Since our earliest prehistoric encounters with these remarkable creatures, they have been deeply enmeshed in our collective consciousness, embedded in so many myths, proverbs and parts of speech. A world devoid of birds would be an immensely poorer place.

No single work, even one of many volumes, can be comprehensive; ornithology is such a vast subject today, with so many advances in the last few decades alone. In this book my aim is to provide a succinct and accessible guide to many of the most important aspects of bird biology, combined with an account of everyone of the almost 200 families of birds alive today.

The book is clearly structured, with two major sections. The first, embracing Chapters 1 to 9, begins at the beginning, with a chapter describing the evolution of birds, then leads on to chapters dealing in turn with bird anatomy, physiology, flight, food and feeding, social life and population biology, biogeography and habitat and migration. It ends with an account of how we have interacted with birds, both negatively and positively, a theme that recurs in many of the pages in the second section. The information in the text is supported by over a thousand photographs, diagrams and maps. In addition, boxed text deals with a range of themes of particular interest.

The second section, Chapter 10, is an account of everyone of the 32 orders and 195 families of birds. A few words about scientific classification are apposite here, for those unfamiliar with how it works. Whether applied to birds or to any other living organisms, it uses the same hierarchical arrangement of ranks. In all cases the scientific names are either in Latin or the Latinised form of words derived from Greek or other languages, often describing some distinctive feature or the place where the bird lives, or celebrating the name of a person. This means that unlike common names, which vary from one language to another, the scientific names are truly internationaL The basic unit of classification is the species.

This is given a binomial name consisting of two parts, as originally proposed in the 18th century by the Swedish naturalist Linnaeus. It is always printed in italics. The first part, always given an initial capital, is the generic name. This is the name of the genus — the group of similar, closely related species to which the species belongs (in some cases a genus may contain only a Single particularly distinctive species). The second part, always in lower case type, is the specific name; although this may be the same for many species (for instance, alba, white, minor, smaller, or americana, from America) the combination of generic and specific names is unique. Similar genera of birds are gathered together into families, whose names end in -idae, similar families into orders, with names ending in -iformes. All the orders combined form the Class Aves, the birds. In addition to this basic scheme, species may be divided into subspecies, more informally called races, which are given a third name, or trinomiaL There are other, intermediate, rankings too, such as superfamilies and subclasses. The two used most in this book are tribes (ending in -ini), and subfamilies (ending in -inae).

Just as the birds have evolved since they first appeared more than 150 million years ago, and continue to evolve today, our classification system itself is subject to a process of evolution. In contrast to some other groups of animals, birds have not left a rich fossil record. Nevertheless, new fossils are being discovered, and through many other studies more data is being continually added. In addition, similar features that initially suggested relationships may turn out to be the result of convergent evolution, in which two unrelated groups have evolved similarities due to adopting similar lifestyles. Most profound in its effect on how birds are classified have been the revolutionary techniques of DNA analysis in the past couple of decades. This has led to often surprising reassessments of relationships, including the realisation that some species in a family may not belong there but are better placed in a different family. It also has an impact on whether a subspecies should be promoted to species rank or a species demoted to subspecies level, although there is a degree of subjectivity involved in such decisions between the classifiers known as 'lumpers' and those dubbed 'splitters'.

Because taxonomists - the scientists who classify organisms - do not always agree about the interpretation of the data, there is no single definitive list of the world's bird species or how they should be arranged into families, and families into orders. Although a consensus is emerging in many cases, in others there is still considerable disagreement about the wisdom of following some proposals. As a result, my policy in this book, reflecting that of the ornithologists in the Bird Group of the Natural History Museum, is to adopt a conservative approach, and (apart from a few exceptions) to follow the arrangement set out in the third edition of The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World (see Further Information, p. 589, for details). At the same time, I have frequently referred to major changes that have been accepted by many authorities and that are likely to stand the test of time. As for the common names of species, I have generally followed those used in Howard and Moore, third edition, but in a few cases I have used alternatives that I regarded as preferable. In this book, the common names always have initial capitals. I have also included the common names used in North America, where these differ from those we generally use in Britain.

The accounts in Chapter 10 dealing with the orders and families summarise their salient features and in many cases, also include brief mention of their relationships to other birds. The family accounts, which vary in length according to the size and diversity of the family, detail the appearance, behaviour and lifestyle of its members (or member in the case of families containing just a single species), and where appropriate, include a summary of distinct subgroups within it. Each family text has a box containing key facts under standardised headings. The species whose names are listed under 'Conservation' are many of those identified by BirdLife International as experiencing various levels of threat. Spa

Editorial Reviews

10/06/2014
This encyclopedic, coffee-table book is a complete resource for anyone interested in birds. It examines birds from multiple angles, including the evolution of birds, their anatomy, physiology, flight, food, feeding, social life, habitat and migration. There's an account of each of the 32 orders and 195 families of birds worldwide and over a thousand stunning, up-close images by wildlife photographer David Tipling, whose compelling images capture the unique coloring and expressive faces of the bird species discussed. We see the Blue Grouse performing a courtship display, the Northern Hawk Owl flying inches above the snow in Finland and the Osprey in flight over Scotland, a trout in its talons. It's the photographs that will keep readers turning pages; the prose is dense makes the book more useful as a reference book for researching individual birds than as a bedside reading companion. Elphick devotes one chapter to bird and human interaction, describing the effects on birds of habitat destruction, hunting and trapping and the introduction of non-native animals and plants. The photographs accompanying this chapter are sobering, a reminder of the horrific imprint man often leaves on his natural environment. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

[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.

New Scientist - Adrian Barnett

The World of Birds is an up-to-date compendium of ornithological information, attractively presented and not unreasonably priced. Highly recommended.

Wildlife Afield, Biodiversity Centre for Wildlife Studies - Chris Siddle

(starred review) Handsome photographs, paintings, and drawings illustrate a wealth of information about birds: their origins, biology, populations, habitats, human relationships, and bird families. The essays here are both succinct and highly descriptive. Although information and theories about the origin of birds are ever increasing, the author provides a fine overview of the current science. He illustrates with words and images the special characteristics and variations of anatomy and the unique physiology that occur among birds, especially those that enable them to fly and maneuver in air. Behaviors of all sorts are described, and differences in foods and feeding strategies, society and reproduction, habitats and their importance, and the wonders of migration, especially over long distances, are all explained in very accessible language. Special attention is paid to the threats of pollution and habitat loss and disruption. The second half of the book is devoted to the grouping of the more than 10,000 bird species into related families and then into 32 orders. Special characteristics of each of these orders are discussed, with examples from some of the species within the families making up that order. There are summary tables indicating the number of genera and species within the order; the distinctions in size, habitat, and global range; social behavior; common characteristics; and the conservation status of particular members of the order. Special attention is paid to conservation status of species within each group. Each family is also discussed in an essay. The glossary aids in defining concepts and terms necessary for understanding the language used in discussing bird species and characteristics. Another welcome feature is the "Further Information" section, where suggested books, media, and online resources are listed for each chapter and in general. There is a detailed subject index and a longer one for "Bird Families and Names." The value-to-cost ratio makes this a worthy addition to the ornithology collection in most libraries.

Booklist - Linda Scarth

This volume, by the British wildlife writer Jonathan Elphick, is effectively a comprehensive introductory textbook of ornithology, written for a nonspecialist audience and lavishly illustrated with hundreds of stunning color photographs. Nine chapters (with excellent drawings supplementing the photographs) are devoted to bird biology, including the fossil record, anatomy and physiology, flight, feeding, breeding biology, social systems, migration, biogeography and, under the heading Birds and Humans, a comprehensive, heartrending overview of threats and conservation. The rest of the book (55 percent of text pages) describes all of the families of birds, using a traditional classification. Elphick often notes in the text that recent molecular studies support some very different relationships, such as the affinity of passeriforms, parrots, falcons, and seriemas, and acknowledges that some groups, such as Gruiformes and Pelecaniformes, are polyphyletic. For each chapter, a box summarizes the number of genera and species, size range, distribution and habitat, social and reproductive biology, food, voice, migration, and conservation status. The description of each family is often remarkably detailed, citing interesting information about many or most of the genera... As far as I can tell, the information throughout the book is highly accurate... The end-matter includes an excellent glossary, an appendix on Birdlife and IUCN Red-list threat categories for the more than 1200 species at risk of extinction, and a selection of books and other resources for the topic in each chapter... Well written, immensely informative, and truly beautiful, The World of Birds is an outstanding achievement. If you are looking for the ideal gift for the birder or the budding naturalist in your life, this publication will fit the bill.

Quarterly Review of Biology - Douglas J. Futuyma

The World of Birds might just be the single avian reference that you always wanted, or didn't know that you wanted. Almost half of its 600 or so lavishly-illustrated pages cover the most important aspects of bird biology in very accessible language. It is not, however, for the avian faint-of heart. Nineteen pages alone cover bird skeletons. Another 9 discuss feathers. The rest of the book describes each of the 195 existing bird families. Taxonomic interests come to the fore as new findings in DNA and molecular research stand poised to change what we thought about familial relationships. However, the sequence and groupings will be familiar to users of field guides. This is the perfect book for advanced high-school or college/university ornithology students, or those wishing to dive into the world of birds and are seeking more information than is found in field guides. Well-organized, it allows you to pick and choose according to your interests, and the over 1000 full-colour photos, maps and diagrams enhance the text and highlight topics.

Green Teacher - Alan Crook

This large and sumptuous volume sets out to showcase nothing less than the whole world of birds. This is of course a monumental task but this lavish book is up to the task. In its 608 pages it addresses all the most important aspects of birds' lives (and) an account of every one of the 32 orders and 195 families of birds. The book is greatly enhanced by the use of more than a thousand photographs, maps and diagrams.... Almost every page contains a photograph, with some featuring as many as four. Their overall standard is remarkably high and there are some very special images indeed.... This book aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the world of birds for the general reader. In this, it succeeds admirably. It is a highly readable and accessible introduction to what makes birds the most popular and most alluring of all the planet's wild creatures.

Rare Bird Alert - Andy Stoddart

The volume is organized into ten chapters, the first nine presenting reasonably in-depth discussions of a broad spectrum of avian biology topics. Everything is here: prehistoric birds, flight, migration, behavior, anatomy and physiology, distribution and biogcography. And interactions between birds and humans. These accounts are very readable, and the fresh perspective is enjoyable. The final chapter, "The Bird Families," comprises over half of the book. Elphick, an ornithologist, a writer, and an educator with 40-plus years of experience, presents a systematic survey of world orders and families, and this chapter could actually be titled "The Birds of the World." The taxonomic treatment, by the author's own admission, is very conservative, which might annoy some ornithologists, but lay readers will probably not notice, and it does not detract from the overall appeal of the book. All chapters are profusely illustrated with beautiful photographs, which complement the text well, and the result is an excellent reference book that will occupy shelves in many libraries. For those needing just one general bird reference, this might be it. Summing up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.

Choice - PK Lago

(review of UK edition) This is the definitive 'everything you ever wanted to know about birds' book.

British Birds Journal - Jeremy Mynott

This is what typically gets called a 'hefty tome', and it really has to be, given the scope of its ambition, namely, to give a complete guide to all the world's bird families, as well as providing an account of the biology of birds. That it generally succeeds in this very well (it's the sort of book that you'll keep going back to again and again) is down to the calibre of the author, who manages to be as thorough and all-encompassing as you could hope, given the scale of the task, while also being readable and easily understood... I found the chapter on migration particularly inspiring, while the accounts of each family are excellent.... They're also, for any birding obsessive, the sort of thing you can easily dip into for fun, and look up to find a couple of hours have passed. Erudite but accessible, and looking absolutely great, you can imagine this becoming a fixture on most birders' shelves.

Bird Watching - Matt Merritt

01/01/2015
There are several fine recent similar titles, such as the 2003 Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds, reissued by Princeton in 2009 as The Princeton Encyclopedia of Birds, both edited by Christopher Perrins and consisting of descriptions of all the bird groups (families) of the world. Elphick's excellent book devotes 52 percent of its pagination to these 195 bird groups, too, but has the added value of 259 pages covering authoritatively such general avian topics as evolution, anatomy, physiology, flight, food habits, populations, breeding, migration, and birds' impacts on humans and vice versa. The sections on the families include general commentary plus subheadings on behavior, vocalizations, conservation status, distribution, habitat, breeding details, and more. Generously illustrated with high quality color photographs, the text is also enhanced by alluring sidebars. Even the captions for the 1,000-plus high-quality photographs and other figures are informative and valuable in their own right. Other features include a useful glossary, chapter notes, and helpful indexing. Elphick and photographer Tipling enjoy deserved admirable reputations for their contributions to other acclaimed books. VERDICT This work has less family information than Perrins's titles but is attractive and easy to use; highly recommended for those interested in natural history, birding, and biology.

Library Journal