Birds – A complete guide to their ecology and behaviour by Jonathan Elphick | London Natural History Museum | Paperback | Jul 2016 | 272 Pages | 200+ Colour & Black & White Photos & Illustrations | ISBN: 9780565093792

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The Publisher’s View: Explore the wonders of the avian world with this comprehensive and fully illustrated guide to every aspect of bird life. It is a reformatted, resized and fully updated edition of the first part of the highly acclaimed reference The World of Birds, published by the Natural History Museum in 2014.

Highly respected ornithologist and wildlife expert, 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: 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; and the mysteries of migration. He also considers human attitudes towards birds through the ages.

With special photography from award-winning wildlife photographer David Tipling and many other top bird photographers, Birds: A Complete Guide to Their Biology and Behaviour is a unique insight into the world of birds and essential reading for all ornithologists, bird watchers and natural history enthusiasts.

Other Views:

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 written many books including The World of Birds, the bestseller Birdsong, Birds: The Art of Ornithology and the award-winning The Birdwatcher’s Handbook. He was researcher for Birds & People, the largest survey of cultural attitudes to birds worldwide, and spent five years as researcher on the acclaimed bestseller Birds Britannica.

Fatbirder View: I met Jonathan Elphick at the British Bird Fair in 2014 when I sat alongside him signing copies of The World of Birds as I signed (rather less copies) of my own book. I found him to be a very nice chap with an encyclopaedic knowledge of all things birdy. I reviewed that book at the time and now see that this slimmer volume is an updated edition of the first part of that book. I admired this at the time and certainly do now.I like his really accessible style as will any birder who reads this. It’s one of those books that bridges casual interest in birds and the desire to delve deeper into any aspect of their biology, behaviour or ecology. As such it will I am sure be a standard introduction to ornithology for anyone beginning a college course or anyone else who just wants to get to know the intimate detail of the avian world. For those less willing to study it’s a great book to dip into when any particular aspect of birdlife tweaks an interest. Moreover, a bright eleven-year-old won’t struggle with the language so can drill down to the essential nature of birds without being overburdened with jargon. Great stuff.

Buy this book from NHBS Fatbirder