University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln

USDA National Wildlife Research Center - Staff U.S. Department of Agriculture: Animal and Publications Plant Health Inspection Service

December 2000

Ornithological Literature

Robert C. Beason

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc

Part of the Environmental Sciences Commons

Beason, Robert C., "Ornithological Literature" (2000). USDA National Wildlife Research Center - Staff Publications. 497. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/icwdm_usdanwrc/497

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the U.S. Department of Agriculture: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in USDA National Wildlife Research Center - Staff Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Wilson Bull., 112(4), 2000, pp. 565±574

Ornithological Literature

Edited by Sara R. Morris

BABY BIRD PORTRAITS BY GEORGE were painted are given in an appendix, but no MIKSCH SUTTON. By Paul A. Johnsgard. captions other than Sutton's penciled annota- University of Oklahoma Press, Norman. 1998: tions are provided with the plates. Plates 9 and 81 pp., 35 color plates. $24, hardcover.ÐWa- 10, of young male Northern Cardinals (Car- tercolor is a dif®cult, very spontaneous me- dinalis cardinalis) are reversed relative to the dium, but one that lends itself to effects gen- information in the appendix and are apparent- erally unachievable with oilsÐsuch as making ly not of the birds described in the text. a downy chick truly appear soft and ¯uffy. Text provided with each plate is an anec- George Miksch Sutton was a master at achiev- dotal portrait of interesting life history infor- ing this effect. This small volume is a collec- mation that draws on Johnsgard's personal ex- tion of 35 color plates (one of which is only periences with the species as well as Sutton's found on the back of the dustjacket) from the writings and the work of others. The text nice- collection of the Field Museum of Natural ly complements the artwork and is typical History in Chicago. Five of the birds shown ``Johnsgard''.ÐJEROME A. JACKSON. are adults, a few are in juvenal plumage, but most are either downy chicks or juveniles that still retain some juvenal down. The newly- hatched curlew (the chick on the back of the COLLINS ILLUSTRATED CHECKLIST: dustjacket) is a wonderful portrait with a hab- BIRDS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA. By Ber itat background; the others are simple portraits van Perlo. Harper Collins, London. 1999: 320 without backgrounds. Reproduction of these pp., 84 color plates, numerous line drawings, portraits is exceptionalÐparticularly since 1228 range maps. $35.00 (Paper).ÐWhen Ber many of the paintings have been considerably van Perlo's ``Illustrated Checklist'' for eastern enlarged from the original, thus potentially Africa appeared in 1995 it created a stir. For showing ¯aws in the artist's workmanship. I the ®rst time color illustrations of all the re- suspect that Sutton would have insisted that gion's birds were brought together in a single, they not be enlarged. Instead of ¯aws, how- compact book. For many, the checklist quick- ever, the enlargement truly reveals the artist's ly became the book of choice to carry into the skill. ®eld. Unfortunately, some de®ciencies be- Is this merely a beautiful picture book? No came apparent just as fast. Telegraphic text way! Sutton painted with a purpose. He paint- and tiny illustrations were acceptable in a ed to document the natal and juvenal plum- ``checklist,'' which made no pretence to be a ages and soft-part colors of these birds and he fully-featured ®eld guide. However, the text, has succeeded. Sutton prided himself on paint- illustrations and maps all contained signi®cant ing birds directly from lifeÐreally directly sprinklings of errorsÐmainly minorÐbut from life, unlike others who painted them misleading for the less experienced. Add a set from fresh specimens ``shortly after life.'' of English names quite different to those com- While spending summers at the Edward S. monly used in East Africa, and considerable George Reserve in Michigan, he studied de- confusion was (and continues to be) caused. velopment of plumages of several ``sparrow'' Now a southern African version has ap- species, not only by monitoring nests, but also peared, covering the region from Angola, by raising young in captivity. Some of these Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique south to paintings were published in Sutton's technical the Cape. It looks and feels very similar to its papers, others in popular articles published in sister volume and follows almost exactly the Audubon magazine, but this is the ®rst time same format. A short introduction explains the they have been brought together in a publi- book's coverage and the aspects (appearance, cation. Dates and locations where the birds habits, habitat, occurrence and voice) that are 565 566 THE WILSON BULLETIN • Vol. 112, No. 4, December 2000 treated in the text. Color maps of the region's ings hard to differentiate, but practice might climate, topography, and vegetation are a nice help. ``Odd'' records are indicated on the touch here. A set of 84 color plates follows, maps by crosses (which are not conspicuous each with concise text on the facing page that and need some concentration to pick out). describes the species illustrated. Next are the These are now distinguished from isolated maps, one per species, an appendix of names populations, which appear as a star shapeÐa in English, Portuguese, and Afrikaans, a brief useful innovation. Although the maps show bibliography and indices of scienti®c and En- the whole southern third of the continent, glish namesÐand that's it. The whole takes ranges are only shaded in for the countries up 320 pages and produces a compact and covered in the book, which I ®nd distracting. very pocketable volume. It can take careful scrutiny to tell whether a An ``illustrated checklist'' obviously stands place is out of range for the bird or just for or falls by its plates and these are remarkably the book. impressive. Having had the east African avi- The maps also show status for southern Af- fauna to practice on, the author seems really rica's many migratory bird species. This com- to have got into his stride. Individual birds plex 13-way classi®cation no doubt re¯ects still look somewhat tiny, as there are often 20 the messy reality but is not at all easy to as- species or more crammed onto a plate. How- similate at ®rst reading. I may eventually be ever, the colors are much more realistic than able to tell apart W(S) [winter visitor mainly, before and the birds look in®nitely more alive. some stay in summer] and (SW) [mainly res- Within tight constraints, van Perlo has done ident, partly all-year visitor] but I suspect it an excellent job of capturing ``jizz''. Some could take some time. Every map now has the subtly plumaged groups such as greenbuls and species' name beneath it, not just its number, illadopses are still shown with color contrasts which is a vast improvementÐno more te- that are (to be polite) wildly optimistic; others, dious lea®ng back and forth from map to plate like the nightjars, are just too scaled-down to when you can't remember what, say, 69.16 re- show the plumage properly; but the overall fers to. Unfortunately, this to-ing and fro-ing standard is high. Successfully capturing this is still necessary when the text opposite some entire avifauna single-handed is quite an plates overrunsÐa nuisance, but presumably achievement. Comprehensive coverage of dif- unavoidable. ferent plumages and birds in ¯ight perhaps is How accurate is the information? In con- too much to expect of an illustrated checklist. trast to the eastern African checklist, no ob- Nevertheless, van Perlo manages to ®t in quite vious mistakes leapt off the page. This might a lot of both, which is a bonus. Some of these be because I don't know these southern birds illustrations should be particularly usefulÐfor as well, but it does seem as though both au- instance, the confusing canaries in ¯ight on thor and publisher have paid more careful at- plate 83. tention to the details this time around. There The text gives only the briefest and most are a few little thingsÐmap 54.5 for example, essential information for identi®cation. The is actually for the Black-winged Oriole (Ori- names come from ``Birds of Africa'' and olus nigripennis) not the Black-headed Oriole Dowsett and Dowsett-Lemaire's list; birders (O. larvatus) but they do seem very minor. from the region will ®nd familiar southern In eastern Africa, the illustrated checklist names in brackets where appropriate. Habitat sprang into an open arenaÐthere was, at the is succinctly described for all species, and time, a dearth of decent bird identi®cation voice for the vast majority. The notation of guides for anywhere in the region. The situ- voice may seem idiosyncratic, if not down- ation is quite different down south where sev- right peculiar, but it is actually done with con- eral ®rst-class guides continue to slug it out, siderable care and precision. The text indi- in continually improved and updated versions, cates ``uncommon'' or ``rare or vagrant'' spe- for the birding market. Being already spoiled cies (dropping the colored numbers on the for choice, what might attract the southern Af- plates used for the eastern African book), rican birder to van Perlo's book? For anyone while the maps have three shades of grey to whose birding interests resolutely stop at the show relative abundance. I found these shad- Zambezi or the Angola border, probably not a ORNITHOLOGICAL LITERATURE 567 lot (though it is a compact alternative to carry Does it work? Sort of. Rather than the fam- to the ®eld). However, van Perlo covers a geo- ilies appearing in taxonomic order, they are graphic area some half as big again as other clustered under other headings: ``Terrestrial southern African guides. This wider scope birds,'' ``Hole nesters,'' ``Sandgrouse, doves takes in about a third more bird species, too and fruit-eaters,'' ``Coucals and brood-para- (1227 in total, plus another 45 on plate 84, a sites'' and even ``LBJs'' (a dumping ground mouth-watering little extra that crams in rain- for larks, bulbuls and all the warblers, among forest species from Cabinda, Angola's tiny en- others). There's nothing wrong with this in clave between the two Congos). While there principle, but it does make for a rather con- are already supplementary guides published fusing and jumbled arrangement; some fami- for Zambia and Malawi, van Perlo's is the lies could equally well belong in several cat- only single volume to cover these countries; egories, the headings mix in feeding, nesting, for Angola and northern Mozambique, there's habitat, and identi®cation (LBJs is hardly an simply nothing else that is remotely up to date ecological label!), and of course evolutionary or portable, let alone illustrated in color. In relationships are obscured. fact, a lot of the Angolan birds have probably The family accounts themselves are clear never been adequately illustrated before and and interesting. The authors have done their it's exciting to see them depicted here. For any homework well, but in a few paragraphs they of these countries, this book is strongly rec- can only give a bare outline of each family's ommended. characteristics. Details would have to be Perhaps only the most intrepid birder is found elsewhere. Sometimes this is a little likely to venture to some of these places at the frustratingÐfor instance we are told (p. 60) moment, but clearly there are lots of wonder- that there are only ®ve true partridges in Af- ful species waiting to be seen. If nothing else, rica, but what, beyond the name, makes a true I am certainly going to enjoy this book as an partridge? I found the prose style a little ¯at armchair birder. If you have any interest in and monotonous, though certainly readable exploring the wonderful diversity of African enough. It is pleasantly jargon-free and enliv- birds, it is worth adding this colorful and in- ened on occasion by the authors' own obser- expensive volume to your shelf.ÐLEON A. vations and anecdotes. The numerous color BENNUN. photographs are all well reproduced and pleasing to the eye, but only sometimes link directly to the species mentioned in text. Some families, like the broadbills, pittas, and BIRDS OF AFRICA: FROM SEABIRDS painted-snipes, don't seem to merit a picture TO SEED-EATERS. By Chris and Tilde Stu- at all. The authors have decided to cover the art. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass. 1999: entire African continent, rather than the Af- 176 pp., numerous color plates, two maps. rotropics per se, which means that Palaearctic $29.95 (cloth).ÐAccording to its dust jacket, families such as wrens, accentors, wall-creep- this attractive and readable book is 'neither a ers, and waxwings (which only creep in to ®eld guide nor a biological text'. Just what it extreme North Africa) have their own ac- actually is seems harder to de®ne. Essentially counts. Perhaps it would have been better in- ``Birds of Africa'' is a semi-popular, family- stead to expand the treatment of some large by-family overview of the continent's avifau- Afrotropical groups, such as warblers and ¯y- na. For each group it gives an outline of di- catchers, which receive only cursory treat- versity in the world and in Africa, general in- ment. formation about biology and behavior, and a The text boxes deal with an idiosyncratic few notes on conservation. Most accounts are range of topics but are informative, if you can a page or two long, and include some good- ®nd them. They are not indexed anywhere, so looking color photographs; scattered here and tracking them down is not easy. The text gives there are boxes of more detailed information no references and no scienti®c names, but on miscellaneous topics such as ``Birds in the near the back there is a short list of suggested rainforest,'' ``The mystery of the Congo pea- reading and a long list of all the birds of Af- cock,'' ``Threats to migrants'' and so on. rica. It's not clear what the African list is 568 THE WILSON BULLETIN • Vol. 112, No. 4, December 2000 based on. The names seem to come from the isms exemplify these incongruities, and our treatment by Sibley and Monroe, but the ar- attitudes toward these incongruities. rangement of families certainly does not, and As advertised, this is a thought-provoking contains some oddities: tribe and subfamily book, and Skutch wrestles with the paradox of labels are scattered about randomly and in- carnivorous plants and the loss of instinct dur- consistently; the monarchs and batises are ing the growth of intelligence. He also ex- thrown in with the Muscicapidae and so on. amines unpopular approaches to understand- The English names here do not match those ing paradoxes, such as teleology, anthropo- in the text and pictures, which is very con- morphism, and group selection. Throughout, fusing. None of the three warblers captioned he emphasizes cooperation and harmoniza- on p. 127 appears in the species list, for ex- tion, attributes he feels are long-overlooked ample (the captions give their southern Afri- and overshadowed by exploitation and con- can names instead), and the reader will also ¯ict. search in vain for the two Pycnonotus bulbuls The introductory essay outlines the major illustrated on p. 122. and minor paradoxes that will be explored There are other places where the authors throughout the book. Here, Skutch presents don't quite get it right. The introduction states his argument that the integument surrounding that birds evolved from pterodactylsÐnot a living things forms a physical and psycholog- widely held view! The Sokoke Pipit (p. 125) ical boundary that allows organisms to be re- is not restricted to coastal Kenya (it occurs in moved from their environment and other or- Tanzania too). The box on ``Threats to mi- ganisms. Interactions inside this boundary are grants'' concentrates misleadingly on just cooperative and harmonious, while those out- those from the western Palaearctic, ignoring side are primarily those of con¯ict. This prin- the eastern ¯yway whose birds show different ciple of harmonization is denoted as the driv- migratory behavior and timing. The threat ing force of evolution, as opposed to the codes that are shown in the species list are ``dreadful embroilment into which the living based on a categorization and classi®cation world is plunged by the manifold interactions that has been obsolete since 1994. of evolutions products''. Harmonization oc- Despite these small shortcomings, the book casionally prevails over con¯ict in the natural succeeds in what seems to be its main aim: world, and the author gives many examples of giving an agreeable and attractively illustrated cooperation among animals, including how overview of Africa's avifauna. Any Africa- morality plays a role in human relations. based birder who is starting to move beyond Tackling both the species concept and the species identi®cation and develop a wider in- idea of sel®sh genes, the author considers ex- terest would ®nd it accessible and useful. planations whereby individual actions pro- More experienced ornithologists might ®nd mote the propagation of its species, or at least that it does not repay their investment.Ð its deme rather than just its own lineage. In LEON A. BENNUN. this light, genes, rather than being sel®sh, ap- pear to be altruistic. Explanations for birds singing a variety of songs in different parts of its territory (pure enjoyment or sexual selec- tion on repertoire size) or feeding a hetero- HARMONY AND CONFLICT IN THE speci®c nestling (being moved by the chick's LIVING WORLD. By Alexander F. Skutch. pleas) are proffered as alternatives to harsher University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, explanations. Oklahoma. 2000: 288 pp., 18 b&w illustra- The following essays explore in depth how tions. $24.95 (cloth).ÐParadoxes in nature contrasting impulses can coexist in animals. are the focus of Alexander Skutch's latest Hunger, fear, and sexual rivalry are precursors book, particularly how harmony, critical to the to hostility that arise from ultimate harmoni- internal health of organisms, gives way to ous impulses such as aggregating for food or strife in those organisms' external relations. mates. In the exploration of how domestica- This set of connected essays touches upon as- tion in¯uences this two-fold nature, particu- pects of incongruities of nature, how organ- larly in humans, the author maintains that ORNITHOLOGICAL LITERATURE 569 friendly or integrative attitudes are more fun- chapter addressing what Skutch refers to as damental characters of animal life rather than ``biological heresies''. hostile or disruptive ones. Skutch presents a The essay addressing these heresies was diagram of animal nature (including humans) particularly insightful and interesting, with the whereby basal attributes are harmonious and author outlining unconventional points of creative, secondary nature attributes are ag- view. He suggests that cries of anthropomor- gressive and sel®sh (as a consequence of nat- phism when interpreting animal behavior are ural selection in the predator-prey arena), and due to a disconnect between recognizing mor- tertiary nature attributes are a mix of the pri- phological and behavioral evolution. Recog- mary and secondary and are in¯uenced by so- nizing psychic similarities, Skutch argues, is ciety. just an extension of recognizing morphologi- The next essays present a multitude of ex- cal similarities. Arguments against teleology, amples of mutual aid and cooperation in nat- Skutch argues, stem from a misunderstanding ural systems, including mutual protection in between ends and purposes. Ends are often the birds and mammals (warning behaviors, calls, result of processes, which is subtly different safety in aggregation). As students of biology from attributing purpose to actions. Skutch ar- can list many examples of exploitation, the gues most strongly for the acceptance of author emphasizes cooperation (mainly pas- group selection and against the primacy of in- sive among plants, although he does mention dividual selection. He suggests that the latter tree/mycorrhizae symbioses), particularly exaggerates the self-suf®ciency of the individ- among the vertebrates he knows so well. Ex- ual, neglects social interactions, and underes- amples here focus on work on highly social timates the complexity of evolution, using birds (Groove-billed Anis [Crotophaga sulci- mate choice in birds, particularly in species rostris], Australian Wood-swallows [family with bi-parental care, and cooperative breed- Artamidae], White-cheeked Colies) to de- ing, as examples. These viewpoints raise in- scribe the apparent lack of compromise be- teresting questions about how we view evo- tween social and anti-social tendencies. Co- lutionary topics as well as how we pursue operative behaviors observed include preen- truth. ing in pigeons, parrots, anis, and Marbled In the essay on conservation, Skutch pre- Wood-Quails (Odontophorus gujanensis), var- sents a strategy for conservation that promotes ious social feeding scenarios, such as mixed biocompatibility over biodiversity, whereby woodland feeding ¯ocks, mate-feeding, and more destructive, less contributing, or less literature references of companion-feeding of injured birds (pelicans, boobies, crows, frig- connected species would not warrant protec- atebirds, wood-swallows). This diverse list is tion. Fans of predatory vertebrates may wince grist for Skutch's millÐthat cooperation is at the outline of this approach. This point of widespread and should receive as much atten- view certainly ¯ies in the face of present con- tion in any evolutionary philosophy as com- servation practices and thinking and requires, petition. The chapter closes with an optimistic as the author rightly points out, a detailed un- view of humans, labeling our spiritual and in- derstanding of the ecosystems with which we tellectual development, despite the restrictions are dealing. of our ¯exible but insulating integument, as The ®nal chapter explores the relationship most unpredictableÐthe greatest paradox. between instinct and intelligence and how the I found the essay on carnivorous plants to transfer from the former to the latter has been be more of a treatise on the more than 450 complicated and dif®cult. For humans, con- plants that have adopted this way of lifeÐa trolling ourselves is dif®cult and nascent in- lot of detail and without the stimulating qual- telligence needs spirituality to rise above the ity of the other chapters. This chapter stood con¯ict. In this essay and the epilogue, the apart from the rest of the essays; its inclusion, author reiterates his point about how the in- while providing details on the perplexing par- tegument enables external con¯ict, but he adox of these plants, detracted from the col- ends on a hopeful note for humanityÐthe lection as a whole. I was glad to get back on most successful product of evolution and har- more philosophical ground in the following monization. If spiritual and intellectual devel- 570 THE WILSON BULLETIN • Vol. 112, No. 4, December 2000 opment can override con¯ict among humans, pephilus principalis), Heath Hen (Tympanu- the species can survive. chus cupido), Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes I recommend this book for students of ecol- migratorius), Labrador Duck (Camptorhyn- ogy, behavior, and evolution, particularly in its chus labradorius), and Great Auk (Pinguinus impassioned treatment of ideas out of the impennis). mainstream. Alternative viewpoints are the In the introduction (p. 3), Cokinos points stuff of scienti®c inquiry; Skutch provides out that ``Perhaps unlike a professional his- much of the former based upon a lifetime of torian and more like the poet I have been, I practicing the latter.ÐTHOMAS GOOD. found myself drawn to the oddments, the mar- gins, so that a cookbook's reference to Pas- senger Pigeon pie looms as importantly in this book as, say, logging statistics. A settler's ac- HOPE IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS. count of how Carolina Parakeets in sycamores By Christopher Cokinos. Jeremy P. Tarcher/ reminded him of Christmas trees in Germa- Putnam, New York, New York. 2000: 360 pp. nyÐthat matters to memory as much as facts $24.95 (cloth).ÐIn Hope Is the Thing With of biology.'' A strength of the book is the Feathers, author Christopher Cokinos presents manner in which Cokinos is able to interest- intriguing accounts of the lives and deaths of ingly present both the seemingly insigni®cant, six extinct species (or races) of North Amer- such as the observations of early settlers, and ican birds. As may be surmised from the title, the most current biological theory and knowl- which is taken from an Emily Dickinson edge (including a competent discussion of the poem, this is not a scienti®c work; rather, it is generalized extinction process for the lay written for a lay audience. Information is pre- reader, with distinction between proximate sented on the basic natural history of each and ultimate causes). I also enjoyed the stories species (such as it is known), the historical of efforts by early conservationists and orni- context surrounding its extinction, and the thologists, such as the search for Ivory-billed speci®c events that led to its decline and ul- Woodpeckers at the Singer Tract in Louisiana timate extinction. Cokinos also includes his by Arthur Allen, Peter Paul Kellogg, James personal experience, such as a sighting of a Tanner, and George Sutton. similar species or a trip to the site of the death Excepting a reference to the use of ri¯es by of the last known individual, as well as his early specimen collectors (the shotgun was the reactions to the loss of species. The historical weapon of choice), I found few inaccuracies portions are engagingly well written and the and have few criticisms. Mention is made of text is interspersed with some fascinating pho- a stop to record Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gal- tographs and plates, many rarely or never be- lopavo) at ``the Stoddard plantation'' in Geor- fore published. gia by the team mentioned above. Presumably The book is divided into major sections on this was the plantation of Herbert Stoddard, each species, each with one to three chapters. the great quail and turkey biologist, and it In the ®rst chapter on the Carolina Parakeet seems odd, particularly in the context of this (Conuropsis carolinensis), the author de- story, that no more detail was offered on such scribes his sighting of a pair of escaped Black- a gathering of great ornithologists. Also, I oc- hooded Conures (presumably Nandayus nen- casionally found some of the accounts of the day), brilliant green and out of place over a author's personal experiences as well as some Kansas marsh in autumn. In his subsequent of the philosophical re¯ections to be a bit long reading on this species, he learned that there and tedious. had in fact been bright green, tropical looking Cokinos suggests that ``we must rede®ne psittacids in Kansas, and in the winter even. hope from wish to work''. In his book Deep He details how this realization and his fasci- Enough for Ivorybills, James Kilgo (1988, Al- nation with species gone forever set him off gonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, on the 10 years of research that resulted in North Carolina) relates how, as a child in the Hope Is the Thing With Feathers. Similar per- 1950s his family would travel to the beach sonal narratives are interwoven into the chap- and en route, cross the wide ¯oodplains of ters on the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Cam- South Carolina's rivers. Referring to the ex- ORNITHOLOGICAL LITERATURE 571 tensive bottomland hardwood forests, his fa- propriate. There were two features of the book ther would say ``I bet there're still Ivorybills that I found to be unsatisfactory. The most in there.'' We all hope that an Ivory-billed important is that most of the chapters seem to Woodpecker or a Bachman's Warbler (Ver- have been written in 1995; I found few 1995 mivora bachmanii) will again turn up, but literature references and none after that date. since they almost certainly will not, the mes- For a book with a publication date of 2000, sage of Cokinos' book is that we must do that seems to be an extraordinary delay in more than hope; we must act to prevent the publication. The second is the elimination of extinction of the species we still have. An im- information that was present in the previous portant step in this process is remembering the edition. This was probably an editorial deci- species and learning from the mistakes that sion to keep the book's length from becoming led to their extinction. In this capacity, Hope too long but the result is that having copies of Is the Thing With Feathers will be an impor- both editions is almost a necessity. Although tant and, hopefully, enduring book.ÐJOHN the book is intended to be used as a text for C. KILGO. avian physiology courses, it makes an excel- lent single-volume reference of the subject. For most ornithologists and ornithology grad- uate students, it will be a valuable resource.Ð STURKIE'S AVIAN PHYSIOLOGY. Ed- ROBERT C. BEASON. ited by G. Causey Whittow. Fifth ed. Academ- ic Press, New York. 2000: 685 pp., numerous tables and b&w illustrations, index. $ 99.95 (cloth).ÐThis is the ®rst edition of Avian STARLINGS AND MYNAS. By Chris Physiology that Paul D. Sturkie, Professor Feare and Adrian Craig. Princeton University Emeritus at Rutgers University, neither edited Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 1999: 285 pp., nor wrote any of the contents. In its many 32 color plates and distribution maps, bibli- editions, Avian Physiology has been a stan- ography, index $39.50 (cloth).ÐThis book is dard reference on the topic for ornithologists; a comprehensive guide to all 114 species of this edition will be no exception. Many of the the starling family (Sturnidae). Well-written chapters are written by new authors and the introductory chapters include a general intro- material differs considerably from the previ- duction to each genus, and current information ous edition. There are new chapters on ¯ight, on phylogenetic relationships among the gen- incubation, and development and growth. era. Although some species, such as the com- There are also some chapters missing, most mon starling, are well known around the obvious are the ones on metabolism and on world thanks to introductions, others are fairly the integument. Some of the information on rare. This means that classi®cation of this metabolism has been incorporated into other family is continuing to change. In fact, Feare chapters but most of it is no longer included; and Craig offer a revised intra-family classi- the same is true for the material on the integ- ®cation based on current behavioral data. The ument. Wild birds are covered as well as do- general descriptions of habitat, social behav- mestic species, although for some topics much ior, and mating behavior drive home the au- more is known about domestic species. thors' point that this Old World family is very The ¯ow of the book is similar to previous diverse. Starlings occupy habitats from rain editions: sensory and central nervous system, forests to deserts, and grasslands to forest can- motor control, musculature, respiration, excre- opies. Their social and mating systems are tion, gastrointestinal, ¯ight, endocrinology, re- also varied; some species are considered rel- production, and immunophysiology. Each atively solitary breeders, others are gregari- chapter is independent and has its own ®gures, ous, and still others live in large colonies and tables, and references. Putting the references breed cooperatively. at the end of each chapter makes it faster to There is a very interesting section on ``Star- look up a citation and much easier to scan a lings and Man''. The most common of these list of relevant citations. The quality and use- birds are well known to people because of fulness of the illustrations are good and ap- their interesting vocalizations and their ability 572 THE WILSON BULLETIN • Vol. 112, No. 4, December 2000 to successfully nest in man made structures. Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas Interestingly, starlings are known as both westward, including Alaska''. It does not in- pests and bene®cial organisms for some of clude Hawaii. their other habits. For example, many species The ®rst three chapters give some general, are ¯exible enough to be able to take advan- but useful, discussions of how to ®nd and tage of transient food sources such as locust identify birds and how to keep useful ®eld swarms. Unfortunately they are also good at notes on them. If I were to give one single ®nding seasonally available agricultural food piece of advice to a beginning birder, I would sources such as cherries, grapes, and olives. tell them to keep a log of all ®eld trips. Zim- From a conservation standpoint, an important mer's chapter on notes is a useful description aspect of human impact on this family is the of how to do this correctly. A record of lo- many introductions of starlings that have oc- cations, weather, time spent, and numbers of curred. Some species were introduced into ar- each species can, over time, become extreme- eas as agents of biological control and some ly useful. For old guys like me, such records for aesthetic reasons. Research in some re- also serve as reminders of bird trips and other gions of introduction demonstrate that these adventures that we remember with dif®culty birds can take a toll on populations of native or imperfectly. Furthermore, one of the rarest species that do not successfully compete for of data sets is a long record of the birds of nesting sites and other resources. On the other any given location kept by a careful observer hand, at least 5 species of starlings are known skilled in keeping notes and who has been in to have become extinct, 7 are globally threat- the ®eld a lot. Zimmer's general sections on ened, and an additional 15 are near-threatened. ®nding and identifying birds may not be as The major cause of these threats is loss of useful to an experienced birder, but I learned habitat and capture of birds for aviculture. a number of good things. The bulk of this book (212 pages) is de- In the remaining chapters (and the bulk of voted to color plates, distribution maps, and the text), the book deals with speci®c identi- descriptions of each species. The illustrations ®cation problems. This includes how to sep- are wonderful, beautifully capturing even the arate the species of loons, dowitchers, hawks, iridescent plumage colors of these birds. the dif®cult gulls, ®nches, thrashers, hum- Where appropriate, individual illustrations of mingbirds and many more such problems. I males, females, and individuals of subspecies found the parts on identi®cation extremely are depicted. The detailed species accounts in- useful and accurate. Most birders will ®nd clude ®eld identi®cation and basic description, something here to add to their techniques for measurements, voice, distribution and popu- separating dif®cult birds. Personally, I never lation notes, habitat, and information on feed- seem to have time to really check out the cri- ing, breeding, and other behavior. teria for separating birds like Paci®c Loons Overall this book piques one's interest in (Gavia paci®ca) from Arctic Loons (G. arc- this diverse group of birds, and will be a use- tica) and Common Loons (G. immer). Zim- ful addition to the library of ornithologist and mer's book helped me out with these and sev- world-traveller alike.ÐMARTA HERSEK. eral other ``toughies''. Zimmer's coverage on bird ®nding will not replace publications on birds in speci®c lo- cations (e.g., ABA Lane Bird®nding guides BIRDING IN THE AMERICAN WEST. and the like), but appeared to be useful in at By Kevin J. Zimmer. Cornell University least a general sort of way. In a few instances Press, Ithaca, New York. 2000: 402 pp., nu- in which I had ®rst-hand knowledge of bird merous black-and-white photos and illustra- occurrence (e.g., western Montana), I found tions. $25.00 (paper), $49.95 (cloth).ÐAs the the ``®nding'' part slightly misleading (al- author says, this book is ``intended as a com- though not in any way that severely detracts panion handbook to aid in ®nding and iden- from the text or in eventually ®nding speci®c tifying birds in the American West.'' The cov- birds). On the other hand, if I had read this erage includes all of the western United States book before my most recent Texas trip, I from ``the eastern boundaries of the Dakotas, would have known exactly where to ®nd Nel- ORNITHOLOGICAL LITERATURE 573 son's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (Ammodramus found (in 1855) was classi®ed as a pterodactyl nelsoni). Zimmer gave both locality and hab- until ®nally recognized for what it was by itat precisely. John Ostrom of Yale in 1970. The line illustrations are clear, helpful, and In the course of her book, Shipman adroitly very professionally presented. The photos discusses various aspects of both avian and show what is claimed and are very useful. The non-avian ¯ight mechanics (including ptero- paperback version seems sturdy and should saurs, bats, insects, and ``gliding'' animals survive extensive ®eldwork. The author such as ``¯ying'' ®sh, gliding lizards, and should be congratulated as he has produced a ``¯ying'' squirrels), functional morphology, book that has succeeded in being informative, and comparative anatomy. She addresses the readable, and helpful. I recommend it to any- classic question of whether bird ¯ight started one birding in the western states.ÐC. R. from the ground (running, ¯apping, and ulti- BLEM. mately ¯ying) or from a height (gliding and then ¯ying). She also covers behavioral attri- butes, such as nesting behaviors in dinosaurs and birds, and physiological considerationsÐ TAKING WING: ARCHAEOPTERYX for instance, the question of ``warm-blooded'' AND THE EVOLUTION OF BIRD FLIGHT. dinosaurs. Perhaps most importantly, Shipman By Pat Shipman. Simon and Schuster, New works through the maze of cladistic analyses York, New York. 1998: 336 pp., 77 numbered pertaining to avian relationships with a mini- text ®gs., bibliography, index. $25.00 (hard- mum of jargon and a sense of balance. She bound).ÐThis is a book that should be of val- brie¯y details the various theories of avian an- ue to all ornithologists, paleontologists, evo- cestry: Are the closest relatives of birds found lutionists, and indeed anyone who is just plain among primitive pseudosuchians (primitive or interested in fossils and how scienti®c ideas ``ancestral'' archosaurs), theropod dinosaurs, are formulated, re-formulated, argued, and re- crocodylomorphs, or possibly some other argued over and over again, as new evidence form? As Shipman points out, the proponents emerges and old data is reevaluated. The story of either a primitive pseudosuchian or croco- of Archaeopteryx is a timeless classic. dylomorph hypothesis have criticized the de- Written for a general audience, TAKING tailed cladistic analyses of the dinosaur-avian WING is de®nitely a good read. The book proponents, but they themselves have failed to opens with a fascinating description of the dis- counter with comparably detailed analyses coveries of the specimens (seven partial skel- supporting their own hypotheses. As TAKING etons, the most recent having been found in WING was completed the weight of evidence 1992, and an isolated feather) known to sci- supported a close dinosaur-avian relationship. ence as Archaeopteryx, which at approximate- Simplistically, terrestrial bipedal theropod di- ly 150 million years old was (in the 1860s, nosaurs, covered with insulating ``feathers'', when ®rst recognized) and is still the oldest chasing small prey with their forelimbs, ulti- known undisputed bird (or more technically, mately evolved into ¯ying birds with ¯apping we might say ``bird-like form'', or a member wings. of the Avialae, since not everyone considers Scienti®c discoveries do not stop, and so it a true member of the Aves). In the 1860s new fossils have been found bearing on the Thomas Henry Huxley proposed, on the basis origin of birds and ¯ight since Shipman com- of his studies of Archaeopteryx, that birds and pleted her bookÐand, on the whole, they dinosaurs are closely related, and indeed the strengthen the close af®nity of theropod di- bulk of evidence, as recounted by Shipman, nosaurs and birds. It now seems established has only strengthened that assessment over the that theropods commonly bore feathers during intervening years. Demonstrating just how at least some stages of their lives. Among new close birds and small dinosaurs are in their discoveries, we might mention the Chinese gross overall morphology, a couple of Ar- forms Sinornithosaurus millenii and Protar- chaeopteryx skeletons were originally mis- chaeopteryx robusta, both considered in some identi®ed as the small dinosaur Compsogna- ways intermediate between dinosaurs and thus, and the ®rst Archaeopteryx specimen birds; and Beipiaosaurus inexpectus and Cau- 574 THE WILSON BULLETIN • Vol. 112, No. 4, December 2000 dipteryx zoui, dinosaurs with feathers (or are toothed bird (which is new to science) and the they birds?). And then there is the tawdry tale tail of a dromaeosaurid (a group within the of the premature announcement, under the theropods) dinosaur. Perhaps one of the les- auspices of the National Geographic Society sons of this minor scandal is that early birds (the same group that previously announced and certain early dinosaurs are, as Huxley es- the discovery of a 225 million-year-old fossil poused just after Darwin published On the Or- dubbed Protoavis that, as it turned out, was igin of Species, almost indistinguishable. Final based on such scrappy material its af®nities, conclusion: The dinosaurs never really went much less any possible birdlike features, are extint; we know them as birds and all the or- ambiguous at bestÐaccordingly, most experts nithologists of the world are really dinosau- have virtually ignored Protoavis), of the new rologists. This thought should warm the heart 125 million-year-old fossil ``bird'' from China of any paleontologist, including the one writ- dubbed Archaeoraptor liaoningensis in late ing this review. 1999. Archaeoraptor was hailed as having the What about the question: Could Archae- shoulder girdle and breast bone of a modern opteryx ¯y? Over the years, some researchers bird but a dinosaur-like tail. By early 2000, have questioned whether it could actually ¯y retractions were being issued stating that the or possibly just glide down from a high perch. specimen, which had been purchased on the Shipman concludes that not only did Archae- open fossil market, is actually a natural (that opteryx ¯y, but it could take off from the is, it was not purposefully faked) composite ground. In this sense it was a true bird that of at least two different individuals: an early could ``take wing''.ÐROBERT M. SCHOCH.