Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I’ll have a long beard by the time I read them.

~ Arnold Lobel [1933-1987] author of many popular children’s books.

Compiled by Ian “Birdbooker” Paulsen, the Birdbooker Report is a weekly report listing the wide variety of nature, natural history, ecology, animal behaviour, science and history books that have been newly released or republished in North America and in the UK. The books listed here were received by Ian during the previous week, courtesy of various publishing houses.

Featured Title:

• Thompson, Max C. et al. Birds of Kansas. 2011. University Press of Kansas. Hardbound: 528 pages. Price: $39.95 U.S. [Amazon UK; Amazon US].
  SUMMARY: Ever since the Lewis and Clark Expedition spotted its first wild turkey in Kansas, the state has celebrated a rich ornithological history — especially in light of its habitat diversity and its location within the Central Migratory Flyway. That birding bounty is now given its due by a respected team of authors, all recognized avian authorities, in a beautifully produced large-format volume highlighted with professional-quality color photographs and maps.
  The first such survey in twenty years, this remarkable book depicts every one of the state’s now-documented 473 species. Designed for all knowledgeable birders and professional ornithologists, it provides scientifically accurate information on distribution, breeding, and behavior for each species. It not only significantly updates the previous two-volume field guide Birds in Kansas but also reflects a more than 10% increase in known species — 47 more than previously listed, including the Long-billed Murrelet, Ross’s Gull, and Broad-billed Hummingbird.
  The contents are arranged by family — from abundant groups like plovers and sandpipers to the lone magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) recorded in the state. For each species, a map shows the counties in which it has been reported, and many species include maps for both breeding and banding. Use of color in the distribution maps allows depiction of seasonal bird distribution. The text also includes a brief life history for most regularly breeding species, as well as information on migratory routes explaining where the birds travel when they leave Kansas.
  Birds of Kansas will be a vital addition to the library of anyone who seeks a better understanding of the diverse and ever-fascinating Kansas avifauna.
  IAN’S RECOMMENDATION: A must-have for those with an interest in the birds of Kansas! Birders from surrounding states will find it useful too.

New and Recent Titles:

• Garrido, Orlando and Arturo Kirkconnell. Aves de Cuba: Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba, Spanish-language Edition. 2011. Cornell University Press. Paperback: 287 pages. Price: $35.00 U.S. [Amazon UK; Amazon US].
  SUMMARY: Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, and its large number of endemic bird species makes it an interesting and increasingly popular destination for birders as tourism expands. This Spanish-language edition of the groundbreaking Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba provides all Spanish-speaking visitors to the country and its citizens with an illustrated field guide to the more than 369 bird species of this island nation for the first time. The guide — with its fifty-one color plates, current distribution maps, and comprehensive species descriptions — includes species that are island residents, migrants, and rarities, as well as twenty-six endemics such as the bee hummingbird and Cuban green woodpecker that can be seen nowhere else. The information provided by the Cuban author team will allow for easy identification of all of Cuba’s birds as well as a greater appreciation of the geography and natural history of this unique island country.
  IAN’S RECOMMENDATION: A must-have for Spanish-speaking people interested in the birds of Cuba!
• Kerst, Cary and Steve Gordon. Dragonflies and Damselflies of Oregon: A Field Guide. 2011. OSU Press. Paperback: 304 pages. Price: $24.95 U.S. [Amazon UK; Amazon US].
  SUMMARY: Growing interest in watching and identifying dragonflies and damselflies has sharpened the need for an authoritative resource like Dragonflies and Damselflies of Oregon, a definitive field guide devoted solely to dragonflies and damselflies found in the state.
  Cary Kerst and Steve Gordon include information on identification, as well as biology and behavior, using common terms useful to the novice and experienced enthusiast alike. The book features stunning color photographs of male and female of all species currently known in Oregon, along with helpful illustrations and charts with important identification characteristics.
  Dragonflies and Damselflies of Oregon presents the life cycle and larval habits of dragonflies and damselflies, along with photographs of the larvae of families. The Oregon range for each species is mapped, and the size range of adults is provided in text and illustration. The book also includes a description of the best sites in Oregon to observe these amazing insects, a useful tool for viewing uncommon species in spectacular settings.
  Dragonflies and Damselflies of Oregon is an essential reference for Odonatists, entomologists, birders, butterfly watchers, fishermen, wetland experts, naturalists, gardeners, artists, photographers, and all outdoor enthusiasts. Included in this book are:
  • 91 species descriptions, with ID charts
  • Full-color photographs of all species known in Oregon, with illustrations and charts
  • Description of 30 best locations in Oregon to observe dragonflies
  • Tables of illustrations used as pictorial keys
  • Useful appendices and index

  IAN’S RECOMMENDATION: A must-have for anyone with an interest in the Odonata of Oregon!

• Davis, Kate, Rob Palmer and Nick Dunlop. Raptors of the West: Captured in Photographs. 2011. Mountain Press. Paperback: 242 pages. Price: $30.00 U.S. [Amazon UK; Amazon US].
  SUMMARY: With their striking looks, keen vision, and hunting prowess, the birds of prey — eagles, hawks, falcons, and owls — have long captured the human imagination. Now Raptors of the West, a collection of some of most remarkable and action-packed raptor photographs ever taken, can inspire your own imagination to take flight. This book, the latest collaboration by award-winning photographers Rob Palmer and Nick Dunlop and author/ photographer Kate Davis, is a glorious photographic ode to the forty-four birds of prey that roam the skies of the American West.
  Instead of grouping the birds by type — owls with owls, hawks with hawks — the book has chapters arranged by the habitat type and region where each bird spends the breeding season. Whether you’re enjoying these pages from the comfort of your own armchair or taking a trip to the field you can see which birds to look for in that area — Swainson’s hawks soar over grasslands next to prairie falcons while Cooper’s hawks share mature forests with flammulated owls. While the 400-plus stunning color photographs are enough to set this book apart on their own, Davis’s informative and entertaining text completes the picture.
  IAN’S RECOMMENDATION: Raptor aficionados and bird photographers should enjoy the photography in this coffee-table book.
• Ellis, Richard. The Great Sperm Whale: A Natural History of the Ocean’s Most Magnificent and Mysterious Creature. 2011. University Press of Kansas. Hardbound: 368 pages. Price: $34.95 U.S. [Amazon UK; Amazon US].
  SUMMARY: Written with Richard Ellis’s deep knowledge and trademark passion, verve, and wit — and illustrated with a wide array of images including his own signature artwork — his study covers the full spectrum of the sperm whale’s existence from its prehistoric past to its current endangered existence. Ellis, as no one else can, illuminates the iconic impact of Physeter macrocephalus (“big-headed blower”) on our history, environment, and culture, with a substantial nod to Herman Melville and Moby-Dick, the great novel that put the sperm whale (and whaling) on the literary map.
  Ranging far and wide, Ellis covers the sperm whale’s evolution, ecology, biology, anatomy, behavior, social organization, intelligence, communications, migrations, diet, and breeding. He also devotes considerable space to the whale’s hunting prowess, including its clashes with the giant squid, and to the history of the whaling industry that decimated its numbers during the last two centuries. He even includes a story about a beached juvenile he helped rescue, an event that provided scientists with one of their first opportunities to observe a sperm whale in the water and up close.
  Offering a rich tapestry for anyone with an interest in the marvels of ocean life, Ellis’s book provides an indispensable guide to the life and times of one of the planet’s most intelligent, elusive, and endangered species.
  IAN’S RECOMMENDATION: The author’s artworks highlight this book! A must-read for anyone interested in sperm whales or whales in general.
• Müller-Schwarze, Dietland. The Beaver: Its Life and Impact (second edition). 2011. Cornell University Press. Hardbound: 216 pages. Price: $39.95 U.S. [Amazon UK; Amazon US].
  SUMMARY: Beavers can and do dramatically change the landscape. The beaver is a keystone species — their skills as foresters and engineers create and maintain ponds and wetlands that increase biodiversity, purify water, and prevent large-scale flooding. Biologists have long studied their daily and seasonal routines, family structures, and dispersal patterns. As human development encroaches into formerly wild areas, property owners and government authorities need new, nonlethal strategies for dealing with so-called nuisance beavers. At the same time, the complex behavior of beavers intrigues visitors at parks and other wildlife viewing sites because it is relatively easy to observe.
  In an up-to-date, exhaustively illustrated, and comprehensive book on beaver biology and management, Dietland Müller-Schwarze gathers a wealth of scientific knowledge about both the North American and Eurasian beaver species. The Beaver is designed to satisfy the curiosity and answer the questions of anyone with an interest in these animals, from students who enjoy watching beaver ponds at nature centers to homeowners who hope to protect their landscaping. Photographs taken by the authors document every aspect of beaver behavior and biology, the variety of their constructions, and the habitats that depend on their presence.
  IAN’S RECOMMENDATION: A must-have for those with an interest in beavers.
• Balcombe, Jonathan. The Exultant Ark: A Pictorial Tour of Animal Pleasure. 2011. University of California Press. Hardbound: 214 pages. Price: $34.95 U.S. [Amazon UK; Amazon US].
  SUMMARY: Nature documentaries often depict animal life as a grim struggle for survival, but this visually stunning book opens our eyes to a different, more scientifically up-to-date way of looking at the animal kingdom. In more than one hundred thirty striking images, The Exultant Ark celebrates the full range of animal experience with dramatic portraits of animal pleasure ranging from the charismatic and familiar to the obscure and bizarre. These photographs, windows onto the inner lives of pleasure seekers, show two polar bears engaged in a bout of wrestling, hoary marmots taking time for a friendly chase, Japanese macaques enjoying a soak in a hot spring, a young bull elk sticking out his tongue to catch snowflakes, and many other rewarding moments. Biologist and best-selling author Jonathan Balcombe is our guide, interpreting the images within the scientific context of what is known about animal behavior. In the end, old attitudes fall away as we gain a heightened sense of animal individuality and of the pleasures that make life worth living for all sentient beings.
  IAN’S RECOMMENDATION: For those with a general interest in animal behavior.
• Hanson, Thor. Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle. 2011. Basic Books. Hardbound: 336 pages. Price: $25.99 U.S. [Amazon UK; Amazon US].
  SUMMARY: Feathers are an evolutionary marvel: aerodynamic, insulating, beguiling. They date back more than 100 million years. Yet their story has never been fully told. In Feathers, biologist Thor Hanson details a sweeping natural history, as feathers have been used to fly, protect, attract, and adorn through time and place. Applying the research of paleontologists, ornithologists, biologists, engineers, and even art historians, Hanson asks: What are feathers? How did they evolve? What do they mean to us? Engineers call feathers the most efficient insulating material ever discovered, and they are at the root of biology’s most enduring debate. They silence the flight of owls and keep penguins dry below the ice. They have decorated queens, jesters, and priests. And they have inked documents from the Constitution to the novels of Jane Austen. Feathers is a captivating and beautiful exploration of this most enchanting object.
  IAN’S RECOMMENDATION: A good overview on the subject.
• Rumphius, Georgius Everhardus (with E.M. Beekman). The Ambonese Curiosity Cabinet. 1999. Yale University Press. Hardbound: 567 pages. Price: $70.00 U.S. [Amazon UK; Amazon US].
  SUMMARY: One of the great tropical naturalists of the seventeenth century, G. E. Rumphius-the “Indian Pliny”-spent most of his life stationed on the island of Ambon in eastern Indonesia. His classic text, the first modern work on tropical fauna, is here published in English for the first time. The book describes and illustrates the organisms of the seas surrounding Ambon, as well as minerals and rare concretions taken from animals and plants.
  IAN’S RECOMMENDATION: For those with an interest in the works of Rumphius, early natural history texts and/or Ambon Island. Also of interest is this forthcoming set: The Ambonese Herbal, Volumes 1-6 (see here for details).

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Ian “Birdbooker” Paulsen is an avid and well-known book collector, especially to the publishing world. Mr Paulsen collects newly-published books about science, nature, history, animals and birds, and he also collects children’s books on these topics. Mr Paulsen writes brief synopses about these books on his website, The Birdbooker Report.

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