Birders have a thing for rare birds. These are the birds that we fantasize about (who hasn’t daydreamed a little about finding a possibly extinct bird?) or make pilgrimages to go see. And, if the number of titles on the subject that have been published in the last few years is any indication, birders also have a thing for books about rare birds. I know I do, anyway. Now we have another to consider.

The World’s Rarest Birds covers the 590 birds that are classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered by BirdLife International, or now exist only in captivity. The authors’ intent is to review their current status, reasons why they’re threatened, distribution, and ecology. Each species account is a quarter of a page, but they are thoughtfully designed to pack in a lot of information, including population size and trend. In addition to the text, each account has a single illustration, range map, and QR code. Yes, those little square things that you scan with your mobile phone. In this case, they lead you to the BirdLife webpage for the species where you can find even more detailed information.

The range maps are somewhat disappointing; they’re small, not very precise, and don’t show any political boundaries. You’ll likely have to read the text to determine in which countries the birds are found. But I suppose they’re adequate for a work like this.

The photographs, on the other hand, are amazing. One of the difficulties in producing a book on rare birds is that photographs for many of them are difficult to obtain. So the authors tried an unconventional approach – they ran a contest. Birders and photographers worldwide contributed photos in the hopes of getting them published in this book (along with prizes, of course!). The result is that most species are illustrated by a very nice photo.

But even with the contest, photos for 75 birds couldn’t be found, so artist Tomasz Cofta provided the illustrations for these. I’m very glad that these birds are shown, but I must say that I’m not a big fan of Cofta’s work here. Some look very nice, but most seem stiff and un-lifelike to me. Actually, the main problem is that a somewhat natural fore and background have been added, but are extremely blurred so as to appear out of focus, like in a photograph. When it works it looks fantastic (see Timor Green-pigeon), but mostly rather than making the illustration more realistic it calls attention to its artificiality.

The incomparable Marvellous Spatuletail.

The birds are organized by region: Europe and the Middle East; Africa and Madagascar; Asia; Australasia; Oceanic Islands; the Caribbean, North and Central America; and South America. Each region opens with a striking two-page photo (or Cofta illustration as in the case of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker for North/Central America). Following that are maps showing the distribution of the threatened birds in the region and a short introduction. Finally, each region, with the exception of Europe, features three to six profiles of a threatened bird hotspot or conservation challenge. These focus on such places as Hawaii and groups of birds like albatrosses and vultures. There is even more introductory material at the beginning of the book, including a look at all the types of threats facing birds. Overall, these sections are my favorite sections of the book as they highlight critical issues, many of which you may not be familiar with.

Abbreviated accounts for an additional 60 “data deficient” species close out the book. Only a third of them are shown in a photograph and, as you would imagine with this category, the accounts are filled with question marks and the word “unknown”. But I find this section fascinating; it’s amazing how many of these birds are known from just a couple of specimens. Perhaps the most telling portion of this chapter is a map showing the global distribution of all data deficient birds. As you would expect, there’s a band of color running along the equator, where overall bird diversity is the highest. But a closer look reveals some intriguing things. One is that New Guinea hosts more of these species than anywhere else. There’s also an interesting cluster of dots in central Asia. But I wonder if the main thing shown by this map is a visual representation of the regions where our overall knowledge of birds is the most lacking.

Back to the photographs for a minute – this book is filled with them! One or (usually) more grace nearly every page. And not only are the photos themselves very nice, I love how they’re incorporated onto the page. The design of this book is simply outstanding. The only issue I have with it is that the photos aren’t labeled with the place or date they were taken. That should be required in any such book like this.

Recommendation

Extraordinary images and design, along with authoritative text, make The World’s Rarest Birds the best book on rare birds of the world that I’ve seen. I’m very glad to have it, but at the same time saddened that it has to exist at all. But since there are birds in trouble we need a book like this to tell their stories. It belongs on the table – not the shelf – of anyone who cares about birds.

- There is going to be major fallout in a few hours.
- Nuclear fallout?
- Bird book review fallout.

Imperial Dreams: Tracking the Imperial Woodpecker Through the Wild Sierra Madre

From Atria Books:

Explorer and naturalist Tim Gallagher is obsessed with rare birds. A decade ago, Gallagher was one of the rediscoverers of the legendary ivory-billed woodpecker, which most scientists believed had been extinct for more than half a century—an event that caused an international stir. Now, in Imperial Dreams, Gallagher once again hits the trail, journeying deep into Mexico’s savagely beautiful Sierra Madre Occidental, home to rich wildlife, as well as to Mexican drug cartels, in a perilous quest to locate the most elusive bird in the world—the imperial woodpecker, a giant among its clan.

The imperial woodpecker’s trumpetlike calls and distinctive hammering on massive pines once echoed through the high forests. Two feet tall, with deep black plumage, a brilliant snow-white shield on its back, and a crimson crest, the imperial woodpecker had largely disappeared fifty years ago, though reports persist of the bird still flying through remote mountain stands. In an attempt to find and protect the imperial woodpecker in its last habitat, Gallagher is guided by a map of sightings of this natural treasure of the Sierra Madre, bestowed on him by a friend on his deathbed. Charged with continuing the quest of a line of distinguished naturalists, including the great Aldo Leopold, Gallagher treks through this mysterious, historically untamed and untamable territory. Here, where an ancient petroglyph of the imperial can still be found, Geronimo led Apaches in their last stand, William Randolph Hearst held a storied million-acre ranch, and Pancho Villa once roamed, today ruthless drug lords terrorize residents and steal and strip the land.

Gallagher’s passionate quest takes a harrowing turn as he encounters armed drug traffickers, burning houses, and fleeing villagers. His mission becomes a life-and-death drama that will keep armchair adventurers enthralled as he chases truth in the most dangerous of habitats.

After his search for the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (recounted in The Grail Bird), Tim Gallagher sets his sights on its cousin, the Imperial Woodpecker. I’m reading it now and have found it very interesting so far – part natural history, part investigation, and part adventure travel.

Imperial Dreams: Tracking the Imperial Woodpecker Through the Wild Sierra Madre
by Tim Gallagher
Hardcover; 302 pages
Atria Books; April 16, 2013
ISBN: 978-1439191521
$26.00

The World’s Rarest Birds

From Princeton University Press:

This beautifully illustrated book vividly depicts the most threatened birds on Earth. It provides up-to-date information from BirdLife International on the threats each species faces, and the measures being taken to save them. Today, 590 bird species are classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered, or now only exist in captivity. This landmark publication features stunning photographs of 515 species-including the results of a prestigious international photographic competition organized specifically for this book. This is the first time that images of many of these birds have been published. It also showcases meticulously accurate illustrations by acclaimed wildlife artist Tomasz Cofta for the 75 species of which no photographs are known to exist.

The World’s Rarest Birds has introductory chapters that explain the threats birds face in a rapidly changing world, how their threat status is assessed, and how this information is used to set conservation priorities. The book is divided into seven regional sections-Europe and the Middle East; Africa and Madagascar; Asia; Australasia; Oceanic Islands; North America, Central America, and the Caribbean; and South America. Each section highlights particular conservation challenges and threatened bird hotspots, and includes a comprehensive illustrated directory of the most endangered birds, giving a concise description of their distribution, status, population, key threats, and conservation needs. This one-of-a-kind book also covers the 60 Data Deficient species. QR codes are included for every species, linked directly to the relevant species factsheet on BirdLife International’s website, where detailed, up-to-date information is freely available.

Wow. I was, and continue to be, blown away by how good this book looks (check out some samples). The photographs and overall design are amazing. But it’s the content that really makes this book worthwhile. Do yourself a favor and just get it. I can’t recommend it enough.

The World’s Rarest Birds
by Erik Hirschfeld, Andy Swash, and Robert Still
Hardcover; 360 pages
Princeton University Press; April 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0691155968
$45.00

• Owls
  by Marianne Taylor

  The first half of this book covers owls in general – their biology, behavior, conservation, etc. The second part consists of species accounts for all the owls of the U.S., Canada, and Eurasia. This type of book has been done several times before (see Owls of North America for example). But if you don’t already have anything similar, this would be a good general owl book to get due to the especially exceptional photography.

• The Mating Lives of Birds
  by James Parry

  This book covers everything from courtship through fledging young. That includes an awful lot of a bird’s life, including singing, courtship displays, building nests, eggs, and nestlings. Filled with some very nice photos, this makes a good introduction to these subjects.

• Cuckoos of the World
  by Johannes Erritzøe, Clive F. Mann, Frederik Brammer, and Richard A. Fuller

  I can only hope that the format used here (and in Cotingas and Manakins before it) becomes the norm for family identification guides. The basic plan, with plates in the front separated from the species accounts is pretty common. But the accounts here also include a decent selection of photographs. When you factor in the very attractive artwork, nice maps, and overall eye-catching design it all adds up to a very nice family guide. Honestly, living in a relatively cuckoo-deprived area, I’ve never given these birds much thought. But just looking through this guide has convinced me I need to change that.

• The Atlas of Birds: Diversity, Behavior, and Conservation
  by Mike Unwin

  Given the title, I’m sure you won’t be surprised that this book contains lots of maps! They’re used to give an overview of where birds live, the different orders of birds, how birds live, birds and people, threats, and conservation. Topics are covered very briefly, usually in a two page spread. But it’s got some fantastic illustrations – both the maps and many bird photographs. I think this makes an excellent introduction to many topics concerning birds.

• Gifts of the Crow: How Perception, Emotion, and Thought Allow Smart Birds to Behave Like Humans
  by John Marzluff and Tony Angell

  The authors take a close look at crows and jays, widely acknowledged as the most intelligent birds. They include some amazing stories and anecdotes, but go beyond that to explaining how and why these birds engage in the behavior that they do. The scientific explanations can get a little on the heavy side (this is neurobiology, after all!), but overall everything is explained very clearly. I’d recommend this book to birders interested in learning more about the amazing things birds are capable of doing.

• Neotropical Birds of Prey: Biology and Ecology of a Forest Raptor Community
  by David F. Whitacre

  This is not an identification guide, but rather is intended to gather together a summary of all that is known about the lives of the neotropical raptors of the Mayan forest community. As such, you can think of these accounts as similar to those of the Birds of North America project. There are some nice color photographs, but they aren’t the main draw. This book will be of much use to ornithologists studying these birds, but not nearly as much to birders. So I wouldn’t recommend a purchase unless you have a great affinity for the raptors of this region.

The following is a review by Ernie Allison. Ernie is a nature writer by trade, with a particular focus on birds and bird watching. He spends as much time out in nature or watching the backyard bird feeder with his grandkids as he can, filling the rest of his time with writing about his experiences.

Judith Wright was destined to be a poet from a young age. Born in Australia in 1915, she started writing poetry for her sick mother at the age of six. She never stopped, and became a well-known poet and political activist. She saw a void in Australian poetry, a lack of writing about nature, and so took it upon herself to write about the trees and birds in her life.

Her collection Birds: Poems was released in 1962. In 2003, after her death, the National Library of Australia published an expanded edition of the book with commentary by her daughter.

Birds is exactly what it sounds like – a collection of poetry about birds. Most of the poems focus on one specific species, which is the title of the poem. The poems mix observation of the bird’s habits with stories of Wright’s interactions and frame of mind when she sees the creatures.

In Lyrebirds, Wright expresses respect and admiration for a bird he will never see, because

some things – birds like walking fables – ought to inhabit nowhere but the reverence of the heart.

In this way, she uses observation about birds to relate a life lesson. How many of us who sit at our bird feeders can relate to that? Why do we commune with nature? So we can learn more about ourselves and this crazy world we live in. We reflect on nature at its purest so that we can find the core of our existence.

Brown Bird with the silver eyes fly down and teach me to sing

Wright’s poetry shows longing and strength together. Her life was not easy; losing her mother at a young age and going to live with various relatives. Nature was her escape and poetry was her outlet. In her later works, we see allusions to the Vietnam War and other political issues. She was a strong advocate for aboriginal rights and a respected voice in her day. She also, unsurprisingly, was involved in several environmental conservation efforts, including the conservation of The Great Barrier Reef.

Like life itself, Wright’s collection is a mixture of joy and grief. The two are both present throughout the collection, sometimes meeting in the same poem. This, to me, gives a matter-of-fact tone to the poems, like saying: good things happen, bad things happen, life continues.

In the 2003 edition, Wright’s poems are accompanied by artwork of the various birds featured in the poems. This gives the entire collection a natural, peaceful feel. Though some would argue that the poems provide enough imagery, the visual aspect adds another dimension to the works.

As a bird watcher, I really enjoyed Birds: Poems by Judith Wright and I hope that you will read it and enjoy it as well.

National Geographic Pocket Guide to the Birds of North America

From National Geographic:

This fun, affordable, beautifully illustrated introduction to birding is like taking a walk with National Geographic’s birding experts. Of this book’s 192 pages, 160 are devoted to North America’s top species, one per page, from the lowly House Wren to the majestic Bald Eagle. Carefully chosen illustrations and photographs capture the key details and typical behavior of each bird, paired with a short list of essential facts and a fun, fascinating, colloquially written “bird-ography” of each bird. (The latter feature is unique to this beginning field guide). Pictures plus facts plus story: a winning combination. With a small trim size and colorful illustrations, this pocket guide is easy on the eyes and easy to stash. A useful color index aids identification; tips throughout show how to observe, track, and identify birds in nature.

A great book for someone with a new or casual interest in birds, and even older children.

National Geographic Pocket Guide to the Birds of North America
by Laura Erickson and Jonathan Alderfer
Paperback; 192 pages
National Geographic; April 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-1426210440
$12.95

Anyone who’s been birding for longer than five minutes knows that sound is vital to finding and identifying birds. But for just about everyone, birding by ear is much more difficult than by sight. One of the reasons for that is that we have many more resources for identifying birds by appearance than we do by sound. Larkwire seeks to level this imbalance.

Larkwire is a web or iOS app that uses games to aid the learning of bird songs. It started out as a web-based app that worked in web browsers or on most mobile devices (see my initial review). But now it is also available as an iOS app. Make that two apps: Larkwire Land Birds and Larkwire Water Birds of North America (actually, it’s more than that, as I’ll describe below). I’m going to focus on the iOS apps in this review, but all of them work very similarly.

Games

There are two types of games – Gallery and Field. In Gallery, you are shown four birds from a given grouping. The app will play a song for you, and you choose which bird you think it is. If you get it right, a green bird silhouette will appear next to the bird. Get it wrong and you’ll see a red icon and the correct species highlighted. You’ll also “lose” some of your green icons. The game is over when you get enough green icons for each bird. At any point you can hit Stop and then tap a bird to get a reminder of what it sounds like, or the i button to get a written description. You can also hit the Refill button to load new birds.

Gallery game with some warblers

The Field game is used to simulate actual birding where, when you hear a sound, you don’t have a definite set of options to choose from. Larkwire will play a sound and your two options are Know it or Not sure. If you hit the former, you’re shown the answer and you can choose whether you were correct or not. Correct answers will fill up the progress bar in the upper-left corner, while incorrect ones will deplete it.

The field game plays a sound and asks if you know it or aren't sure

After you make your selection the answer is shown. If you said that you knew it, then choose if you were right or not. No cheating!

These games aren’t easy! The app includes a pretty wide selection of sounds, so you could hear an unfamiliar song variation from a bird you thought you were familiar with. And the games can go on for a good while since you’re penalized for wrong answers. But that’s actually a good thing since it forces you to repeat songs that you’ve misidentified.

One great thing about Larkwire is that it’s very customizable. Let’s say you want to work on “trillers” (Pine Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, and the like). From the game screen, you would tap on the Groups button to show a list of groups. From there, you can select one or more groups to work on. You scroll down and find “Sparrow-like 4: Trillers” (I found that you have to be on the Advanced level or higher to see this group). To get an even finer level of control, tap on the bird icons for that group to bring up the included species. Here, you can select only the birds you want to work on. In my case, being in the South, I don’t need to include Common Redpoll or White-winged Crossbill so I’d go through and select all but them. Then, when you go back to the game, you will now get just the species you want to work on.

Browse Songs

You can also browse through all the included species, or search for one in particular, and listen to songs and calls. Each species has a small thumbnail picture and description of the song. I’ve found these descriptions, written by Michael O’Brien, very helpful. Below that are some orange and gray buttons. Tap these to play a sound recording. The buttons are labeled with the state/province they were recorded in, along with the subspecies of the bird if known. The orange buttons are the most common, representative samples. Those in gray are other variations. Altogether, these sounds are the ones that will be used in the games (the gray ones only at the master level).

From the land birds app

From the water birds app

Browsing through the sounds this way is best done when studying before playing one of the games. You could use Larkwire for playback in the field, but the interface is not as conducive for that, so I’d recommend sticking with one of the field guide apps for that.

Benefits

The advantage of Larkwire is that it effectively deals with the main problems associated with learning bird songs.

Problem: Learning bird vocalizations is intimidating. It’s hard to know where to begin and how to do it.
Larkwire handles this by breaking birds down into manageable (and carefully chosen) groups. And then when you’re done with one, it gives recommendations on how to proceed (whether to refill with more birds from the current group or to move on to another).

Problem: It’s hard to study bird songs effectively.
If you want to learn a single, fairly distinctive song you can simply play it over and over. That works. But I’ve found it much harder to compare and learn to differentiate similar-sounding songs using that method. Larkwire handles that easily. And it also includes a good amount of variation; more than the one or two samples that you get from most other commercially available sources.

Problem: It’s hard to test yourself.
It’s not easy to test your knowledge of bird songs using readily available recordings, especially since many tracks announce the bird’s name at the beginning! There are ways to get around that, but it’s tedious and time consuming. Larkwire is the best and easiest way I’ve seen to test yourself.

Issues

I haven’t found any bugs or outright issues with the app, but here are a few “wishlist” items:

• Most of the songbirds have just the song included, not any calls. Granted, you could get into some pretty advanced stuff with calls, but just something like a comparison between cardinal, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Eastern Phoebe chip notes would be very useful and relevant to beginning birders.
• While you can customize your groups however you want, you can’t save them. That makes it more difficult to switch back and forth between a standard and customized grouping.

Options

The web-based version at Larkwire.com and the iOS apps are totally separate. If you purchase one you do not automatically have access to the other. So if you think you’ll use Larkwire on more than just your Apple device, go with the web-based version (here’s a list of supported devices). But even if you will just use your iPhone or iPad, you still have a choice. Both the native iOS app and the web-based app work remarkably similar on my iPhone. The main difference is that the native app installs all the sounds on your device so you can use it without a network connection. I suppose the dedicated app is the safest option, since it should still be usable if the worst happens and Larkwire closes up shop. There might also be a price difference. As of this review’s posting date, the Landbird apps are cheaper than their web counterparts.

Finally, there are different levels available which vary in the number of species included. And price, of course! All of the options available are listed below.

Recommendation

The Larkwire team believes that this system is “the easiest, fastest, most enjoyable way to learn bird songs”. I agree with them. If you want to learn bird songs, especially if you’ve tried other methods with limited success, I’d recommend Larkwire.

Here are all of the various options. Prices current as of 4/8/2013.

Land Birds of North America

Larkwire Birdsong Master Birder
343 species (essentially all North American land birds except border specialties)
iOS app: $9.99
web: $24.95

Larkwire Birdsong Pro East and West
East: 233 species (essentially all land birds of Eastern/Central North America except border specialties)
West: 299 species (essentially all land birds of Western North America except border specialties)
iOS app: $6.99 each
web: $16.95 each

Larkwire Birdsong Core East and West
East: 95 of the most common and useful species in Eastern/Central North America
West: 101 of the most common and useful species in Western North America
iOS app: $2.99 each
web: $8.95 each

Larkwire Birdsong Backyard Birder
25 most common and useful backyard species, customized for your location
iOS app: $0.99
web: $3.95

Larkwire Birdsong Basics
demo that includes 50 sounds
iOS app: Free
web: Free

Water Birds of North America

Larkwire Birdsong Master Birder
135 species (essentially all North American water birds except border specialties)
iOS app: $19.99
web: $19.95

Larkwire Birdsong Birder Core
73 of the most common and useful water bird species in North America
iOS app: $6.99
web: $6.95

A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago: Third Edition

From Cornell University Press:

Members of nearly all the families of South American birds can be found on the two beautiful West Indian islands of Trinidad and Tobago, where the pleasant climate, varied habitat, and avian diversity create a “birder’s paradise.” This easy-to-use book is the third edition of a comprehensive yet compact field guide to all 477 species of the islands’ birds, including 35 new species accounts added to the country’s bird list since the last edition. Richard ffrench’s work has been a “bible” to birders since the appearance of the first edition in 1973. This new edition incorporates five decades of his notes and records of the island’s birds to present in a handy and readable form detailed and comprehensive information about the birds of Trinidad and Tobago.

Showcasing 40 all-new color plates by the very best bird artists working under the direction of John P. O’Neill, the third edition now includes illustrations of not only the islands’ endemic and resident species, but also the many migratory species that visit the islands from both the north and the south. The taxonomic arrangement and treatment of families and species has also been brought in line with the most recent determinations of the A.O.U. Committee on Nomenclature for a thoroughly up-to-date presentation. In his introduction, Richard ffrench offers a full treatment of the history of ornithology in Trinidad and Tobago and sets the scene by describing the islands’ physiography, climate, and vegetation. Individual species accounts, arranged by family, make up the core of this identification guide. The accounts cover habitat and status, range and subspecies, field description and basic measurements, voice, food, nesting, and behavior. Richard ffrench’s summary of the distribution of species and their breeding and migration, as well as local conservation and protection measures, makes this volume much more than a typical field-guide treatment, and invites visitors to this premier ecotourism destination.

This third edition is clearly an improvement over the previous one when it comes to the artwork and number of species illustrated. But the format, unfortunately, hasn’t changed – it’s still the dated format of isolated plates in the middle, segregated from the species accounts. While that impairs its effectiveness as a field guide, it should still prove useful. Sorry to say I don’t have the other field guide to these islands – Field Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago – so I can’t compare them.

A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago: Third Edition
by Richard ffrench and John P. O’Neill
Paperback; 435 pages
Comstock Publishing Associates; December 4, 2012
ISBN: 978-0801473647
$39.95

Deerland: America’s Hunt for Ecological Balance and the Essence of Wildness

From Lyons Press:

In 1942 America fell in love with Bambi. But now, that love-affair has turned sour. Behind the unassuming grace and majesty of America’s whitetail deer is the laundry list of human health, social, and ecological problems that they cause. They destroy crops, threaten motorists, and spread Lyme disease all across the United States. In Deerland, Al Cambronne travels across the country, speaking to everybody from frustrated farmers, to camo-clad hunters, to humble deer-enthusiasts in order to get a better grasp of the whitetail situation. He discovers that the politics surrounding deer run surprisingly deep, with a burgeoning hunting infrastructure supported by state government and community businesses. Cambronne examines our history with the whitetail, pinpoints where our ecological problems began, and outlines the environmental disasters we can expect if our deer population continues to go unchecked.

With over 30 million whitetail in the US, Deerland is a timely and insightful look at the ecological destruction being wrecked by this innocent and adored species. Cambronne asks tough questions about our enviroment’s future and the impact this invasion has on our own backyards.

While not directly about birds, deer are certainly playing a big role in our ecosystems, even at the expense of birds.

Deerland: America’s Hunt for Ecological Balance and the Essence of Wildness
by Al Cambronne
Paperback; 272 pages
Lyons Press; April 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-0762780273
$18.95