The Well-read Naturalist

Newly Noted: The Plume Hunter

John Riutta — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:00:33 +0000

That birds were once ruthlessly hunted for their feathers is a well known fact to most bird watchers, nature enthusiasts, and conservation proponents. That this hunting was fueled by demand from the millinery and glove-making industries is also widely understood. However what still to this day remains largely unexplored are the motivations, thoughts, and feelings about the business by the individuals most intimately involved in it: the hunters themselves.

In her newly released novel The Plume Hunter, Renée Thompson has chosen to explore the many facets of this too-little considered subject. What motivated the hunters? How did they see their work? What brought them to it?

We will be very interested indeed to discover what answers to these and other related questions Ms. Thompson weaves into her narrative.

Newly Noted: The Discovery of Jeanne Baret

John Riutta — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:00:47 +0000

Although Glynis Ridley’s The Discovery of Jeanne Baret; A Story of Science, the High Seas, and the First Woman to Circumnavigate the Globe was originally released by Random House in its original clothbound edition back in December of 2010, it escaped our attention at the time. Fortunately, the recent release of the paperback edition by that publishing house’s Broadway Books sub-imprint did not; thus we shall have the opportunity to discover how the life, travels, and discoveries of this too-little known early botanist influenced the history of both botany as well as navigation.

Forthcoming Title: What the Robin Knows

John Riutta — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:00:12 +0000

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has announced the forthcoming publication of What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World by Jon Young.

With both a degree in environmental science from Rutgers, and years of one-on-one instruction in tracking and wilderness survival skills from Native American as well as African trackers, Mr. Young’s background, as well as his years of work teaching tracking skills and nature awareness to others, holds the promise that this may be a very interesting book indeed.

What the Robin Knows is scheduled for simultaneous publication in both clothbound as well as electronic book format on 8 May 2012.

Forthcoming Title: Cotingas and Manakins

John Riutta — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:24 +0000

Princeton University Press has announced the forthcoming publication of Guy M. Kirwan and Graeme Green’s Cotingas and Manakins. Covering the entirety of the Families Cotingidae and Pipridae in the form of a “duograph,” Cotingas and Manakins will include thirty-four full color plates and over four hundred photographs depicting these fascinating birds as well as detailed species accounts and distribution maps.

Cotingas and Manakins is scheduled to be officially released for sale on 7 March, 2012.

As the Princeton University Press edition of Cotingas and Manakins will not be sold in the Commonwealth (except Canada) and Europe, readers in those areas are advised to seek out the same title under the Christopher Helm publishing imprint of A&C Black (The Bloomsbury Group).

Forthcoming Title: The Bluebird Effect

John Riutta — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:00:32 +0000

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has announced the forthcoming publication of The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds by Julie Zickefoose. A Harvard educated biologist with the soul of a poet, Ms. Zickefoose has become beloved to countless readers, as well as National Public Radio listeners, as a keen interpreter of the natural world who brings to her work a level of attention to not only the subtleties and intimate details of her subjects but also the effects the interaction with them has upon her, and by extension her readers, as well. Included in this new book alongside her essays will also be a wide-ranging collection of her sketches, finished drawings, and paintings (examples of which can be viewed in her online portfolio).

The Bluebird Effect will be officially released for sale in both clothbound as well as electronic book formats on 20 March 2012.

Forthcoming Title: Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide

John Riutta — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:27 +0000

Princeton University Press has announced the forthcoming publication of Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide by Steve N. G. Howell.

As this is the first time time such a photographic guide to the North American members of these three taxonomic bird families has been produced, and as their natural histories, ranges, and methods by which they are identified in the field differ so substantially from terrestrial bird species, this book should be greatly anticipated by all interested in pelagic birdlife. Fortunately, given his exceptional skill and experience as a field ornithologist, and the superb quality of his previously published ornithological books, Mr. Howell is one of the best possible authors to have written it.

Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide will be simultaneously published in both clothbound and electronic book formats on 8 February 2012.

Big Garden Bird Watch

John Riutta — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:00:43 +0000

Just a reminder to all our readers in the UK that the RSPB‘s annual Big Garden Bird Watch takes place this week-end, 28 and 29 January 2012. All the information needed to participate, including reporting forms, are available through the event’s website.

Following the RSPB’s Twitter feed or searching the Twitter hashtag #Birdwatch will provide up-to-the-minute information about the event.

Leupold Katmai Binocular to be Discontinued

John Riutta — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:00:54 +0000

Perhaps the most unfortunate news discovered at the 2012 SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Nevada was that of the discontinuation of the Katmai binocular by the American optical firm Leupold.

Perhaps one of the finest overall binoculars for naturalists ever available in the mid-range price bracket, the Katmai was produced in three models: the 6x32mm, 8x32mm, and 10x32mm. While the 10x32mm was primarily only of interest to open terrain hunters, the 8x32mm was a favorite among bird and butterfly watchers alike and the astonishing brightness, wide field of view, and five foot close focus distance of the 6x32mm made it a prized field optic for naturalists of all interests.

Given the ever-growing demand for higher magnification binoculars (despite the degradation in performance such magnification levels cause in comparison to their lower magnification counterparts) it is this last Katmai model that will be particularly missed. Those seeking a similar optical configuration may wish to examine the comparatively priced Opticron Traveller BGA Mg models or the more expensive Vortex Viper HD models. It is expected that some Katmai models will remain in the retail “pipeline” for a few more months; thus anyone wishing to acquire one is encouraged to act quickly in doing so.

Forthcoming Title: Birds of the Indian Subcontinent

John Riutta — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:00:42 +0000

A&C Black Publishers have announced the forthcoming publication of a new addition to their Helm Field Guides series: Birds of the Indian Subcontinent by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp, and Tim Inskipp. A compact edition of these same three authors’ famous 1998 handbook Birds of the Indian Subcontinent and simultaneously a second edition of their 1999 book A Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent, this new Helm Field Guide will cover all bird species found in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives.

A&C Black indicates that Birds of the Indian Subcontinent will be published in late January 2012.

New Discovery: Minox Pocket Tripod

John Riutta — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 22:28:12 +0000

As an enthusiastic user and proponent of the Minox MS 8×25 Makroskop since its introduction to the market a few years back, I have long maintained that it doesn’t receive nearly as much attention as it deserves by the vast majority of bird watching, hunting, or general outdoor journalists. Not that this fact is all their fault; Minox itself has not exactly promoted it to the level that, had it been one of my products back when I was an optical product line manager, I would have done. Which is why I was both surprised as well as pleased to see it prominently on display at their SHOT Show booth atop another interesting – and previously unknown to me – Minox product: the Minox Pocket Tripod.

Made entirely of metal, this three leg table-top tripod features a fully adjustable ball head and would be an ideal choice for stabilizing not only the 8×25 Makroskop and small spotting scopes but most any pocket camera as well. Unlike other such small tripods that when folded still remain somewhat bulky, the Minox Pocket Tripod’s legs can be unthreaded from the head in order to nest inside one another and would take up no more room in a pocket than a large pen.