Download or read book No Way Home written by David S. Wilcove and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2012-09-26 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Animal migration is a magnificent sight: a mile-long blanket of cranes rising from a Nebraska river and filling the sky; hundreds of thousands of wildebeests marching across the Serengeti; a blaze of orange as millions of monarch butterflies spread their wings to take flight. Nature’s great migrations have captivated countless spectators, none more so than premier ecologist David S. Wilcove. In No Way Home, his awe is palpable—as are the growing threats to migratory animals. We may be witnessing a dying phenomenon among many species. Migration has always been arduous, but today’s travelers face unprecedented dangers. Skyscrapers and cell towers lure birds and bats to untimely deaths, fences and farms block herds of antelope, salmon are caught en route between ocean and river, breeding and wintering grounds are paved over or plowed, and global warming disrupts the synchronized schedules of predators and prey. The result is a dramatic decline in the number of migrants. Wilcove guides us on their treacherous journeys, describing the barriers to migration and exploring what compels animals to keep on trekking. He also brings to life the adventures of scientists who study migrants. Often as bold as their subjects, researchers speed wildly along deserted roads to track birds soaring overhead, explore glaciers in search of frozen locusts, and outfit dragonflies with transmitters weighing less than one one-hundredth of an ounce. Scientific discoveries and advanced technologies are helping us to understand migrations better, but alone, they won’t stop sea turtles and songbirds from going the way of the bison or passenger pigeon. What’s required is the commitment and cooperation of the far-flung countries migrants cross—long before extinction is a threat. As Wilcove writes, “protecting the abundance of migration is key to protecting the glory of migration.” No Way Home offers powerful inspiration to preserve those glorious journeys.

Download or read book The American Bird Conservancy Guide to Bird Conservation written by Daniel J. Lebbin and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2010-10-15 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether we live in cities, in the suburbs, or in the country, birds are ubiquitous features of daily life, so much so that we often take them for granted. But even the casual observer is aware that birds don’t fill our skies in the number they once did. That awareness has spawned conservation action that has led to notable successes, including the recovery of some of the nation’s most emblematic species, such as the Bald Eagle, Brown Pelican, Whooping Crane, and Peregrine Falcon. Despite this, a third of all American bird species are in trouble—in many cases, they’re in imminent danger of extinction. The most authoritative account ever published of the threats these species face, The American Bird Conservancy Guide to Bird Conservation will be the definitive book on the subject. The Guide presents for the first time anywhere a classification system and threat analysis for bird habitats in the United States, the most thorough and scientifically credible assessment of threats to birds published to date, as well as a new list of birds of conservation concern. Filled with beautiful color illustrations and original range maps, the Guide is a timely, important, and inspiring reference for birders and anyone else interested in conserving North America’s avian fauna. But this book is far more than another shout of crisis. The Guide also lays out a concrete and achievable plan of long-term action to safeguard our country’s rich bird life. Ultimately, it is an argument for hope. Whether you spend your early weekend mornings crouched in silence with binoculars in hand, hoping to check another species off your list, or you’ve never given much thought to bird conservation, you’ll appreciate the visual power and intellectual scope of these pages.

Download or read book Avian Migration written by Peter Berthold and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-09 with total page 601 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: P. Berthold and E. Gwinnd Bird migration is an intriguing aspect of the living world - so much so that it has been investigated for as long, and as thoroughly, as almost any other natural phenomenon. Aristotle, who can count as the founder of scientific ornithology, paid very close attention to the migrations of the birds he ob served, but it was not until the reign of Friedrich II, in the first half of the 13th century, that reliable data began to be obtained. From then on, the data base grew rapidly. Systematic studies of bird migration were introduced when the Vogelwarte Rossitten was founded, as the first ornithological biological observation station in the world (see first chapter "In Memory of Vogelwarte Rossitten"). This area later received enormous impetus when ex perimental research on the subject was begun: the large-scale bird-ringing experiment initiated in Rossitten in 1903 by Johannes Thienemann (who was inspired by the pioneering studies of C. C. M. Mortensen), the experiments on photoperiodicity carried out by William Rowan in the 1920s in Canada and retention and release experiments performed by Thienemann in the 1930s in Rossitten, the first experimental study on the orientation of migratory birds. After the Second World War, migration research, while continuing in the previous areas, also expanded into new directions such as radar ornithology, ecophysiology and hormonal control mechanisms, studies of evolution, ge netics, telemetry and others.

Download or read book Ecology and Management of Neotropical Migratory Birds written by Thomas E. Martin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1995-10-19 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The apparent decline in numbers among many species of migratory songbirds is a timely subject in conservation biology, particularly for ornithologists, ecologists, and wildlife managers. This book is an attempt to discuss the problem in full scope. It presents an ambitious, comprehensive assessment of the current status of neotropical migratory birds in the U.S., and the methods and strategies used to conserve migrant populations. Each chapter is an essay reviewing and assessing the trend from a different viewpoint, all written by leaders in the fields of ornithology, conservation, and population biology.

Download or read book Bringing Back the Birds written by American Bird Conservancy and published by Mountaineers Books. This book was released on 2019 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Foreword by Jonathan Franzen Original poem by Margaret Atwood With species ranging from tiny iridescent-green hummingbirds to giant, gangly flightless rheas, the Americas feature an astonishing array of birds that rely upon the region's tremendous diversity of habitats. That reliance may be very localized or it may reach across continents: Swainson's Thrushes travel from South America all the way to Alaska, while certain grebes spend their entire lives on a single lake. Treasured songbirds feed at northern backyard feeders yet often arrive from points far to the south. The American Bird Conservancy (ABC) works across the Americas with a goal to have birds routinely prioritized in all land-use and policy decision-making. Bringing Back the Birds showcases these efforts, alongside the stunning photography of Owen Deutsch and eloquent essays from renowned experts in the field: Peter P. Marra, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center; researchers Kimberly and Kenn Kaufman; John W. Fitzpatrick, Cornell Lab of Ornithology; and Mike Parr, EJ Williams, and Clare Nielsenof ABC.

Download or read book The Passenger Pigeon written by John Audubon and published by American Roots. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "'The Passenger Pigeon' is from Ornithological Biography by John James Audubon. It was first published in 1831."--t.p. verso.

Download or read book Migratory Songbird Conservation written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Saving Migrant Birds written by John Faaborg and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2014-02-19 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Rigorous and well defended . . . Faaborg makes many fresh and, in some cases, provocative points regarding management guidelines for migrant birds.” —Kenneth Able, Great Plains Research In the 1980s, numerous scientific surveys documented both declining bird populations, especially among Neotropical songbirds that winter in the tropics, and the loss of tropical rain forest habitat. Drawing the seemingly obvious conclusion, scientists and environmental activists linked songbird declines to loss of tropical habitats and alerted the world to an impending ecological catastrophe. Their warnings led to the establishment of the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Program, also known as Partners in Flight, the self-proclaimed largest conservation effort in history. Looking back over more than a decade of efforts to save migrant birds, John Faaborg offers the first serious evaluation of the state of songbird populations today, the effectiveness of conservation programs such as Partners in Flight, and the reliability and completeness of scientific research on migrant birds. Taking neither an alarmist nor a complacent approach, he shows that many factors besides habitat loss affect bird populations and that Neotropical migrants as a group are not declining dramatically, though some species adapt to habitat alteration more successfully than others. Faaborg’s state-of-the-art survey thus clarifies the kinds of information we will need and the conservation efforts we should undertake to ensure the long-term survival of Neotropical migrant birds. “Presents a carefully and closely reasoned argument about the magnitude of the conservation problems facing migrant birds, how we can reduce these problems, and how current conservation efforts have enormous value even if there is no immediate crisis.” —Scott K. Robinson, Professor and Head, Department of Animal Biology, University of Illinois

Download or read book A World on the Wing The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds written by Scott Weidensaul and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2021-03-30 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New York Times Bestseller Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize A Library Journal Best Science and Technology Book of the Year An exhilarating exploration of the science and wonder of global bird migration. In the past two decades, our understanding of the navigational and physiological feats that enable birds to cross immense oceans, fly above the highest mountains, or remain in unbroken flight for months at a stretch has exploded. What we’ve learned of these key migrations—how billions of birds circumnavigate the globe, flying tens of thousands of miles between hemispheres on an annual basis—is nothing short of extraordinary. Bird migration entails almost unfathomable endurance, like a sparrow-sized sandpiper that will fly nonstop from Canada to Venezuela—the equivalent of running 126 consecutive marathons without food, water, or rest—avoiding dehydration by "drinking" moisture from its own muscles and organs, while orienting itself using the earth’s magnetic field through a form of quantum entanglement that made Einstein queasy. Crossing the Pacific Ocean in nine days of nonstop flight, as some birds do, leaves little time for sleep, but migrants can put half their brains to sleep for a few seconds at a time, alternating sides—and their reaction time actually improves. These and other revelations convey both the wonder of bird migration and its global sweep, from the mudflats of the Yellow Sea in China to the remote mountains of northeastern India to the dusty hills of southern Cyprus. This breathtaking work of nature writing from Pulitzer Prize finalist Scott Weidensaul also introduces readers to those scientists, researchers, and bird lovers trying to preserve global migratory patterns in the face of climate change and other environmental challenges. Drawing on his own extensive fieldwork, in A World on the Wing Weidensaul unveils with dazzling prose the miracle of nature taking place over our heads.

Download or read book Neotropical Birds written by Douglas F. Stotz and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1996-06 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unparalleled wealth of finely detailed ecological information on Neotropical bird communities will prove invaluable to all Neotropical wildlife managers, conservation biologists, and serious birders.

Download or read book Birds of Passage written by Mark-Anthony Falzon and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2020-07-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bird migration between Europe and Africa is a fraught journey, particularly in the Mediterranean, where migratory birds are shot and trapped in large numbers. In Malta, thousands of hunters share a shrinking countryside. They also rub shoulders with a strong bird-protection and conservation lobby. Drawing on years of ethnographic fieldwork, this book traces the complex interactions between hunters, birds and the landscapes they inhabit, as well as the dynamics and politics of bird conservation. Birds of Passage looks at the practice and meaning of hunting in a specific context, and raises broader questions about human-wildlife interactions and the uncertain outcomes of conservation.

Download or read book Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration in the Americas written by Asilomar California and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 651 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Bird Migration and Global Change written by George W. Cox and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2010-07-07 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Changes in seasonal movements and population dynamics of migratory birds in response to ongoing changes resulting from global climate changes are a topic of great interest to conservation scientists and birdwatchers around the world. Because of their dependence on specific habitats and resources in different geographic regions at different phases of their annual cycle, migratory species are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In Bird Migration and Global Change, eminent ecologist George W. Cox brings his extensive experience as a scientist and bird enthusiast to bear in evaluating the capacity of migratory birds to adapt to the challenges of a changing climate. Cox reviews, synthesizes, and interprets recent and emerging science on the subject, beginning with a discussion of climate change and its effect on habitat, and followed by eleven chapters that examine responses of bird types across all regions of the globe. The final four chapters address the evolutionary capacity of birds, and consider how best to shape conservation strategies to protect migratory species in coming decades. The rate of climate change is faster now than at any other moment in recent geological history. How best to manage migratory birds to deal with this challenge is a major conservation issue, and Bird Migration and Global Change is a unique and timely contribution to the literature.

Download or read book Bird Migration across the Himalayas written by Herbert H. T. Prins and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-04-06 with total page 491 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first reference to demonstrate how birds survive the high-altitude Central Asian Flyway and the threats to this unique migration.

Download or read book Birds of Two Worlds written by Russell Greenberg and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2005-05-02 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For centuries biologists have tried to understand the underpinnings of avian migration: where birds go and why, why some migrate and some do not, how they adapt to a changing environment, and how migratory systems evolve. Twenty-five years ago the answers to many of these questions were addressed by a collection of migration experts in Keast and Morton's classic work Migrant Birds in the Neotropics. In 1992, Hagan and Johnston published a follow-up book, Ecology and Conservation of Neotropical Migrant Landbirds. In Birds of Two Worlds Russell Greenberg and Peter Marra bring together the world's experts on avian migration to discuss its ecology and evolution. The contributors move the discussion of migration to a global stage, looking at all avian migration systems and delving deeper into the evolutionary foundations of migratory behavior. Readers interested in the biology, behavior, ecology, and evolution of birds have waited a decade to see a worthy successor to the earlier classics. Birds of Two Worlds will complete the trilogy and become indispensable for ornithologists, evolutionary biologists, serious birders, and public and academic libraries.

Download or read book Conserving Migratory Birds written by Tobias Salathé and published by International. This book was released on 1991 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Restoring North America s Birds written by Robert Askins and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This accessible book draws on recent research on bird species and their habitats to explain how basic principles of bird ecology and landscape ecology can help us create scientifically sound plans for protecting and restoring the rich diversity of North American birds. This edition includes an afterword that reviews noteworthy literature that has appeared since the first edition was completed in 1999. This new material--on such key issues as the importance of preserving large expanses of natural habitat, the importance of maintaining early successional habitats, and the habitat requirements of neotropical migrants--shows how the research on landscape ecology of birds has shaped conservation policy more rapidly than most would have predicted. Praise for the earlier edition: "This book is first-rate--very broad in scope and appeal, readable, and truly integrative in its coverage of landscape ecology and its implications for avian conservation biology. . . . It will be of significant interest to researchers and students of conservation biology, ornithology and ecology; land managers; conservation agencies; and anyone with an interest in protecting the rich avian diversity of North America."--Trevor E. Pitcher, American Scientist "This wonderful book . . . is especially relevant for conservation biologists from all walks of life."--Kathryn E. Sieving, Auk "An enjoyable read for anyone, from the amateur birder to the professional scientist."--J. Michael Reed, Ecology