Customer Reviews (1)

Revised Edition a disapointment
I had the original edition for years and used it extensively in my world travels--the pages at the back on owl calls were superb and helped a great deal.I know that now with hi-tech involved it might not seem such a big deal but the canceling of the calls pages in the new edition made it almost a non-use book for me--unless perhaps one day I'll be confronted with one of those recently discovered species of owls that are not in a field guide as yet. ... Read more

Product Description
Describes the characteristics and range of Japanese loons, swans, geese, ducks, pelicans, gulls, terns, storks, cranes,sandpipers, hawks, falcons, owls, pigeons, swifts, woodpeckers, larks, swallows, thrushes, and starlings. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good field guide and the best English option; now pricey
Basics: 1982, hardcover, 336 pages, 140 color plates, 537 species, range maps

If you intend to go birding in Japan and you cannot read Japanese, you'll definitely want to get this book.There are few other decent options.

All the birds are well illustrated in a typical field guide format:Text and range maps on the left and plates on the right.Every bird is illustrated in multiple positions (flying vs. perched) or in multiple plumages (gender, age, season).The artistry is good, but still a notch below the best of the US and European guides.My only minor criticism is with the structure of the passerine wings in flight.They seem too stiff and slightly wider than they should be in comparison to their length; but, this quirk is not too significant.

The text is a concise paragraph that gives 2-4 lines for each of the description, voice, and status.The descriptions will be a little too brief orincomplete for some of the pipits and warblers.The map for each bird uses three different colors to denote seasonal ranges.These range maps do not focus on just Japan.Instead, they include Japan and the entire eastern half of Asia from Russia down to SE Asia and the Philippines.Consequently, the colored ranges are somewhat generalized over such a large area.

This book will serve you well in Japan, if you can find it; and, if you do, you'll have to pay a high price (US$90+) for this book.It's been out of print since 1985.The Japanese version was still in print as of 2007.The Field Gide to the Birds of Korea (in English) will also cover much of Japan.It uses the same maps and has very similar artistry and text.This book is more readily available.

I've listed a several related books below...
1) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North-East Asia by Shimba
2) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan (4582542301) in Japanese
3) Wild Birds of Japan by Kanouchi (4635070077) in Japanese
4) Birds of Japan: Photographic Field Book 15 (4635060721) in Japanese
5) Birds of Japan: Photographic Pocket Guide (4635062171) in Japanese
6) A Field Guide to the Birds of Korea by Lee/Koo/Park
7) Wild Birds of Korea by Yoon
8) Birds of Japan in Natural Colours by Kobayashi
9) The Birds of Japan (Helm Field Guides) by Brazil

Where's the second edition?
I could say that this is the best field guide to the birds in Japan that I have ever found, but that might be misleading since it's the only such guide. Basically it's pretty adequate. Some of the art work is well shortof the standards of some other guides I'm familiar with, such as theNational G's N. American guide. But if you're going to be doing somebirding in Japan, and you don't read Japanese, you'll appreciate this book.There is a more recent Japanese version which lists several additionalspecies, but the only English version is from 1982. I'd like to see a newEnglish version, with some improved plates, though I suppose the market ispretty limited and I'm not holding my breath.

Excellent field guide!
336 page field guide of all Japan's birds.Comparable to Golden's Birds of North America guide.Illustrations are very accurate with arrows showing key identification features.Text includes description, similarspecies comparisons, voice, and status notes.A map is included on thesame page as the text and illustration.It shows all of Japan, Koreas,western Alaska, eastern China, eastern Russia, and Mongolia.Also containsa checklist of birds and a description of 27 birdwatching locations thatinclude a list of birds by season, habitat and transportation directions. ... Read more

Product Description
One of Abbeville's most spectacular achievements, representing the highest standards in fine art printing, now available at a more economical price.

This marvelous edition of Audubon's Birds of America displays all 435 of Audubon's brilliant handcolored engravings in exquisite reproductions taken from the original plates of the Audubon Society's archival copy of the rare Double Elephant Folio. Although many attempts have been made to re-create the magnificent illustrations in Audubon's masterpiece, nothing equals the level of fidelity or scale achieved in this high-quality edition.

Completely reorganized and annotated by Roger Tory Peterson, who was America's best-known ornithologist, and issued with the full endorsement and cooperation of the Audubon Society, this volume is the first to rearrange the plates in a more scientific order. Peterson's fascinating introduction places Audubon in the context of the history of American ornithological art and also reproduces a wide sampling of the work of Audubon's notable predecessors and disciples, including Peterson's own justly famous paintings.

This new systematic arrangement of the prints, complete with informative commentaries about each bird, made it possible to correct many of the problems or errors in Audubon's original edition that later scholarship revealed.

Other Details:428 full-color illustrations, 435 duotones. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

The most priceless bird book to treasure
I adore this book, with it's priceless drawings of birds by members of the Audubon Society. Being a birder, the illustrations are fantastic in helping one delineate between different bird species. It is such a big and beautiful tome, you can also have it on your coffee table for friends and family to admire.

A beautiful book
This is a nice collection of very detailed naturalist paintings of birds by John James Audubon (and his apprentices).The cover work is typical of the quality of the paintings and I find myself pleased with this book.Looking at the plates is relaxing and educational. If I did have a criticism, it would be that the book is a little thick so it can be awkward to handle - but this is a minor issue.

This is an absolutely gorgeous book.
This book is absolutely beautiful.It was good as new.We have it on our family room table and open to a new picture every day.The pictures are large and the colors are beautiful.

Audubon Baby Elephant folio
This book is very large and very heavy.It arrived in a timely manner and in excellent condition.The photos are beautiful and well written.If you are a bird enthusiast, this is a lovely book to own and peruse.

This review is regarding the Baby Elephant Folio of this book...
As stated in the Description, it is approximately 15" x 12" x 3" and weighs around 13 pounds!This is a biiiiiiig book, and beautiful!Need I say more considering the other reviews? ... Read more

Product Description
Birdwatching or birding is the observation and study of birds with the naked eye or through a visual enhancement device like binoculars. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are more readily detected and identified by ear than by eye. Most birdwatchers pursue this activity mainly for recreational or social reasons, unlike more formal scientific methods. ... Read more

Product Description
For 85 years, the Province of Quebec Society for the Protection of Birds (PQSPB) - Quebec's oldest bird club - has been introducing people to the fascinating world of bird study. Its membership has included naturalists of every stripe: professional and amateur ornithologists, oologists, bird banders, botanists, conservationists, educators, bird listers, and people with the simple basic need to commune with nature. The stories of the early PQSPB members, along with the descriptions of their birding haunts - all part of the natural landscape of the Montreal area in years gone by - give a historical view of the city through the eyes of the naturalist.The various approaches to bird study, from the romantic and aesthetic to the academic and recreational, reflect our changing attitudes towards the natural world. The needs for bird protection - created by overhunting and molestation in the first part of the last century and pesticides and habitat loss today - deliver a strong conservation message of concern to all. Not just a chronological account, but a story of people and their times, A Bird in the Bush will interest the history buff and nature lover alike. ... Read more

Product Description
A guide to 1100 of Wisconsin's most favored locations for birding, with maps. This detailed guide includes detailed area and site maps, with detailed descriptions, directions, bird lists, and important information for each site. Includes an annotated checklist and a detailed index listing both species names and locations. ... Read more

Product Description
Garden City, 1936. Hardcover. Book Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Fair. 2nd Edition. ©1917 by the University Society, Inc.; ©1936 by Doubleday & Co. Inc. Condition: Fine/Very Fine Collectible. A complete and authoritative book on the birds of North America, including in a single volume all the famous Fuerte plates.. (from the flap). Stunning large book containing over 1000 pictures, including 514 bird portraits in natural colors, and 108 bird's eggs in actual size and color; easy identification charts of sizes and colors, a complete index. 3 volumes in one. Olive clothboards with forest green cloth spine, green line drawing of ducks in flight, and gilt lettering on spine showing overall very light wear. Corners sharp and square. Textblock clean, tight, square, very lightly tanning, heavier weight semi-gloss paper stock; filled with paintings, photos, line drawings, and descriptions of all the North American birds. Dust covered has been repaired but is still only in fair condition. ... Read more

Product Description
With detailed drawings from the Society's "Field Guide", this book offers generous space for jotting notes about the site, situation, and date for each bird spotted. More than 280 artwork plates. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Awesome
This was the best gift I've given my retired father in years. Not only is he a bird watcher, he has discovered that he's quiet the artist, as well. I recommend it for any amature or professional bird watcher.

Good Bird Note Book
As a black and white companion to the National Geographic bird book it is great. This note book gives you room to write and draw on the species of birds. One can use this book as a "life list" and record your sightings, locations, etc., into this. It is amazing to sit down with this book years later and review your past findings. This book goes along exactly with the bird book and I usually keep both with me at all times for recording and identifying.........

An excellent gift for any North American birdwatcher
Now available in an updated and expanded second edition, Mel Baughman's The Birder's Journal is a consumable volume for the personal use and notations of North American birdwatchers. Though it has very basic information on over 60 North American bird families, the bulk of this thick compendium consists of accurate, detailed black-and-white sketches of over 850 bird species, next to allotted writing space where the birdwatcher can make his or her own notes about when, how, and where that species of bird was successfully observed. The Birder's Journal is a perfect aid to keep track of the all the different feathered friends one has seen, and an excellent gift selection for any North American birdwatcher.

NGS Field Guide - A Disappointment
This journal is a gray-scale (black and white) version of the popular and very useful NGS field guide.Nothing new is added except blank lines for brief field notes - which replace the descriptive text adjacent to the colored illustration as found in the field guide. Most - but not all - of the birds currently listed by the AOU are represented.

However, as a "fully illustrated" journal in which to record one's first sightings, it functions only marginally better than the check-boxes in a field guide index - again, by providing something more than a margin in which to record notes.

...

Also compare the Audubon Society's entry into the field.This pretty journal, in the style of a diary, would serve quite appropriately as a gift for a young woman or teenage girl just beginning the birding experience.Very few of the 1000+ birds in the AOU Checklist for our region are represented, however.

Each of these journals serves the purpose of providing space for keeping track of the birds one has identified in the field, but each will appeal to a select audience.The NGS Birder's Journal doesn't go beyond the basic requirement of providing space.

Life-List Illustrated and the Audubon Journal bring a desirable esthetic element to the process.

The Perfect Life List for a Birder
I have used this book for years.It has become my life list.As I see the birds, I color in the line drawings and fill in the details of the sighting.I highly recommend this journal ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, published by Wilson Ornithological Society on June 1, 2010. The length of the article is 5947 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: We examined the effect of geographic isolation on morphology, genetic structure, and abundance of the Sooty-capped Bush Tanager (Chlorospingus pileatus), an endemic species restricted to highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama. Abundance and morphology were measured at five study sites and genetic variation was calculated from three microsatellite loci. We expected geographic discontinuities in this species' distribution to have an effect on its morphology and genetic structure. Genetic variation was higher within than between populations with no effect of geographic barriers on population genetic divergence in this species, indicating gene flow is high between populations. Unique alleles were detected in each population and [F.sub.st] values increased with geographic distance between populations. Some morphological traits differed between populations, which may be caused by adaptation to different selective pressures in each population. Molecular data did not differ between the two color morphs that coexist in two isolated populations, which were considered different species.

Citation Details
Title: Genetic and morphological variation of the Sooty-capped Bush Tanager (Chlorospingus pileatus), a highland endemic species from Costa Rica and Western Panama.(Report)
Author: Tania Chavarria-Pizarro
Publication: The Wilson Journal of Ornithology (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2010
Publisher: Wilson Ornithological Society
Volume: 122Issue: 2Page: 279(9)

Article Type: Report

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more