BOOK REVIEWS



137



treated as full species. However, the taxonomy and evolution of these

fascinating birds is not fully understood and is not static. I recently had the

opportunity to visit Round Island (a small island to the north of Mauritius),

where recent studies suggest the Round Island Petrel may be a complex

of three interbreeding types of petrels that are currently recognised as

three separate species. I applaud the restoration and scientific work being

conducted there by the Mauritius Wildlife Foundation.


Closer to home, the seabird islands of Skomer and Skokholm off the

south-west coast of Wales are fully protected as home to many thousands

of pairs of breeding Manx Shearwaters. These birds like most other

members of the Procellariiformes disperse widely when not breeding and

an important feature of this guide are the maps showing the locations of the

breeding islands and the normal non-breeding ranges. Care may be needed

though regarding the latter, as vagrancy is not unusual amongst these ocean

wanderers.


More and more previously unrecorded albatrosses and petrels are now

being identified by keen birdwatchers. An immature Atlantic Yellow-billed

Albatross was rescued in late June 2007 and released after being found

stranded at a coastal location in Somerset, here in the UK, only to be seen

a few days later on an inland fishing lake in Lincolnshire, also in the UK,

before what was considered to be the same individual was subsequently

reported from near Malmo, Sweden.


Much remains to be learnt about these birds and books as well researched

and as well illustrated as this will certainly encourage and promote a greater

interest in these wonderful birds.


Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World (\SYPS\ 978 07136 4332

9) by Derek Onley and Paul Scofield is published in the UK by Christopher

Helm. Price £19.99 (paperback). In the USA, where it is published by

Princeton University Press, it is available as a Princeton Field Guide. Price


US$29.95 (softback).



Roger Wilkinson



