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THE WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY • Vol. 124. No. 1. March 2012 
unprotected Important Bird Areas (IBAs), and the 
approximate location of major migratory fly ways. 
Other maps serve as backdrops to show the 
locations for particular examples that are de¬ 
scribed in capsule summaries illustrated with 
photographs arrayed around the map. The maps 
showing the distribution of Orders and families 
are attractive and easy to read, but the IB A maps 
are too small to provide more than a general sense 
of the distribution of IBAs on each continent. 
Many of the maps and examples were provided 
by Birdlife International, providing a rich source 
of information on global distribution of birds. 
Many of the examples emphasize the importance 
of IBAs and the conservation work of Birdlife 
International and its partners. The information 
typically is derived from sources in particular 
countries, and the book emphasizes comparisons 
of number of bird species, endemic species. IBAs, 
and threatened species in different countries. 
Comparisons among nations are frequent in the 
text and maps, and there is an Appendix dedicated 
to statistics for each country. These comparisons 
are presented without sufficient discussion of how 
the data may reflect the number of active birders 
and ornithologists in each country, and the history 
and level of support for the IB A program in 
different regions. For example, the United King¬ 
dom may have more recorded bird species than 
any other European country because of a large 
number of experienced birdwatchers who fre¬ 
quently detect rare birds rather than because it 
supports a particularly diverse array of birds. 
The author was successful in achieving his 
primary goal, which apparently was to produce 
a well-illustrated overview of’bird biology and 
conservation, not to develop a book incorporating 
new sources of geographical information on birds. 
Many of the basic concepts of ornithology and 
bird conservation are discussed in an accessible 
and engaging style. In describing differences in 
courtship displays among different species of 
birds. Mike Unwin writes that “each species has 
its own routine” (page 72). and he succinctly 
describes passerines as “small birds that sing” 
(page 60). Ravens iConms spp.) aside, that is an 
accurate and memorable definition, particularly 
when it is followed with a succinct description of 
the passerine syrinx. Key topics such as the 
evolutionary history of binds; the structure and 
adaptations of leathers; and the effect of imro- 
sucdtd7 a rt' SPCCieS ° n birds are summarized 
•succinctly. Each topic is covered in a short essay 
on a single page, complemented by a facing page 
with select examples illustrated by photographs. 
This provides a useful introduction to bird biology 
and conservation for anyone with a general interest 
in birds, and this book might be an appropriate text 
for an informal course or workshop in ornithology. 
It is not sufficiently comprehensive to be used as a 
text in a more advanced course. Some important 
topics arc not covered or are only briefly men¬ 
tioned. Theories about how birds navigate over 
great distances are summarized in a single, brief 
paragraph (page 79), and complex communal 
social groups with cooperative breeding are briefly 
mentioned in a single example. 
The concise discussions of major areas of 
biology require some simplification. This is not a 
problem, but there are occasional minor mistakes. 
Bird migration is almost certainly older than “the 
end of the last Ice Age" (page 78). “AnisodactyT 
is defined incorrectly on page 60, but correctly 
on page 66. The “semi-plume (contour)" feather 
illustrated on page 18 appears to be a contour 
feather with a downy base, not a semiplume feather 
with only downy barbs. Careful editing of the 
manuscript would have caught these and other 
minor problems. Careful review would have also 
prevented mislabeling of some illustrations. The 
photographs of “African Spoonbill" and "Sacred 
Ibis” on page 49 appear to be photographs ot 
Roseate Spoonbill ( I* law lea ajaja) and White Ibis 
(Eudocimus a I has), respectively. 
Mike Unwin deftly manages the complexities ot 
shifting avian taxonomy resulting from molecular 
studies, describing the status of particular taxo¬ 
nomic groups (such as New World vultures) in both 
traditional and revised taxonomies. The discus¬ 
sions of different Orders of birds include this 
perspective except for the section on passerines, 
which docs not mention molecular evidence ot 
convergent evolution of distantly related passerine 
lineages in Australia and on other continents. The 
complexities of passerine taxonomy are probably 
beyond the scope of this book, however. 
The final chapters on global threats to bird- and 
international efforts to save birds and then 
ecosystems provide a good overview lor anyone 
interested in setting personal priorities lor bird 
conservation. The descriptions of conservation 
success stories (pages 122-123) are particularly 
effective. The sections on bird conservation, along 
with the accessible introduction to some basic bird 
biology, makes the book worthwhile for amatem 
naturalists and conservationists.—ROBERT A 
