The Birds of Africa, Volume 2 [Hardcover]

Emil K. Urban (Author), C. Hilary Fry (Author), Stuart Keith (Author), Martin Woodcock (Illustrator), Ian Willis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 11, 1986

The Birds of Africa is the first comprehensive handbook on the entire avifauna of the African continent. It covers breeding birds in full detail, with sections on range and status, description, field characters, voice, general habits (including migration), food, and breeding biology. Non-breeding visitors are covered more briefly, with emphasis on their status and behavior while in Africa.
Color plates show all species in almost all plumages -- male, female, immature, and non-breeding. Beautifully executed, they combine "field guide" attention to detail and diagnostic features with the realism of natural poses. Line drawings illustrate behavioral and identification points in the text. Geographical ranges are shown in maps which distinguish breeding and non-breeding distributions and in many instances also show regional variations in abundance. References and a discography complete the volume.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Birds of Africa is concise and crammed with facts based on retrievable references..."
--NEW SCIENTIST
"...This series will be the most comprehensive work on the avifauna of Africa for many years to come."
--NATURE

From the Back Cover

The second volume in this series continues the high standards set by the first. The three editors have followed the vision of the late Leslie Brown and organized a team of internationally known experts to help them produce an up-to-date and comprehensive work. This volume covers all birds found in Africa, from gamebirds to pigeons. In order to do justice to the ever increasing volume of publications on African birds and the wealth of material collated by the contributors, and to fulfill the aim of illustrating all main plumages of every species, the series has been expanded to six volumes, the first three to cover the non-passerines and the last three the passerines.
As in Volume I, all species of birds found in Africa are covered, including migrants and vagrants. Resident birds are treated in full detail, with sections on their range and status, description, field characters, voice, general behaviour, food and breeding biology. Visitors are also given extensive coverage, with emphasis on their status and behaviour within Africa.
These volumes are being acclaimed as the authority on the avifauna of Africa; they will remain as such for many years to come. The quality of the text and the beauty of the plates will assure them pride of place on the shelves of ornithologists and bird-watchers everywhere. Indeed, anyone with an interest in natural history or ecology will find here a source of much interest and enjoyment.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 552 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press; 1st Edition. edition (February 11, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0121373029
• ISBN-13: 978-0121373023
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,432,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)