Customer Reviews

Nesting Birds of a Tropical Frontier: The Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas (Perspectives on South Texas, sponsored by Texas A&M University-Kingsville)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Lower Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas, the LRGV to any knowledgeable birding enthusiast, is THE place to witness the widest diversity and greater number of bird species anywhere in the United States including even Alaska. More than 500 different species have been seen at one time or another in the Valley including dozens of birds from Mexico that rarely if ever get more than a few miles north of that nation's boundary. Though there have been several interesting guides to the "where" of these birds--guides that highlight the best spots in the area to see the wonderful diversity that exists--there has not until now been a careful, encyclopedic examination of those birds. Timothy Brush, a biology professor at the University of Texas-Pan American, has filled that void in Nesting Birds of a Tropical Frontier.

No-one would argue that Brush's wonderful study is the type of book that anyone would want to curl up with in front of a warm fire on a cold night but for anybody interesting in the fauna of southern Texas, it is a proverbial gold mine. Brush provides an extremely thorough examination of each of the many birds which nest throughout the Lower Rio Grande Valley. His volume is filled with scientific data galore but it is never uninteresting thanks in large part to the many frequent personal asides which the author includes and which allow us to see not only a scientist but also an avid birder at work.

Unquestionably this relatively small volume will remain the authoritative study of southern Texas' birdlife for decades to come.

An excellent overview of the breeding birds along the Rio Grande of South Texas. Covers historic status of most species unique to the region, if they have been documented to have bred there. Photos and artwork uneventful.