Customer Reviews

Nightjars : A Guide to the Nightjars, Nighthawks, and Their Relatives

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If you love to listen to the sounds the nightjars make at night, then you must have this book to keep them around. I have never seen a book give so much detail about their habitat and history. And now I finally know the difference between a Whip-poor-will and a nighthawk. This is a great reference book for everyone.

In central and northern Europe there was only the Nightjar for me to worry about, in the eastern US I only had to listen out for Whip-poor-will and Chuck-wills-widow and Common Nighthawk but for the rest of the subtropical and tropical world there is a bewildering array of nightjars and allies. My first visit to central America was greeted with up to 13 species that are dealt with in this book. Elsewhere in South America, Africa, Asia and Australasia one can come across a variety of these amazingly camouflaged denizens of the night. This is the book that will help you identify them. The first section of the book deals with how to use the book, Taxonomy, world distribution, topography and morphology, structure and mechanics, plumages and moult, behaviour and the fossil record. Then follows 36 expertly painted plates with a facing page with a brief description of each of the plumages dealt with on the plate. After the plates comes the species accounts which are very detailed along with good range maps. Painstakingly written, this covers all the details of the plumage and birds life down to a detailed description of its diet. This is a brilliant book if you want to know anything about these species and combined with the accompanying CD, link below, this is a one two knockout of a combination.

"A Sound Guide to Nightjars and related Nightbirds "