Raptors of North America: Natural History and Conservation [Hardcover]

Noel Snyder (Author), Helen Snyder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2006

From majestic Bald Eagles to tiny Elf Owls, raptors are nature’s most fascinating and powerful birds. As predators with wide ranging habitats and food sources, raptors also serve as a litmus test for the health of their ecosystems. To preserve a species such as the Everglade Kite or Spotted Owl is to ensure the survival of many other creatures.

 

Ornithologists Noel and Helen Snyder have spent nearly fifty years studying and photographing birds of prey in their natural habitat. The result of decades of firsthand field studies combined with key biological and conservation studies by other experts, Raptors of North America presents a comprehensive and captivating account of our continent’s birds of prey. Readers will meet the nocturnal raptors, the owls, and the diurnal raptors: hawks, harriers, kites, falcons, eagles, ospreys, vultures, and condors. This book was an editor's choice of the Scientific American Book Club.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Raptors--birds of prey--have always excited the imagination. The powerful eagles, meteoric falcons, and secretive owls have all fascinated humans for millennia. Ornithologists Snyder (authors of The California Condor, 2000) have produced a sumptuous examination of the 34 species of diurnal and 19 species of nocturnal raptors found in North America. Beginning with the vultures, and with the continent's largest raptor, the California condor, the Snyders write of the other diurnal birds of prey--the kites, harriers, accipiters, buteos, ospreys, eagles, falcons, and caracaras. The nocturnal owls then follow. Each species is shown with a range map of its distribution. Species accounts provide basic natural history information, written in a firsthand style that emphasizes the Snyders' research but that also refers to details gleaned from the scientific literature. This personal writing style not only makes for an easily digested reference work but also is very enjoyable as pleasure reading. Illustrated throughout with beautiful clear photographs taken by the Snyders, this is a highly recommended book for every library. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Birding Business, April 2007

“The photos are astonishing – there are unique, never-before-seen images of many species nesting, hunting, preening and resting. The Snyders have spent a major portion of their lives helping to restore the California Condor, and the text and photos in this section are the best I’ve read about and seen about this complex subject.  Although published in oversized format, this is not a ‘coffee table’ book: Raptors of North America should be on the bookshelf of anyone with an interest in raptors and their conservation.”

California BookWatch, November 2006

“An outstanding reference, this provides both the scholarly natural history references and the large-size photos lacking in more diminutive coverage.”

Choice, August 2007 
“All in all, this attractive book, full of personal experiences, is highly suitable for laypersons … Recommended, lower/upper-level undergraduates and general readers.”
                                                                                                       

Times Union (Albany, NY)

“A scenic, informational journey through New York state.”

 

Choice, August 2007

“This attractive book, full of personal experiences, is highly suitable for laypersons … Recommended: Lower/upper-level undergraduates and general readers.”

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Voyageur Press; 1st edition (October 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760325820
• ISBN-13: 978-0760325827
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #437,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW!! Raptors Rule!, December 9, 2009

By 

Kent Baker "Photoguy" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Raptors of North America: Natural History and Conservation (Hardcover)

If you are interested in raptors, this is the book for you! It is a very thorough guide to these fascinating birds. Who doesn't feel enthralled when you see one of these majestic creatures in the wild? Well, here is a book that will definitely help you find out when and where you are likely to find them. Since I am a nature photographer, I found this book to be very authorative, and precise on the birds, their habitats and behavioral patterns. I also appreciate the conservation overtones throughout the book. The sooner we begin realizing that the Earth was not created for man alone, the better off we all will be. I have not found one person who visits our various fine art displays that is not delighted with the photographs we have so far managed to capture of raptors (mostly Bald Eagles) and this is what made me get this book so I could learn more about them. I was not dissapointed! It's a BIG book, and I have not had it long enough to read all of it yet (even though I am an avid reader), but I have read several chapters that were of immediate interest, and they were superlative! I have every confidence that the rest of the book will be the same. And now for the icing on the cake - The book is filled with exquisite photographs of the birds, and I have perused it several times just to look at them! Some of these raptors are in trouble and we should learn to understand and protect them. This book shoud be required reading for all conservationists, wildlife photographers and nature lovers (as well as our various government agencies that deal with wildlife)!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding reference, November 6, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Raptors of North America: Natural History and Conservation (Hardcover)

There are some 53 raptor species in North America, and Raptors of North America provides an oversized book describing all of them. It comes from two ornithologists who have studied and photographed raptors in nature for over 50 years: their field research has also included personal involvement in conservation issues. An outstanding reference, this provides both the scholarly natural history references and the large-size photos lacking in more diminutive coverages.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

4.0 out of 5 stars Favorite book, August 4, 2011

By 

trvlnb3 - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Raptors of North America: Natural History and Conservation (Hardcover)

I have always had a special draw towards birds of prey and now have a better understanding of these beautiful Birds. This book has great up close photos and in depth descriptions of just about every aspect of north American Raptors. Highly recommend this book to any and all nature lovers.