Birds have been a source of fascination and mystery for humans throughout the world, and throughout time.

The Encyclopedia of Birds reveals in striking detail the rich variety of bird life,from the exotic to the common that we can see everyday in our locality; birds whose songs and silhouettes in flight we often take for granted. But you will also find,photographed close-up with stunning clarity, occasional visitors to these shores,together with images of birds from all over the world.

Splendidly illustrated, featuring more than 400 species in a highly informative text,The Encyclopedia of Birds offers a window on the world of the extraordinary diversity of birds on our planet.

Birds have been a source of fascination for humans throughout the world, and throughout time. Despite this enduring allure there is still much to learn about birds, their life cycles and interaction with their habitats and, most intriguingly, particularly in birds that migrate seasonally, how they navigate. Nevertheless,some mysteries have been clarified. We know a great deal about bird anatomy, how flight is achieved and the way in which birds have developed from their shared ancestry with the reptiles. We have also devised ways of grouping species, recognizing similarities between what can seem quite unrelated birds.

Featuring more than 400 species, The Encyclopedia of Birds offers a window on the world of the extraordinary diversity of birds on our planet. The splendidly detailed photographs reveal in striking detail the rich variety of bird life, from the beautifully marked, tiny Striated Pardalote of the Eucalyptus forests of Australia to the gigantic, night-feeding Wandering Albatross of the southern oceans. In between these two extremes are the common birds that,if we take a moment to look, we can see everyday in our locality; birds whose songs and silhouettes in flight we often take for granted.But you will also find, photographed close-up with stunning clarity, occasional visitors to these shores, together with images of birds from all over the world.

A highly informative text educates by providing details of each individual bird's size,habitat and habits, as well as explaining breeding and nesting patterns. There is also information about the threats to individual species and explanations of the success stories where our intervention has sought to reverse the depredations caused by human activity. In a world in which many individual bird species are endangered, or threatened with extinction, education is the starting point in a process to ensure we keep the rich and abundant variety of bird life throughout the world.

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Introduction

NON-PASSERINES

Ostrich and allies

Ostrich

Greater Rhea

Emu

Southern/

Double-wattled Cassowary

Undulated Tinamou

Brown Kiwi

Elegant Tinamou

Penguins

Diver and Grebes

Common Loon/

Great Northern Diver

Little Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Albatross, Petrels, and allies

……

Pelicans and allies

Herons, Bitterns, Storks and allies

Swans, Geese and Ducks

Birds of prey: Eagles, Vultures, Hawks

and allies

Fowl

Cranes and allies

Waders, Gulls, Auks and allies

Sandgrouse, Pigeons and Doves

Parrots and allies

Cuckoos and allies

Owls

Nightjars and allies

Swifts and Hummingbirds

Mousebird and Trogons

Kingfishers, Bee-eaters,Hornbills and allies

Woodpeckers, Barbets, Toucans and allies

Passerines

Index of Common Names

Index of Scientific Names

Picutre Credits