Book Review: Vultures of the World: Essential Ecology and Conservation

Abstract

Vultures of the World: Essential Ecology and Conservation. By Keith L. Bildstein. 2022. Cornell University Press, Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, New York, USA. ISBN: 978-1501761614. Hardcover, $25.29 and Kindle, $12.99. Dr. Keith Bildstein’s latest book, Vultures of the World: Essential Ecology and Conservation, provides an engaging look at vultures and condors, seeking to help us understand this widely recognized but underappreciated avian group. Bildstein is known to many Journal of Raptor Research (JRR) readers as a past Raptor Research Foundation Vice-President (1999–2002) and member of the Board of Directors (1988–1997). Bildstein is also a former Sarkis Acopian Director of Conservation Science at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton, Pennsylvania, USA. His new book reflects the culmination of nearly two decades of personal experience observing and studying vultures worldwide, focusing on migration and movement behavior, physiology, and ecology of migratory and nonmigratory vulture species. We (MAJ, EM, and JB) appreciate the opportunity to review this book on vultures and condors, as the three of us study these full-time obligate scavengers in the western hemisphere. In his three-page preface, Bildstein makes two critical points that the new generation of vulture biologists should consider. The first point: Bildstein has broadened his perspectives over the decades by interacting with other research biologists, and without those interactions, this book could not have been written. Consequently, this point emphasizes the importance of humility and having or developing social abilities necessary to discuss the subjects of study with your peers. The second point: two monumental monographs by Brown and Amadon (1968) and Mundy et al. (1992) have provided an effective model to describe the essential ecology of these full-time obligate scavengers, facilitating Bildstein’s work on vultures at a global scale. The takehome message here is that regardless of the age of the reference, older literature can provide critical insight into the current knowledge of the subject of study. Vultures of the World provides thoughtful explanations to simple questions such as ‘‘Why are vultures the only full-time obligate scavengers in the vertebrate group? What physical and behavioral adaptations have evolved that allow them to inhabit a diverse set of habitats? How do vultures find and feast on rotting flesh?’’ Moreover, it provides helpful background on New World (family Cathartidae) and Old World (family Accipitridae) vultures. JRR readers may remember these terms refer only to the current species distributions and not their geographical origins, which is an important distinction, as Old World vultures may have evolved in the New World, and those we call New World vultures most likely evolved in the Old World. The scavenging habits of these two families are thought to have evolved independently, leading to adaptations such as large bodies, broad wings, powerful beaks, and featherless heads, representing one of the best examples in natural history of convergent evolution. Vultures of the World opens with a personal and well written general introduction on the origins and evolutions of vultures, followed by seven chapters. The introductory section assesses evolutionary processes that have led to the global diversity of scavenging raptors, along with a framework for