Book of Birds: Introduction to Ornithology

In the burgeoning field of bird books, one needs to identify and fill an empty niche not yet occupied. John Faaborg’s Book of Birds: Introduction to Ornithology has done just that in taking an ecological perspective to understanding the basics of avian biology. The conversational prose and colorful illustrations and figures bring to life the ecology, evolution, and diversity of birds and make accessible the major concepts in avian biology to new students to ornithology. If one were considering adopting Faaborg’s book for an underclassman university course or purchasing the book for “anyone who might be interested in understanding birds” (Acknowledgments), the gestalt created by Faaborg would capture the attention of the intended audience. However, more advanced students in ornithology would be more appreciative with improvements on several fronts, including vestment into more comprehensive references (or an easier manner in which to find the cited literature references), better figures, and figure legends, as well as expansion in discussion beyond Nearctic literature. Mind, these comments are within the purvey of Faaborg’s goal of not creating a tome on ornithology, yet still a “fairly comprehensive” book. From the start, Faaborg’s writing is relaxed, which makes the conveyance of the material comfortable and conversational. Consequently, the reader feels guided through the topics rather than dictated to by a teacher. The handdrawn, colored illustrations by Claire Faaborg contribute to a book designed to make ornithology accessible to the masses. The book is organized into chapters that cover the evolution of birds, their anatomy and physiology, the evolution of avian diversity and related systematics, avian behavioral ecology, reproductive biology, and the economic and cultural value of birds. Following the book’s text, there is a “Notes” section that identifies the authors of numbered citations from the chapters, a bibliography of the citations included in the text and within the “Notes” section, a “Suggested Reading” section that briefly expounds upon selected topics from the text, and an index of terms used in the book. Faaborg writes many chapters in a story-telling manner, making otherwise heavyweight topics easy to read. For example, Faaborg elaborates on the continuing debate surrounding the evolution of birds (Chapter 1), going beyond the usual coverage of the thecodont/theropod perspectives to include something of the spirit of the parley. Thus, the reader will find the book to be very accessible. Beyond the tone, Faaborg takes an “ecological and evolutionary approach” to his presentation of ornithology basics.