Important Bird Areas Americas

Important Bird Areas Americas PDF Author: Christian Devenish
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biodiversity conservation
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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Important Bird Areas Americas

Important Bird Areas Americas PDF Author: Christian Devenish
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biodiversity conservation
Languages : en
Pages : 484

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Book Description


The Importance of Bird Life

The Importance of Bird Life PDF Author: George Inness Hartley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Birds
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Birdlife of the Gulf of Mexico

Birdlife of the Gulf of Mexico PDF Author: Joanna Burger
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1623495466
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 778

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Book Description
The Gulf of Mexico is one of the most important ecological regions in the world for birds. The mosaic of diverse habitats in the region provides numerous niches for birds. There are productive salt marshes, barrier islands, and sandy beaches for foraging and nesting; a direct pathway between North and Central and South America for migrating; and warm, tropical waters for wintering. Many species are residents all year around, some migrate through, and still others spend the winter along the shores. The Gulf Coast is home to a significant portion of the world’s population of Reddish Egret and Snowy Plover and a significant portion of the US breeding populations of certain birds, including the Sandwich Tern, Black Skimmer, and Laughing Gull. In total, there are more than 400 bird species that rely on the Gulf at some time during the year. Drawing on decades of fieldwork and data research, renowned ornithologist and behavioral ecologist Joanna Burger provides detailed descriptions of birdlife in the Gulf of Mexico. Burger records trends in bird population, behavior, and major threats and stressors affecting birds in the region, including the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. While some of this data exists in journal articles, research papers, and government reports, this is the first volume to weave together a comprehensive overview of the birds and related natural resources found in the Gulf of Mexico. Illustrated with over 900 color photographs, charts, and maps, this landmark reference volume will be immensely important for researchers, conservationists, land managers, birders, and wildlife lovers.

Bird Therapy

Bird Therapy PDF Author: Joe Harkness
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
ISBN: 1783527749
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
Longlisted for the 2020 Wainwright Prize 'I can't remember the last book I read that I could say with absolute assurance would save lives. But this one will' Chris Packham 'Fabulously direct and truthful, filled with energy but devoid of self-pity . . . I was impressed and enchanted. Highly recommended' Stephen Fry 'Succeeds – triumphantly – in articulating with great honesty what it is like to suffer with a mental illness, and in providing strategies for coping' Mail on Sunday When Joe Harkness suffered a breakdown in 2013, he tried all the things his doctor recommended: medication helped, counselling was enlightening, and mindfulness grounded him. But nothing came close to nature, particularly birds. How had he never noticed such beauty before? Soon, every avian encounter took him one step closer to accepting who he is. The positive change in Joe's wellbeing was so profound that he started a blog to record his experience. Three years later he has become a spokesperson for the benefits of birdwatching, spreading the word everywhere from Radio 4 to Downing Street. In this groundbreaking book filled with practical advice, Joe explains the impact that birdwatching had on his life, and invites the reader to discover these extraordinary effects for themselves.

Why Birds Matter

Why Birds Matter PDF Author: Çagan H. Sekercioglu
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022638277X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
For over one hundred years, ornithologists and amateur birders have jointly campaigned for the conservation of bird species, documenting not only birds’ beauty and extraordinary diversity, but also their importance to ecosystems worldwide. But while these avian enthusiasts have noted that birds eat fruit, carrion, and pests; spread seed and fertilizer; and pollinate plants, among other services, they have rarely asked what birds are worth in economic terms. In Why Birds Matter, an international collection of ornithologists, botanists, ecologists, conservation biologists, and environmental economists seeks to quantify avian ecosystem services—the myriad benefits that birds provide to humans. The first book to approach ecosystem services from an ornithological perspective, Why Birds Matter asks what economic value we can ascribe to those services, if any, and how this value should inform conservation. Chapters explore the role of birds in such important ecological dynamics as scavenging, nutrient cycling, food chains, and plant-animal interactions—all seen through the lens of human well-being—to show that quantifying avian ecosystem services is crucial when formulating contemporary conservation strategies. Both elucidating challenges and providing examples of specific ecosystem valuations and guidance for calculation, the contributors propose that in order to advance avian conservation, we need to appeal not only to hearts and minds, but also to wallets.

The Bird-Friendly City

The Bird-Friendly City PDF Author: Timothy Beatley
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 164283047X
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
How does a bird experience a city? A backyard? A park? As the world has become more urban, noisier from increased traffic, and brighter from streetlights and office buildings, it has also become more dangerous for countless species of birds. Warblers become disoriented by nighttime lights and collide with buildings. Ground-feeding sparrows fall prey to feral cats. Hawks and other birds-of-prey are sickened by rat poison. These name just a few of the myriad hazards. How do our cities need to change in order to reduce the threats, often created unintentionally, that have resulted in nearly three billion birds lost in North America alone since the 1970s? In The Bird-Friendly City, Timothy Beatley, a longtime advocate for intertwining the built and natural environments, takes readers on a global tour of cities that are reinventing the status quo with birds in mind. Efforts span a fascinating breadth of approaches: public education, urban planning and design, habitat restoration, architecture, art, civil disobedience, and more. Beatley shares empowering examples, including: advocates for “catios,” enclosed outdoor spaces that allow cats to enjoy backyards without being able to catch birds; a public relations campaign for vultures; and innovations in building design that balance aesthetics with preventing bird strikes. Through these changes and the others Beatley describes, it is possible to make our urban environments more welcoming to many bird species. Readers will come away motivated to implement and advocate for bird-friendly changes, with inspiring examples to draw from. Whether birds are migrating and need a temporary shelter or are taking up permanent residence in a backyard, when the environment is safer for birds, humans are happier as well.

Key Areas for Threatened Birds in the Neotropics

Key Areas for Threatened Birds in the Neotropics PDF Author: David C. Wege
Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
Approximately 3,600 bird species occur in the 21 countries of mainland Central and South America, of which 290 are listed as threatened. Taking a country-by-country, site-based approach, this book documents the 596 most important areas for the conservation of these threatened birds. Introductory chapters define Key Areas and the distribution of threatened species, describe habitats, threats and conservation, and identify the gaps in our knowledge of Neotropical birds.

State of the World's Birds 2004

State of the World's Birds 2004 PDF Author: BirdLife International
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780946888504
Category : Biodiversity conservation
Languages : en
Pages : 73

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Book Description
Given the fundamental importance of biodiversity, we knowsurprisingly little about it. We are sure that it is disappearingfast, yet at present we cannot even measure progress (orotherwise) towards the 2010 target set by world leaders forslowing this loss. This BirdLife assessment examines what the bestknown group of living things, birds, can tell us about the stateof biodiversity, the pressures upon it and the solutions that arebeing, or should be, put in place. It is a synthesis of currentknowledge and provides a benchmark against which we can assess ourefforts to conserve biodiversity in the future.`Anexciting testimony to BirdLife's Intent and capacity to influencepolicy at the highest levels... gives a clear overview of howindividual observations contribute to the bigger picture...auseful digest of contemporary conservation science presented in aless technical way. Paul Jepson, Birding Asia`Thematerial is presented in such a clear, compact and exciting waythat everyone who turns the pages will have their mind focused onthe problems raised... should be in every school, academic andlocal library.'Biological Conservation`A 'Red Book' forthe state of the planet, using the best known group of animals,birds, as examples to show what has happened, what is stillhappening, and what we are starting to do about it.'BullABC`A most useful document for all involved in conservationand conservation education.' Ibis`Full of interestingstories... illustrates that BirdLife is not narrowly concernedwith saving birds from people, but tries to use the joy and appealof birdwatching as a vehicle for better management of this world,so that birds as well as people can thrive... BirdLife emphasizesthe need to work together with local people, engaging Site SupportGroupsaround their priority sites. The approach is well aligned withefforts towards sustainable development, and the publication iswell suited as hand-out material for aidinstitutions.'Oryx`The overall picture is grim, but thebook demonstrates that there is much we can do, concluding thatlasting solutions require lasting change, and the major challengesare not scientific, but social and political.'Wingspan

The World's Rarest Birds

The World's Rarest Birds PDF Author: Erik Hirschfeld
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400844908
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
An illustrated survey of the world's most endangered birds This illustrated book vividly depicts the most endangered birds in the world and provides the latest information on the threats each species faces and the measures being taken to save them. Today, 571 bird species are classified as critically endangered or endangered, and a further four now exist only in captivity. This landmark book features stunning photographs of 500 of these species—the results of a prestigious international photographic competition organized specifically for this book. It also showcases paintings by acclaimed wildlife artist Tomasz Cofta of the 75 species for which no photos are known to exist. The World's Rarest Birds has introductory chapters that explain the threats to birds, the ways threat categories are applied, and the distinction between threat and rarity. The book is divided into seven regional sections—Europe and the Middle East; Africa and Madagascar; Asia; Australasia; Oceanic Islands; North America, Central America, and the Caribbean; and South America. Each section includes an illustrated directory to the bird species under threat there, and gives a concise description of distribution, status, population, key threats, and conservation needs. This one-of-a-kind book also provides coverage of 62 data-deficient species.

Bird Species

Bird Species PDF Author: Dieter Thomas Tietze
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319916890
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
The average person can name more bird species than they think, but do we really know what a bird “species” is? This open access book takes up several fascinating aspects of bird life to elucidate this basic concept in biology. From genetic and physiological basics to the phenomena of bird song and bird migration, it analyzes various interactions of birds – with their environment and other birds. Lastly, it shows imminent threats to birds in the Anthropocene, the era of global human impact. Although it seemed to be easy to define bird species, the advent of modern methods has challenged species definition and led to a multidisciplinary approach to classifying birds. One outstanding new toolbox comes with the more and more reasonably priced acquisition of whole-genome sequences that allow causative analyses of how bird species diversify. Speciation has reached a final stage when daughter species are reproductively isolated, but this stage is not easily detectable from the phenotype we observe. Culturally transmitted traits such as bird song seem to speed up speciation processes, while another behavioral trait, migration, helps birds to find food resources, and also coincides with higher chances of reaching new, inhabitable areas. In general, distribution is a major key to understanding speciation in birds. Examples of ecological speciation can be found in birds, and the constant interaction of birds with their biotic environment also contributes to evolutionary changes. In the Anthropocene, birds are confronted with rapid changes that are highly threatening for some species. Climate change forces birds to move their ranges, but may also disrupt well-established interactions between climate, vegetation, and food sources. This book brings together various disciplines involved in observing bird species come into existence, modify, and vanish. It is a rich resource for bird enthusiasts who want to understand various processes at the cutting edge of current research in more detail. At the same time it offers students the opportunity to see primarily unconnected, but booming big-data approaches such as genomics and biogeography meet in a topic of broad interest. Lastly, the book enables conservationists to better understand the uncertainties surrounding “species” as entities of protection.