What Is a Bird?

There are some 10,000 bird species in existence today, occupying every continent and virtually every habitat on Earth. The variety of bird species is truly astounding, from the tiny bee hummingbird to the large flightless ostrich, making birds one of the most diverse and successful animal groups on the planet. Taking you inside the extraordinary world of birds, What Is a Bird? explores all aspects of these remarkable creatures, providing an up-close look at their morphology, unique internal anatomy and physiology, fascinating and varied behaviour, and ecology. It features hundreds of colour illustrations and draws on a broad range of examples, from the familiar backyard sparrow to the most exotic birds of paradise. 

A must-have book for birders and armchair naturalists, What Is a Bird? is a celebration of the rich complexity of bird life.

• An absorbing and beautifully presented exploration of the natural history of birds
• Integrates physiological adaptations with ecology and behavior
• Features a wealth of color photographs and explanatory figures
• Uses scanning electron microscope imagery to provide a rare close-up view of structures not normally visible
• Provides insights into our complex relationship with birds, from our enduring fascination with them to the threats they face and the challenges of conservation
• 
  

“"This welcoming compendium is part coffee-table book and part deep dive into the science of ornithology--the team of biologist-authors, edited by biology professor Williams, elucidates all things bird." ---Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American”

"This welcoming compendium is part coffee-table book and part deep dive into the science of ornithology—the team of biologist-authors, edited by biology professor Williams, elucidates all things bird."---Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American
"A fascinating encyclopaedic look at bird life, this lavishly illustrated book written by scientists explores everything from their anatomy and morphology to behavioural patterns of ecology. In fact, anything you have ever wondered about the avian world is nestled in these pages. . . . Birds, beaks and feathers never looked so wondrous."---Elizabeth Fitzherbert,, The Lady
"This is a book which quite literally tells you everything you wanted to know about birds. . . . The photos are breathtaking, and the way the information is passed on to you, as potentially a beginner from an experienced field worker, is excellent."---John Miles, Birdwatching Magazine
"Dipping into the book, you’ll discover fascinating facts about a wide range of topics . . . soon you may find yourself reading straight through and learning a great deal about ornithology."---Flora Taylor, American Scientist
"Whether you are a veteran ornithologist, a fledgling student of birds, a newly hatched bird watcher or an enthusiastic citizen scientist, this must-read book has something to offer you. . . . But beyond that, this book may help more people to better understand birds and motivate them to actively support avian conservation efforts so our children and grandchildren can be inspired by their beauty and diversity just as we are."---Devorah Bennu, Forbes
"This is a must-have for birders and naturalists."---Elizabeth Konkel, Seattle Book Review
"This is a top book."---Chris Packham, Self-Isolating Bird Club
"This is a sumptuously – one might almost say seductively – produced and illustrated compendium of birds."---Tim Birkhead, British Birds
"This is an impressive work from every standpoint, . . . The pictures alone make it worthwhile!"---David Gascoigne, Travels with Birds
"It doesn’t really feel like a book — it feels more like a museum. It’s as if you walk through the different rooms, see the exhibits, and read a bit about it without feeling any pressure. It feels relaxing and absorbing."---Mihai Andrei, ZME Science
"[A] large, sumptuously illustrated book . . . . it’s all here from down to digestion, migration to magnetic sense… everything you need, want to know or love about birds."---Bo Beolens, Fat Birder
"

What Is a Bird? canbe usedbothas adefinitive textbook in college-level classrooms, as a reference on a
career scientist’s bookshelf, or as a beautiful gift for that young, eager, precollege child in the family
who has their eyes set on watching and, hopefully, studying birds as they grow up.

"---Mark E. Hauber, The Quarterly Review of Biology
"A wonderful collection of small essays on a huge range of topics presenting up-to-date scientific knowledge on birds written in an accessible style to a lay audience."---Gehan De Silva Wijeyeratne, London Naturalist
"This is a stunning compendium of knowledge covering just about every aspect of a bird’s life. Successfully addressing the title, this book introduces us to an impressive breadth of factual information about an animal group that is astonishingly diverse and that has successfully colonised most of the planet’s habitats. . . . It would be surprising if any reader did not find something of interest that was entirely new to them."---Dr Alan Woollhead, Biologist
"Accessible and well-written throughout and contains magnificent photos and diagrams. If you are interested in birds, want to learn more about their general biology, and have a robust book shelf, you should seriously consider it."---Antony Payne, Glasgow Naturalist

Tony D. Williams is professor of ecological and evolutionary physiology and chair of biology at Simon Fraser University. His books include Physiological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds (Princeton). Scott McWilliams is professor of wildlife ecology and physiology at the University of Rhode Island. Julia A. Clarke is the John A. Wilson Professor in Vertebrate Paleontology at the University of Texas at Austin. Elizabeth MacDougall-Shackleton is professor of biology at Western University in Ontario. Scott MacDougall-Shackleton is chair of the Department of Psychology at Western University in Ontario. Frances Bonier is a field biologist with a research focus on the ways animals respond to diverse challenges, including parasites, urbanization, and climate change. Chad Eliason is a postdoctoral fellow at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

There are some 10,000 bird species in existence today, occupying every continent and virtually every habitat on Earth. The variety of bird species is truly astounding, from the tiny bee hummingbird to the large flightless ostrich, making birds one of the most diverse and successful animal groups on the planet. Taking you inside the extraordinary world of birds, What Is a Bird? explores all aspects of these remarkable creatures, providing an up-close look at their morphology, unique internal anatomy and physiology, fascinating and varied behaviour, and ecology. It features hundreds of colour illustrations and draws on a broad range of examples, from the familiar backyard sparrow to the most exotic birds of paradise. A must-have book for birders and armchair naturalists, What Is a Bird? is a celebration of the rich complexity of bird life. An absorbing and beautifully presented exploration of the natural history of birds Integrates physiological adaptations with ecology and behavior Features a wealth of color photographs and explanatory figures Uses scanning electron microscope imagery to provide a rare close-up view of structures not normally visible Provides insights into our complex relationship with birds, from our enduring fascination with them to the threats they face and the challenges of conservation

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