Product Description

This stunning collection of art and text captures the grace, beauty, and flamboyance of the world's birds. In more than 500 pages, ornithologist Les Beletsky has gathered over 1,600 original paintings that reveal the form, posture, and plumage of all the avian families, with featured illustrations of 1307 avian species. The paintings are from eleven of the world's leading bird artists, with many being published here for the first time.

Beletsky's detailed, yet eminently readable, descriptions are paired with vivid images to show the diversity of the world's approximately 200 bird families. Backyard bird-watchers, avid birders, and professional ornithologists alike will find in these pages everything from the everyday to the exotic, from diminutive hummingbirds to massive ostriches, from Antarctic penguins to tropical parrots.

Comprehensive, authoritative, and beautifully illustrated, Birds of the World will amaze and inspire everyone with an interest in this remarkable fauna.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #759944 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 528 pages

From Booklist
Some books are handsome, others easy to use, and still others, interesting to read. This is all three and more. More than 1,600 pieces of artwork produced by "some of the world's leading bird artists" appear in color plates that accompany two-page accounts describing each family or group of families. The plates show several species in each family, along with their common and scientific names, body lengths, and geographic distribution.

Author Beletsky, an ornithologist, imparts information about general size, body build, colors, and special physical features of the group in each essay. Characteristic behaviors, such as the treecreeper's habit of spiraling around branches and trunks in search of ants, are described. The essay for each family starts with an introductory section that sets the scene for learning a bit about the group and then provides information on classification, diversity, distribution, morphology, ecology, behavior, breeding, and conservation status. Margin notes list distribution, number of living species, how many species are vulnerable and endangered, and how many species of this group have become extinct since 1600. Following the accounts is a lengthy chapter on avian diversity and biogeography. The bibliography lists 100 of the most important scholarly bird books and several field guides. The volume concludes with a general index and an index of species.

This is a browser's book as well as a quick reference book. The content is well organized, the text is highly readable, and the illustrations clearly show each species' defining characteristics. Although the illustrations are "of the kind used in field guides," the volume is not a field guide, nor an encyclopedia, but rather an introduction designed for birders who want to go further afield than their own lists and locations. The author also hopes to stimulate general readers to take more interest in birds. A high-value book for a moderate price that can find a place in most reference collection, shelved next to National Geographic Complete Birds of North America (2005). Linda Loos Scarth
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Likely to be on the wish lists of bird-lovers everywhere." -- Washington Post Book World

"Birds of the World rests on a simple, indisputable premise: 'Birds are beautiful animals and many people enjoy watching them.' Beletsky makes this point in the first sentence of his preface and honors it in the ensuing 500 or so pages." -- William Grimes, New York Times

"A richly illustrated introduction to various wild birds." -- Science News

"Some books are handsome, others easy to use, and still others, interesting to read. This is all three and more." -- Booklist

"A valuable, enjoyable global survey that induces wanderlust and explains in equal measure." -- Birder's World

"Refreshingly lively... This is a book to browse for enjoyment, not a dry reference tome." -- Maryland Ornithological Society

"Probably the most attractive, and certainly the most current, overview of the world's bird species." -- Jonathan F. Husband, American Reference Books Annual

"Stands up well to the rest of the competition and deserves praise for its clear organization, wealth of accessible information, handsome and abundant illustrations, and affordability." -- Quarterly Review of Biology

"For those now inspired enough to want to learn more about the roughly 200 families of birds (10,000 known species), Les Beletsky's Birds of the World provides a spectacular introduction." -- Discovery

Review

"Expert naturalist Les Beletsky and a team of first-rate artists have produced a bird world overview that is as accurate and informative as it is beautiful." -- Kenn Kaufman, author of the Peterson Field Guide to Advanced Birding

Customer Reviews

Great Overview
This volume provides a wonderful, ecumenical overview of the bird families of the world. It is lavishly illustrated and the book itself has great integrity. Of course, it isn't an identification guide, but you will love it for it's great overview of the bird fauna.

not happy with product. happy with return
I was disapointed with the book did not have very good pics. I expected clear and colorful pictures.. but was very happy with the return procedure.Just waiting for it to be taken off my credit card. thank you

Great Bird Book
This book is a superb reference to the birds of the world. It focuses on all the main orders and families giving concise background information. Each section is accompanied by a number of expertly painted of various representative species. Highly recommended. This should be on any birdwatchers list.