Overview

This is the first ever monograph on the Whooper Swan. This species is found in the northern Palearctic and is the world’s most widely distributed swan. It is a familiar bird in northern Europe and across Asia to the far East, and is particularly noticeable when migrating between breeding and wintering grounds in large, noisy flocks. This migratory behaviour makes it a powerful symbol of seasonal change, and this, together with the bird’s beautiful appearance, make it a popular subject of folklore and legend. For much of its range the Whooper Swan is the archetypal ‘wild swan’, and its voice and appearance is deeply evocative of time and place. This book looks at all aspects of the life and times of this enchanting bird. The book includes chapters on taxonomy, population, range and distribution, diet, breeding biology, behaviour, migratory behaviour and longevity, as well as taking a look at the swan’s associations with our own species in history and legend and throughout its geographic range. This book is a brilliantly readable and exhaustively researched monograph. It is illustrated throughout with numerous photographs and line drawings, illustrating various aspects of the species’ behaviour and morphology. It will appeal greatly to all those with an interest in birdwatching, especially those who already know something of this wonderful and inspirational bird.

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9781472982629

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Author Information

Mark Brazil is a widely travelled field ornithologist and an experienced writer. He was educated at Keele and Stirling universities in the UK and received a doctorate for his studies of the behavioural ecology of the Whooper Swan in Scotland and Iceland. His interest in swans has continued and he spends part of each winter studying them in Hokkaido where he is currently Professor of Biodiversity and Conservation at Rakuno Gakuen University, Hokkaido. His main research interests have centred around East Asian birds, particularly the Japanese avifauna. He is the author of A Birdwatcher's Guide to Japan (Kodansha International 1987), The Birds of Japan (Helm 1991), and Wild Asia: Spirit of a Continent (Bateman 2000). He has written research and review papers on a wide range of species and has contributed a regular column on natural history to The Japan Times newspaper continuously since 1982. He has been involved in the making of many natural history television documentaries, writes on travel, cultural and natural history topics for a wide range of publications, and calls Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand, home.

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