The Avian Brood Parasites: Deception at the Nest

Author:   Paul A. Johnsgard (Foundation Professor of Biological Sciences, Foundation Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
ISBN:  

9780195110425


Pages:   424
Publication Date:   12 March 1998
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Our Price $297.95 Quantity:  
Add to Cart

Share |

The Avian Brood Parasites: Deception at the Nest


Add your own review!

Overview

Full Product Details

Author:   Paul A. Johnsgard (Foundation Professor of Biological Sciences, Foundation Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska)
Publisher:   Oxford University Press Inc
Imprint:   Oxford University Press Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 16.50cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 23.60cm
Weight:   0.794kg
ISBN:  

9780195110425


ISBN 10:   0195110420
Pages:   424
Publication Date:   12 March 1998
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order   Availability explained
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

Preface Part I. Comparative Biology 1: An Overview of Brood Parasitism 2: Eco-morphology and Interspecific Mimicry 3: Behavioral and Reproductive Ecology 4: Breeding Behavior 5: Host Retaliation: The Co-evolutionary Arms Race Part II. The Avian Brood Parasites 6: Waterfowl (Family Anatidae) 7: Honeyguides (Family Indicatoridae) 8: Old World Cuckoos (Family Cuculidae) 9: American Ground-cuckoos (Family Neomorphidae) 10: African Parasitic Finces (Family Passeridae) 11: Parasitic Cowbirds (Tribe Icterini) Appendixes A. Glossary B. Latin Names of Birds Mentioned in the Text References Taxonomic Index

Reviews

<br> Excellent pen-and-ink drawings showing a vast array of behavior patterns...An excellent book. --Wildlife Activist<p><br> A comprehensive, modern review. --Choice<p><br> Johnsgard has compiled the widely scattered literature on avian brood parasitism ... into one English language reference; the only one of its kind currently available and up-to-date.... a valuable summary. --Bird Watcher's Digest<p><br> Given the distinctive nature and fascinating evolutionary aspects of avian brood parasitism, it is surprising that a comprehensive book on this topic has not been produced before this one . . . a requisite starting point for future researchers undertaking studies of the lesser known species. Indeed, I found the coverage of the English language literature is to be quite thorough at least to the early 1990s, and this alone is probably worth the price of the book for many users. --Ecology<p><br> Many birds dodge the burden of parenting by laying their eggs in the nests of others . . .


Excellent pen-and-ink drawings showing a vast array of behavior patterns...An excellent book. --Wildlife Activist<br> A comprehensive, modern review. --Choice<br> Johnsgard has compiled the widely scattered literature on avian brood parasitism ... into one English language reference; the only one of its kind currently available and up-to-date.... a valuable summary. --Bird Watcher's Digest<br> Given the distinctive nature and fascinating evolutionary aspects of avian brood parasitism, it is surprising that a comprehensive book on this topic has not been produced before this one . . . a requisite starting point for future researchers undertaking studies of the lesser known species. Indeed, I found the coverage of the English language literature is to be quite thorough at least to the early 1990s, and this alone is probably worth the price of the book for many users. --Ecology<br> Many birds dodge the burden of parenting by laying their eggs in the nests of others . . . Paul Johnsgard, well-known among ornithologists . . ., has now tackled the avian brood parasites. . . . The majority of the space is devoted to individual accounts of the 95 known or suspected obligate brood parasites (those species who never rear their own offspring), with descriptions of habitat, distribution, identification, hosts, population dynamics and various aspects of breeding biology. The book makes it clear that, although certain brood parasites are well studied, scant information is available for the majority. And even in the best known cuckoos and cowbirds, the information on basic demography . . . is slim. Avian Brood Parasites highlights such information gaps, and will help lay an empiricalfoundation for the comparative biology of brood parasitism. Ornithologists and evolutionary biologists will undoubtedly find this a useful volume. --The Quarterly Review of Biology<br> [A] valuable springboard back to original studies --Birding<br> Examines obligate interspecific as well as intraspecific avian brood parasites. Early chapters cover major evolutionary and comparative aspects of brood parasitism, and the bulk of the book is devoted to 94 individual species accounts of avian brood parasites. Emphasis is on field and in-hand species identification and on those aspects of breeding biology that are related specifically to brood parasitism, rather than summarizing overall ecologies and life histories. Includes b&w drawings and distribution maps, a glossary, and Latin names. --SciTech Book News<br> This volume is a useful starting point for readers unfamiliar with the topic and interested in quickly obtaining a wide overview of the phenomenon. . . . The [94] species accounts constitute an extremely compact and useful source of available information on brood parasites. . . . More than 50 pen-and-ink drawings are based on classic photographs or sketches . . . The drawings illustrate points ranging from adult morphological or plumage traits, size and appearance of eggs and nestlings, to distinctive postures, rarely seen behaviours such as egg stealing or nestling eviction, and occasional audiospectrograms of the song. . . . [T]he charm of the drawings holds its own against the glamour of colour photography available elsewhere. The drawings themselves are a good compilation of the scattered artistic body of work done on brood parasites . . . and this aesthetic component is amajor asset to both the volume's readability and scholarly value. --Animal Behaviour<br> . . . .this book provides a useful summary of the natural history of avian brood parasitism. It is comprehensive reference work, written in a style that would appeal to the knowledgeable amateur, but is most likely to be used by specialists for the wealth of collated comparative information it contains. Ostrich<br> Provides a comprehensive overview of the behavioral and reproductive ecology of brood parasitism. Makes a special effort to summarize the sparse literature on what is known or conjectured about the many little-known species of brood parasites. An impressive effort to provide a solid reference base for future research efforts into this unusual form of parasitism. -- Northeastern Naturalist, Vol 7, No 3, 2000<br>


Author Information

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions
Latest Reading Guide

Aorrng

Shopping Cart
Your cart is empty
Shopping cart
Mailing List