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The World's Rarest Birds
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.
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.
360 pages, Hardcover
First published October 14, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 22, 2013
This book is actually about threatened birds rather than rare birds – it deals with those 197 species which are regarded as Critically Endangered and those 389 which are Endangered.
Having said that, many of these species are very rare. For example, there are (or were) 27 Sulu Hornbills in the world (on three islands in the Philippines). The forests where this species used to be more numerous have been felled for rubber and oil palm plantations – so, don’t worry, even if the bird goes extinct you can remember it every time you buy a new car tyre or fill up with fuel (with that dash of biofuel in it).
But not all the species are rare. The Indian Vulture still numbers 45,000 – it’s just that not very long ago there were over 1 million of them. And there are over a million Black-browed Albatrosses but there won’t be anything like that many in a few decades time if predation by introduced cats and deaths from long-line hooks continue to take their toll.
This is a bit of a depressing book – because of its focus on threatened species. I kept coming across species and thinking ‘Ooh! I’ve never heard of that. How pretty!’ and then realising the the species was on the brink of extinction.
Many of the species in this book may not exist in 50 years time. That’s a sobering thought – or actually one that might make you reach for a stiff drink. Although, you may be surprised to find that ‘only’ 130 avian species have been driven to extinction since 1500 (including, of course, the Dodo, Passenger Pigeon, Great Auk). We have the knack of just realising that we are going to do something awful and sometimes stopping just in time. But that means there are a lot of species limping through the world in hugely-depleted numbers.
13 bird species have become extinct in my lifetime and there are some famous species which aren’t yet officially accepted as extinct eg Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Slender-billed Curlew, Eskimo Curlew. I wonder who has the longest list of ‘birds seen in the wild that are now extinct’. Any offers?
You can draw your own conclusions from reading this book. If I were giving advice to a bird species I would suggest it didn’t want to be flightless, live on a small island (or even a big one in Hawaii) or on top of a few mountain tops. It shouldn’t be an albatross or vulture or parrot, and it should watch its step if it is a pigeon too. But the lesson for us is that we are carelessly and wantonly reducing the natural beauty of the world through over-consumption leading to habitat destruction and through unregulated trade leading to damaging introductions.
This is an excellent book; packed with information, well-designed, full of excellent photographs and with lots of well-written and interesting text. The photographs are marvellous. And the illustrations of those birds for which no decent photographs exist, by Tomasz Cofta, are excellent too.
It is a book that is a joy to have – but a shame that it needs to exist.
The World’s Rarest Birds is published by Princeton University Press and is available on Amazon, as is Mark Avery’s Fighting for Birds.
Having said that, many of these species are very rare. For example, there are (or were) 27 Sulu Hornbills in the world (on three islands in the Philippines). The forests where this species used to be more numerous have been felled for rubber and oil palm plantations – so, don’t worry, even if the bird goes extinct you can remember it every time you buy a new car tyre or fill up with fuel (with that dash of biofuel in it).
But not all the species are rare. The Indian Vulture still numbers 45,000 – it’s just that not very long ago there were over 1 million of them. And there are over a million Black-browed Albatrosses but there won’t be anything like that many in a few decades time if predation by introduced cats and deaths from long-line hooks continue to take their toll.
This is a bit of a depressing book – because of its focus on threatened species. I kept coming across species and thinking ‘Ooh! I’ve never heard of that. How pretty!’ and then realising the the species was on the brink of extinction.
Many of the species in this book may not exist in 50 years time. That’s a sobering thought – or actually one that might make you reach for a stiff drink. Although, you may be surprised to find that ‘only’ 130 avian species have been driven to extinction since 1500 (including, of course, the Dodo, Passenger Pigeon, Great Auk). We have the knack of just realising that we are going to do something awful and sometimes stopping just in time. But that means there are a lot of species limping through the world in hugely-depleted numbers.
13 bird species have become extinct in my lifetime and there are some famous species which aren’t yet officially accepted as extinct eg Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Slender-billed Curlew, Eskimo Curlew. I wonder who has the longest list of ‘birds seen in the wild that are now extinct’. Any offers?
You can draw your own conclusions from reading this book. If I were giving advice to a bird species I would suggest it didn’t want to be flightless, live on a small island (or even a big one in Hawaii) or on top of a few mountain tops. It shouldn’t be an albatross or vulture or parrot, and it should watch its step if it is a pigeon too. But the lesson for us is that we are carelessly and wantonly reducing the natural beauty of the world through over-consumption leading to habitat destruction and through unregulated trade leading to damaging introductions.
This is an excellent book; packed with information, well-designed, full of excellent photographs and with lots of well-written and interesting text. The photographs are marvellous. And the illustrations of those birds for which no decent photographs exist, by Tomasz Cofta, are excellent too.
It is a book that is a joy to have – but a shame that it needs to exist.
The World’s Rarest Birds is published by Princeton University Press and is available on Amazon, as is Mark Avery’s Fighting for Birds.
May 23, 2013
The most striking thing about this fascinating book is the wonderful photographs of birds. Many of the photographs were obtained through the method of organizing and running an international photo competition. More than 300 photographers from around the world submitted over 3,500 photographs. The winning images along with 800 others appear in the book. Yes, this is a very photo-rich volume!
There are some 650 birds that are considered Endangered or Critically Endangered by conservation groups which monitor the status of birds in the wild. There are a number of those species that have never been photographed. They may, in fact, be extinct, but at the very least they have rarely been seen and no usable photographs exist. This category includes some 76 species and these were illustrated for the book by Polish artist Tomasz Cofta. But for the rest of the birds included here, photographs were obtained.
The book begins with several introductory pages which explain the diversity and distribution of birds around the world. For example, we learn that the birdiest places on Earth are the northern half of South America and the islands of Indonesia.
Further, it explains how bird species are assigned to certain threat categories and goes on to explore the many threats which these rare birds - and, indeed, all birds - face. Most of these threats are related to human activities and include things like residential and commercial development, agricultural practices, logging, energy production and mining, dams, etc.
There are threats to birds which know no borders. Birds on migration face habitat degradation, hunting, trapping, as well as the growing menace of powerlines and wind turbines. The need for aggressive conservation practices is paramount.
Following the very informative introductory sections, 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 of the geographical sections 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.
Finally, there are some sixty species of birds that are considered "Data Deficient." This simply means that they are so poorly known that their threat status cannot be assessed. But there is summary information included which details their presumed population trend, the population size (if known), the apparent distribution, and, when possible, notes on status, habitat preferences, and ecology.
There is an enormous wealth of information here which would be of interest to bird lovers everywhere and to everyone who is concerned with protecting and preserving these wonderful creatures whose very existence is so seriously threatened by our activities. It is a concise and easily accessible compendium of what is known about these birds and, most importantly, about ways that interested individuals and groups can work to assist their survival.
(A copy of this book was provided to me free-of-charge by the publisher for the purposes of this review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.)
There are some 650 birds that are considered Endangered or Critically Endangered by conservation groups which monitor the status of birds in the wild. There are a number of those species that have never been photographed. They may, in fact, be extinct, but at the very least they have rarely been seen and no usable photographs exist. This category includes some 76 species and these were illustrated for the book by Polish artist Tomasz Cofta. But for the rest of the birds included here, photographs were obtained.
The book begins with several introductory pages which explain the diversity and distribution of birds around the world. For example, we learn that the birdiest places on Earth are the northern half of South America and the islands of Indonesia.
Further, it explains how bird species are assigned to certain threat categories and goes on to explore the many threats which these rare birds - and, indeed, all birds - face. Most of these threats are related to human activities and include things like residential and commercial development, agricultural practices, logging, energy production and mining, dams, etc.
There are threats to birds which know no borders. Birds on migration face habitat degradation, hunting, trapping, as well as the growing menace of powerlines and wind turbines. The need for aggressive conservation practices is paramount.
Following the very informative introductory sections, 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 of the geographical sections 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.
Finally, there are some sixty species of birds that are considered "Data Deficient." This simply means that they are so poorly known that their threat status cannot be assessed. But there is summary information included which details their presumed population trend, the population size (if known), the apparent distribution, and, when possible, notes on status, habitat preferences, and ecology.
There is an enormous wealth of information here which would be of interest to bird lovers everywhere and to everyone who is concerned with protecting and preserving these wonderful creatures whose very existence is so seriously threatened by our activities. It is a concise and easily accessible compendium of what is known about these birds and, most importantly, about ways that interested individuals and groups can work to assist their survival.
(A copy of this book was provided to me free-of-charge by the publisher for the purposes of this review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.)
October 4, 2013
This was a large book full of beautiful pictures of the beautiful rare birds that live all over the earth. This was also a technical book about the status of the birds, and it categorized each one as to whether they were endangered (most were, increasing/decreasing in numbers, and how they are impacted by various environmental factors. I was especially happy to see a full-page picture of the ivory-billed woodpecker. I had read a book about a Cornell professor and his students who attempted to take pictures of this bird in the swamps of northern Florida. The ivory-billed is one of those birds who may be extinct, but is "data deficient" in that there have been unconfirmed sightings and hearings, but no proven sighting for decades. I still hold out hope that the ivory-billed is still with us. I was also thrilled to see so many beautiful birds of so many shades of blue (my favorite color).
I learned a lot about how birds are observed and monitored by many organizations working together around the earth to study and protect them. The studies also help us learn about changes in the earth and the impact on not only birds but humans.
If you're a bird lover, you'll enjoy this book for both its information and its beauty.
I learned a lot about how birds are observed and monitored by many organizations working together around the earth to study and protect them. The studies also help us learn about changes in the earth and the impact on not only birds but humans.
If you're a bird lover, you'll enjoy this book for both its information and its beauty.
November 12, 2018
Beautiful, but heart-breaking. Particularly poignant were the seventy-six painstakingly researched, photo-realistic illustrations by Tomasz Cruz of Possibly Extinct birds, for which no photograph is believed to exist, or where no publishable image could be obtained.
I don't necessarily agree with all the authors' hypothesis as to past root causes, but that hardly matters as the bulk of the book focuses on the birds themselves, which makes the case for more research and conservation in the future more clearly than any speculation. Unlike most bird-identification books, in addition to their summer and winter habitat, the maps also show the birds migration routes and describe their migration habitat needs. There is also a QR code that takes the reader to more information on Birdlife International's website. www.birdlife.org/
I don't necessarily agree with all the authors' hypothesis as to past root causes, but that hardly matters as the bulk of the book focuses on the birds themselves, which makes the case for more research and conservation in the future more clearly than any speculation. Unlike most bird-identification books, in addition to their summer and winter habitat, the maps also show the birds migration routes and describe their migration habitat needs. There is also a QR code that takes the reader to more information on Birdlife International's website. www.birdlife.org/
July 6, 2014
I was introduced to this book by an eight year old. He would flip through until an image or name caught his eye, then read all about the new and fantastic creature. The appeal is similar to The Guinness Book of World Records. It's full of the unexpected, unfamiliar and fascinating. The photography is gorgeous.
April 3, 2014
This isn't the sort of book I read start to finish, but I did look through it carefully and was impressed. The quality of the photographs and layout is great. It seems well researched. It's a depressing topic but critically important.
April 29, 2014
Very beautiful birds, depicted in full colour throughout this 360 page hardcover volume. The white-headed duck (with blue bill), Bannerman's Turaco, and Ethiopian Bush-Crow were some highlights for me. Photos of these can be seen on the internet. I was only able to briefly study the book.
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