Extinct Birds and Those in Danger of Extinction

by Philip Steele

Describes the physical characteristics and habits of prehistoric birds that are now extinct, such as archaeopteryx, and those of species that have either recently vanished or are facing extinction.

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Philip Steele was born in Dorking, Surrey, England. He attended University College, Durham, where he studied modern languages. In the 1970s he worked as an editor for various publishers, including Hodder and Hamlyn. In 1980 he moved to the Isle of Anglesey, in North Wales, where he now lives. He has written on a wide range of topics, especially in the fields of history, junior biography, peoples, and cultures.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well to tell the truth, with Philip Steele's non fiction picture book Extinct Birds and Those in Danger of Extinction, the negative and rather hopeless author attitude regarding some of the birds he describes as being in danger of extinction, specifically the kakapo, the California condor, the whooping crane and even the bald eagle should probably be taken with a major grain of proverbial salt. For while ALL of these birds are still considered vulnerable in 2023, their conservation status has actually quite nicely improved (even though for both the California condor and the kakapo, there is still much to do and a long way to go but that there is definitely more and more hope emerging) and that therefore Extinct Birds and Those in Danger of Extinction must in my opinion definitely be considered with its 1991 publication date firmly in mind, and that due to the latter, I would probably and in fact also not consider using Extinct Birds and Those in Danger of Extinction for actual educational purposes and in particular not with the intended age group, with children from about the age of eight to twelve or so without discussion and providing supplemental and more current conservation information (and that a more recently published book than Extinct Birds and Those in Danger of Extinction should really be utilised for teaching about critically endangered birds, although yes, that the information Philip Steele provides in Extinct Birds and Those in Danger of Extinction on how moas, the dodo, the passenger pigeon and the great auk became extinct seems solidly factual and well enough researched, providing education and also of course infuriating and saddening pain and heartbreak).

But while for a book published in 1991, Extinct Birds and Those in Danger of Extinction is actually pretty decent (and that I am not going to be removing stars for unavoidable datedness regarding in Steele's featured text, as the conservation status regarding kakapos, whooping cranes, California condors and bald eagles was certainly pretty much dismal in 1991), there are nevertheless two main textual issues I have encountered in Extinct Birds and Those in Danger of Extinction which prevent me from giving more than a three star rating. For one, that Philip Steele is not including a bibliography with suggestions for further reading in Extinct Birds and Those in Danger of Extinction is definitely majorly annoying and even if such a bibliography would of course be limited to books published prior to 1991, its absence still for me rather majorly reduces the educational and the research value of Extinct Birds and Those in Danger of Extinction. And for two, with regard to the extinct bird species that are textually presented in Extinct Birds and Those in Danger of Extinction, in my opinion, Steele's printed words regarding bird species that have disappeared because of us, because of human actions and behaviour, this would have much more of an impact and be much more critical and condemning if for the last known great auks killed in Great Britain and on Iceland, the names of the St. Kilda residents and the Icelandic fishermen responsible would be textually included, as well as the name of the Ohio boy who shot the last known wild passenger pigeon and that Philip Steele should also be mentioning how DDT has caused many bird species to become endangered (including the California condor and the bald eagle, and that I am pretty unpleasantly surprised how DDT is in fact not even once mentioned by the author, by Philip Steele in Extinct Birds and Those in Danger of Extinction).

[Cws]

J568Ste

[Cheryl]

Didn't read everything but the kakapo was very interesting and wikipedia has more info on it.