Ornithology

Front Cover
Macmillan, 2007 - Science - 758 pages
Known as the classic textbook covering ornithology, this title renowned for its evolutionary approach to bird science. The new edition maintains the comprehensive scope found in previous editions and subject expertise that made the book so popular while incorporating the latest research and updating the exquisite program of illustrations that brings this subject area to life.
Written for those studying the subject and also those fascinated by the field of ornithological study, Frank Gill is a celebrated ornithologist with worldwide knowledge of this subject. The title takes students through the history, moving through ornithological features such as feathers and wings and concluding with themes surrounding conservation focusing on a more ecological point of view. Each chapter now includes conservation-related examples, to help your students understand the state of conservation in the real world as it is a growing issue in ornithology.
 

Contents

The Diversity of Birds
3
Chapter
8
Adaptive Radiation of Form and Function
9
Life Histories
18
History
25
Birds As Dinosaurs
31
Early Evolution of Birds
37
Chapter 2
38
Monogamy
359
Breeding Systems
367
Chapter 13
371
Polyandry
373
Cooperative Breeding
385
Beeeaters and Families
392
Bird Sex
399
Ovary and Ovum
405

CONTENTS CHAPTER 3 Systematics
51
Chapter 3
60
Feathers
79
Feather Growth
89
The Feather Coat
100
Chapter 4
108
Flight
115
Chapter 5
120
Kinds of Flight
122
Social Rank 314 CONTENTS
124
Wing Sizes and Shapes
131
Flightless Birds
137
Physiology 141 CONTENTS
142
Feeding and Digestion
164
Behavior and Communication
181
Part 3
189
Mechanoreception
195
BOX 75 Conversations with a Parrot Explore Avian Intelligence
209
CONTENTS Vocal Mimicry 237
216
Chapter 8
222
Dialects
235
Part 4
243
Circadian Rhythms and the Photoperiod
250
Breeding Seasons
258
BOX 93 Late Molts in the American Redstart Incur Costs
266
Chapter 9
269
Migration and Navigation
273
BOX 102 A Migrating Thrush Outperforms Ornithologists
283
BOX 103 The Blacknecked Grebe Reorganizes Its Whole Body
292
Chapter 10
294
BOX 104 Baby Buntings Learn the Night Sky
304
Chapter 11
309
Communal Roosts 331
310
BOX 113 Harriss Hawks Hunt in Teams
321
BOX 116 Coloniality in Yellowrumped Caciques Reduces Predation
329
Mates
335
Chapter 12
336
Evolution of Displays
344
Chapter 14
408
CONTENTS Testes and Sperm
409
Nests and Incubation
431
BOX 152 Kittiwakes Adapt to Cliff Nesting
438
Chapter 15
442
BOX 153 BoneMaking Protein Changes Finch Bills
454
Parents and Their Offspring
467
Begging for Food
478
Fledging
490
Chapter 16
494
BOX 165 Password Access to Cowbird Society
499
Life Tables
506
Annual Reproductive Effort
507
Chapter 17
519
Part 6
531
Control
538
Regulation
550
Chapter 18
552
LongTerm Population Trends
558
BOX 184 Global Warming and Seabirds
564
Species
571
The Phylogenetic Species Concept
583
Chapter 19
590
Behavior and Speciation
597
Communities
603
CONTENTS Competition 626
605
Species Diversity
617
Chapter 20
628
Conservation
635
Chapter 21
640
Past Excesses
645
BOX 212 Saving the Whooping Crane
651
BOX 213 Loons and Lead
658
BOX 214 A Seabird of the OldGrowth Forest
674
American Birding Association
683
Index
725
Copyright

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About the author (2007)

Frank B. Gill - University of Pennsylvania, USA. An American ornithologist with worldwide research interests and birding experience. From 1969-1995, Gill was a full-time staff member of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia where he held various positions, including Chairman for the Department of Ornithology and Vice President for Systematics and Evolutionary Biology. More recently, Gill was the president of the American Ornithologists' Union from 1998-2000, receiving the Union’s highest honour, the William Brewster Award. Gill is an elected member of the International Ornithological Congress.

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