This much-anticipated third edition of the Handbook of Bird Biology is an essential and comprehensive resource for everyone interested in learning more about birds, from casual bird watchers to formal students of ornithology. Wherever you study birds your enjoyment will be enhanced by a better understanding of the incredible diversity of avian lifestyles. Arising from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology and authored by a team of experts from around the world, the Handbook covers all aspects of avian diversity, behaviour, ecology, evolution, physiology, and conservation. Using examples drawn from birds found in every corner of the globe, it explores and distills the many scientific discoveries that have made birds one of our best known - and best loved - parts of the natural world. This edition has been completely revised and is presented with more than 800 full color images. It provides readers with a tool for life-long learning about birds and is suitable for bird watchers and ornithology students, as well as for ecologists, conservationists, and resource managers who work with birds.

Table of Contents

Editorial Team and Contributors vii

Preface ix

Bird Academy Web Resources xiii

1 Why Study Birds? 1 Irby J. Lovette and John W. Fitzpatrick

2 Avian Diversity and Classification 7 Irby J. Lovette

3 How Birds Evolve 63 Irby J. Lovette

4 Feathers and Plumages 101 Kimberly Bostwick

5 Avian Flight 149 Bret W. Tobalske

6 Avian Anatomy 169 Howard E. Evans

7 Bird Physiology 215 Scott McWilliams, Elizabeth Adkins -Regan, and Carol Vleck

8 Avian Food and Foraging 265 Thomas W. Sherry

9 Avian Mating and Social Behavior 313 John Alcock

10 Avian Vocal Behavior 355 Bruce E. Byers and Donald E. Kroodsma

11 Breeding Biology of Birds 407 David W. Winkler

12 Avian Migration and Dispersal 453 David W. Winkler, Judy Shamoun -Baranes, and Theunis Piersma

13 Ecology of Bird Populations 495 Walter D. Koenig

14 Bird Communities 537 Russell S. Greenberg

15 Bird Conservation 579 John W. Fitzpatrick and Amanda D. Rodewald

Glossary 641

Index 657