Graham Martin takes the reader deep into the world of birds from a new
perspective, with a ‘through birds’ eyes’ approach to
ornithology that goes beyond the traditional habitat or ecological
point of view. There is a lot more to a bird’s world than what it
receives through its eyes. This book shows how all of the senses
complement one another to provide each species with a unique suite of
information that guides their daily activities. The senses of each
bird have been fine-tuned by natural selection to meet the challenges
of its environment and optimise its behaviour: from spotting a carcase
on a hillside, to pecking at minute insects, from catching fish in
murky waters, to navigating around the globe. The reader is also
introduced to the challenges posed to birds by the obstacles with
which humans have cluttered their worlds, from power lines to
windowpanes. All of these challenges need explaining from the birds’
sensory perspectives so that effective mitigations can be put in
place. The book leads the reader through a wealth of diverse
information presented in accessible text, with over 100 colour
illustrations and photographs. The result is a highly readable and
authoritative account, which will appeal to birdwatchers and other
naturalists, as well as researchers in avian biology. The author has
researched the senses of birds throughout a 50-year career in
ornithology and sensory science. He has always attempted to understand
birds from the perspective of how sensory information helps them to
carry out different tasks in different environments. He has published
papers on more than 60 bird species, from Albatrosses and Penguins, to
Spoonbills and Kiwi. His first fascination was with owls and night
time, and owls have remained special to him throughout his career. He
has collaborated and travelled widely and pondered diverse sensory
challenges that birds face in the conduct of different tasks in
different habitats, from mudflats and murky waters, to forests,
deserts and caves. In recent years he has focused on how understanding
bird senses can help to reduce the very high levels of bird deaths
that are caused by human artefacts; particularly, wind turbines, power
lines, and gill nets.
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How and What Birds See, Hear, Smell, Taste and Feel
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781784272173
Publisert
2020
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Vendor
Pelagic Publishing
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter