OrnithologyKnown 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 |
Adaptive Radiation of Form and Function | 9 |
Life Histories | 18 |
History | 25 |
Birds As Dinosaurs | 31 |
Early Evolution of Birds | 37 |
Systematics | 51 |
Feathers | 79 |
Monogamy | 359 |
Breeding Systems | 367 |
Polyandry | 373 |
BOX 132 Altruism Bypasses Infidelity in an Endangered Island Warbler | 389 |
BOX 133 Knowing Kin by Their Calls | 395 |
Bird Sex | 399 |
Ovary and Ovum | 405 |
CONTENTS Testes and Sperm | 409 |
Feather Growth | 89 |
The Feather Coat | 100 |
Molts and Plumages | 108 |
Flight | 115 |
Kinds of Flight | 122 |
Social Rank 314 CONTENTS | 124 |
Wing Sizes and Shapes | 131 |
Flightless Birds | 137 |
Physiology | 141 |
Physiology 141 CONTENTS | 142 |
Feeding and Digestion | 164 |
Behavior and Communication | 181 |
Mechanoreception | 195 |
BOX 75 Conversations with a Parrot Explore Avian Intelligence | 209 |
Vocalizations | 215 |
CONTENTS Vocal Mimicry 237 | 216 |
Sound Production by the Syrinx | 222 |
Dialects | 235 |
Behavior and the Environment | 243 |
Circadian Rhythms and the Photoperiod | 250 |
Breeding Seasons | 258 |
BOX 93 Late Molts in the American Redstart Incur Costs | 266 |
Migration and Navigation | 273 |
BOX 102 A Migrating Thrush Outperforms Ornithologists | 283 |
BOX 103 The Blacknecked Grebe Reorganizes Its Whole Body | 292 |
BOX 104 Baby Buntings Learn the Night Sky | 304 |
Social Behavior | 307 |
Communal Roosts 331 | 310 |
BOX 113 Harriss Hawks Hunt in Teams | 321 |
BOX 116 Coloniality in Yellowrumped Caciques Reduces Predation | 329 |
Mates | 335 |
Evolution of Displays | 344 |
Nests and Incubation | 431 |
BOX 152 Kittiwakes Adapt to Cliff Nesting | 438 |
BOX 153 BoneMaking Protein Changes Finch Bills | 454 |
Parents and Their Offspring | 467 |
Begging for Food | 478 |
Fledging | 490 |
BOX 165 Password Access to Cowbird Society | 499 |
Lifetime Reproductive Success | 503 |
Life Tables | 506 |
Annual Reproductive Effort | 507 |
BOX 173 Young Female Tree Swallows Delay Breeding | 519 |
Population Dynamics and Conservation | 531 |
Control | 538 |
Regulation | 550 |
LongTerm Population Trends | 558 |
BOX 184 Global Warming and Seabirds | 564 |
Species | 571 |
The Phylogenetic Species Concept | 583 |
Hybrids | 590 |
Behavior and Speciation | 597 |
Communities | 603 |
CONTENTS Competition 626 | 605 |
Species Diversity | 617 |
Conservation 635 vii | 635 |
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 |
| 725 | |
Common terms and phrases
ability adult air sacs altricial American Robin annual cycle Archaeopteryx avian barbs barbules behavior bill bird song bird species bird's Blue Tits body temperatures brain breeding brood called changes CHAPTER chicks clutch color Common Starlings density dinosaurs display eggs energy evolution evolutionary evolved example feathers feeding females Figure finches fledge flight flightless flock foraging frequency furcula genetic gland gulls habitats hatching heat hormones hummingbirds hybrid increases incubation individual birds islands learning lift males mammals mates melanin metabolism migration migratory modern birds molt muscles nest nestlings nightjars North America Northern offspring ornithologists owls pairs parasites parents passerine patterns penguins percent pigeons plumage populations predators produce rates reduced reproductive success reptiles seabirds season shorebirds social song songbirds speciation structure survival syllables syrinx territories thecodont theropod tion Tits tropical vocal Warbler White-crowned Sparrows wing winter woodpeckers young birds Zebra Finches