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Here are some bird book reviews from the last month to check out. (Happy Star Wars day!)

American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New Jersey
by Rick Wright (Author) and Brian E. Small (Photographer)

From Scott & Nix, Inc.:

From High Point State Park to Cape May Point, New Jersey is home to an amazing diversity of bird species. More than 375 types of birds nest in the dozens of state parks, forests, and natural areas created by local, state, and national authorities, including the centimeters-long ruby-throated hummingbird and large raptors such as the bald eagle. This guide to the Garden State’s birds features 235 bird species in their natural habitats, presented in stunning color photographs complemented by detailed information on their habitats, birdsongs, and tips on when and where to see them. The birds are organized by species for quick reference, and the book includes a complete state bird guide and a directory of birding destinations. This is an excellent resource for birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts who want to learn more about New Jersey’s natural history and the diversity of its birds.

• 565 beautiful color photographs featuring 255 bird species in natural habitats
• Clear and concise introduction, identification, habitat, and birdsong text
• Tips on when and where to see species
• Organized by type of bird from waterfowl to finches
• Table of excursions and birdwatching throughout the seasons
• Complete state bird checklist, detailed state map, index, and quick index

Intended for beginning and intermediate birders, this would be a great field guide for anyone in New Jersey just getting interested, or yet to be interested, in birds.

American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New Jersey
by Rick Wright (Author) and Brian E. Small (Photographer)
Flexibound with jacket; 370 pages
Scott & Nix, Inc.; April 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-1935622420
$24.95

Buy from Buteo Books
(based in the U.S.)

Buy from NHBS
(based in the U.K.)

Phillipps’ Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo: Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei, and Kalimantan
by Quentin Phillipps and Karen Phillipps

From Princeton University Press:

This is the fully revised and updated third edition of an acclaimed field guide to the birds of Borneo, covering Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei, and Kalimantan. The result is the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and user-friendly guide to the island’s remarkably diverse birdlife. The book covers all 673 species living or reported on Borneo, including all 59 endemic species. Each species is superbly illustrated in 141 color plates containing more than 2,000 full-color bird images, which provide multiple large views of each species, including most of the sexual variants and immature forms of polymorphic species. Each plate is accompanied by facing-page species descriptions covering taxonomy, size, call, range, distribution, habits, and status. Distribution is also shown with 567 detailed color thumbnail maps on facing pages. Other features include seven habitat plates, twelve regional maps showing Borneo’s top 90 birding sites, fast-find identification plates to the birds of Kinabalu and other habitats, and a full overview of Borneo’s vegetation, climate, and ecology. This is a guide that any outdoor visitor to the island will treasure.

• The most up-to-date, comprehensive, and user-friendly guide to the birds of Borneo
• Features handy, facing-page format
• Illustrates and describes all 673 species, including 59 endemics
• Contains more than 2,000 superb full-color images, providing multiple large views of each species, and 567 color maps
• Describes and maps Borneo’s top 90 birding sites
• Includes fast-find identification plates to the birds of Kinabalu and other habitats
• Provides a full overview of Borneo’s vegetation, climate, and ecology

This looks like a good, standard field guide. One thing jumped out at me, though – it’s filled with sidebars with more information on the birds and their ecology, stuff not found in most field guides. I found myself not just flipping through to look at the gorgeous birds, but actually reading the field guide. I’d definitely want this with me on any trip to this island.

Phillipps’ Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo: Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei, and Kalimantan (Third edition)
by Quentin Phillipps and Karen Phillipps
Paperback; 384 pages
Princeton University Press; March 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0691161679
$35.00

Buy from Buteo Books
(based in the U.S.)

Buy from NHBS
(based in the U.K.)

This edition of Review Roundup is much later than usual, as I’ve been spending much of my free time transcribing notes and entering data from my Peru trip. But now that I’m done, I can get on with other things…like actually reading and reviewing books 🙂

The Homing Instinct: Meaning and Mystery in Animal Migration
by Bernd Heinrich

From Houghton Mifflin Harcourt:

Acclaimed scientist and author Bernd Heinrich has returned every year since boyhood to a beloved patch of western Maine woods. What is the biology in humans of this deep-in-the-bones pull toward a particular place, and how is it related to animal homing?

Heinrich explores the fascinating science chipping away at the mysteries of animal migration: how geese imprint true visual landscape memory; how scent trails are used by many creatures, from fish to insects to amphibians, to pinpoint their home if they are displaced from it; and how the tiniest of songbirds are equipped for solar and magnetic orienteering over vast distances. Most movingly, Heinrich chronicles the spring return of a pair of sandhill cranes to their home pond in the Alaska tundra. With his trademark “marvelous, mind-altering” prose (Los Angeles Times), he portrays the unmistakable signs of deep psychological emotion in the newly arrived birds—and reminds us that to discount our own emotions toward home is to ignore biology itself.

While not exclusively about birds, this should be a good, informative read.

The Homing Instinct: Meaning and Mystery in Animal Migration
by Bernd Heinrich
Hardcover; 367 pages
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; April 8, 2014
ISBN: 978-0547198484
$27.00

Have You Heard the Nesting Bird?
by Rita Gray (Author) and Kenard Pak (Illustrator)

From Houghton Mifflin Harcourt:

Woodpecker calls from a tree, “cuk-cuk-cuk.” Starling sings, “whistle-ee-wee.” But have you heard the nesting bird?

In this book, we hear all the different bird calls in counterpoint to the pervasive quiet of a mama bird waiting for her eggs to hatch. Fun and informative back matter takes the shape of an interview so that readers learn more right from the bird’s bill. Ken Pak’s lively illustrations, paired with Rita Gray’s words, render a visual and sonorous picture book to be enjoyed by young naturalists.

This is a charming children’s book, with a suggested age range of 4 – 8 years. I like the illustrations and, if my children are any indication, reading aloud the rendered bird sounds will be a big hit. My four-year-old daughter definitely enjoyed me reading this to her.

Have You Heard the Nesting Bird?
by Rita Gray (Author) and Kenard Pak (Illustrator)
Hardcover; 32 pages
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-0544105805
$16.99

As you may have heard, the new second edition of The Sibley Guide was published recently. Want a free copy? It’s easy, you just have to guess how many birds I saw on a recent trip to Peru. Enter your guess as a comment on this post, and the closest guess wins.

If you’d like to make a more educated guess, these are the the tours that we went on with Kolibri Expeditions:

• North Peru: Budget Birding Chiclayo to Tarapoto 8 days
• Machu Picchu and Abra Malaga overland
• Pelagic from Callao, Lima, Peru

This contest ends at 11:59pm eastern on Sunday, April 6 Wednesday, April 9. (I’ll need at least that long to figure out how many birds I actually saw!). I’ll take care of shipping if the winner is in the US or Canada. Those elsewhere are still eligible, but I may ask that you chip in some for shipping (via Paypal).