Urban Aviary A modern guide to city birds

by Moss, Stephen; Martin, Marc

• ISBN13: 9781781318409
• ISBN10: 1781318409
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2019-08-06
• Publisher: White Lion Publishing

Summary

A unique guide to the unusual and often surprising birds that soar above our cities around the world.

From frigatebirds wheeling over Rio de Janeiro to bowerbirds displaying in the suburbs of Canberra, penguins in Cape Town to pelicans in San Francisco, and huge flocks of starlings roosting around the Colosseum in Rome, the world’s cities are home to a remarkable array of feathered citizens.

Through Stephen Moss’s expert knowledge and insight, Urban Aviary provides a beautiful guide to some of the most extraordinary species of city birds that have become native, including helpful spotting hints and fact boxes for each bird, all of which are brought to life by Marc Martin’s distinctive and beautiful watercolours.

Author Biography

Stephen Moss is one of Britain’s leading nature writers, broadcasters and TV producers.  He writes the London Guardian’s monthly Birdwatch column and worked for many years at the world-famous BBC Natural History Unit, where his award-winning BBC TV series included Birding with Bill Oddie, Bill Oddie Goes Wild and Springwatch. He appears on regularly on radio and wrote BBC Radio 4’s tie-in book on birdsong, Tweet of the Day. He is currently President of the Somerset Wildlife Trust. His books include Collins Gem Garden Birds, This Birding Life: The Best of the Guardian’s Birdwatch, A Bird in the Bush: A Social History of Birdwatching, A Sky Full of Starlings: A Diary of the Birding Year and Wild Hares and Hummingbirds.

Table of Contents

Introduction                                                                         6
 
Anna’s Hummingbird                                                         8
Northern House Wren                                                     10
Brown Pelican                                                                   12
Bald Eagle                                                                         14
Golden-Cheeked Warbler                                               16
Purple Martin                                                                    18
Common Nighthawk                                                        20
Northern Mockingbird                                                      22
Turkey Vulture                                                                  24
Red-Tailed Hawk                                                              26
House Finch                                                                      28
Bronzed Cowbird                                                              30
Buffy-Crowned Wood Partridge                                     32
Scarlet Ibis                                                                        34
Bogotá Rail                                                                        36
Inca Tern                                                                           38
Rufous Hornero                                                                40
Falkland Steamer Duck                                                   42
Magnificent Frigatebird                                                    44
Arctic Tern                                                                         46
Common Eider                                                                  48
Mute Swan                                                                        50
Brent Goose                                                                      52
Bohemian Waxwing                                                         54
Feral Pigeon                                                                      56
Black-Legged Kittiwake                                                   58
Pied Wagtail                                                                      60
Black Redstart                                                                  62
House Sparrow                                                                 64
Herring Gull                                                                       66
Monk Parakeet                                                                 68
Peregrine                                                                           70
Spanish Imperial Eagle                                                   72
Lesser Kestrel                                                                   74
Short-Toed Treecreeper                                                 76
Greater Flamingo                                                             78
Grey Heron                                                                        80
Eurasian Blackbird                                                           82
Little Owl                                                                            84
Northern Goshawk                                                           86
Alpine Swift                                                                       88
Barn Swallow                                                                    90
Black-Necked Grebe                                                       92
Italian Sparrow                                                                  94
Common Starling                                                             96
European Honey Buzzard                                              98
White Stork                                                                      100
Syrian Woodpecker                                                       102
Long-Eared Owl                                                             104
Corncrake                                                                        106
Pied Kingfisher                                                               108
Wattled Ibis                                                                     110
Black-And-White Casqued Hornbill                             112
Common Ostrich                                                            114
African Penguin                                                              116
Common Swift                                                                118
Grey Hypocolius                                                             120
Black Kite                                                                        122
Coppersmith Barbet                                                       124
Red-Whiskered Bulbul                                                  126
Oriental Magpie-Robin                                                  128
Reed Parrotbill                                                                130
Spoon-Billed Sandpiper                                                132
Zebra Dove                                                                     134
Javan Myna                                                                     136
Japanese Cormorant                                                     138
Carrion Crow                                                                   140
Black Swan                                                                     142
Bush Thick-Knee                                                            144
Australian Brush-Turkey                                               146
Satin Bowerbird                                                              148
Rainbow Lorikeet                                                           150
Australian White Ibis                                                      152
Wrybill                                                                              154
New Zealand Bellbird                                                    156