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The Bowerbirds
Ptilonorhynchidae
Clifford Frith and Dawn Frith
Eustace Barnes, Michael McGuire, Edited by C. M. Perrins, W. J. Bock, and J. Kikkawa
552 pages
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8 colour plates, 77 b/w halftones, and 26 maps
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246x189mm
978-0-19-854844-7
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Hardback
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26 February 2004
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This item is printed to order and supplied on a firm sale basis. Items which are printed to order are normally despatched and charged within 5-10 days.
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- Bird Families of the World is a multivolume series of handbooks, intended to serve the interests of both the professional scientist and the ever-growing body of amateur ornithologists. Each volume provides a comprehensive and accurate synthesis of our knowledge of one bird family or several related families
- Seven general chapters on the biology, feeding ecology, breeding behaviour, evolutionary relationships, and conservation of the birds in the family
- 6 specially commissioned colour plates by Eustace Barnes, showing adults of all species and many juveniles, immatures and subspecies, plus 2 plates of colour photographs
- Numerous line drawings illustrating special features and behaviour
- Descriptions of each species individually, including appearance, weights, and measurements; field characters; voice; habitat and food; breeding behaviour; life cycle; and range and status (with distribution map). This provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date species-level information available
- Full bibliography and index
The bowerbirds are confined to the great island of New Guinea and the island continent of Australia, and their immediately adjacent islands. They are medium-sized birds, omnivorous and largely solitary. They are unique in the avian world in that the males build elaborate 'bowers': structures of sticks, grasses or other plant stems on or close to the ground for display and courtship, often incorporating objects such as colourful fruits, flowers, feathers, bones, stones, shells, insect skeletons, and numerous other natural (and human-made) objects.
The highly sophisticated building, decorating, collecting, arranging, thieving, singing, and courtship posturing and
dancing by males is primarily to attract and impress females. As much of it is performed in the absence of females, however, some consider it possible that males may also enjoy such activities for their own sake. The bowers and the birds' behaviour associated with them have been much studied by behavioural ecologists searching for evolutionary and ecological explanations of behavioural patterns.
The authors' aims include: (a) making the reader aware of the broader significance of bowerbirds to general biological studies and (b) providing references to key literature on theoretical issues.
Part I contains general chapters on bowerbird evolution, behaviour, environment, demography, courtship patterns, breeding biology, and sexual selection. Part
II follows with 21 species accounts, giving comprehensive information on the birds in their natural state, including distribution maps and sonographs. Complementing the species accounts are superb colour plates by Eustace Barnes, especially commissioned for this volume.
The Bowerbirds, like its companions in the series, is an indispensable work of reference for everyone interested in birds. Readership: Professional ornithologists and researchers with an interest in the bowerbirds or in bird ecology, sexual selection, mating behaviour, and nesting biology generally. Amateur ornithologists and naturalists, behaviourists, people interested in evolution and natural history.
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Clifford Frith, Honorary Research Fellow, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, and Dawn Frith, Honorary Research Fellow, Queensland Museum, Brisbane Eustace Barnes, Michael McGuire, Edited by C. M. Perrins, W. J. Bock, and J. Kikkawa
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"For the time being, this is the definitive account of bowerbird biology, but it will be a fitting tribute to the Frith's ability to inspire future generations of bowerbird biologists if their excellent book soon requires a new edition. T.R. Birkhead, Ibis (2007), 149, 175-188" "Oxford University Press has established itself as a leading publisher of high quality ornithology texts ... the strength of this book, and the others in the series, lies in its high scientific goal, its top quality illustration and its ability to present a wealth of information in a manner that is readily accessible to the amateur serious about learning more about ornithology not only of individual bird families but of birds as a whole." - Avian and Poultry
Biology Reviews "OUP are always keen to support the text with good illustrations. The series is characterised by specially commissioned colour plates, here done by Eustace Barnes, that illustrate species, subspecies, genders and age-related plumage characteristics. In this volume, colour photographs of some of the bowers are included. Add to this clear maps and line drawings, as well as half-tone photographs by the author, and as a result The Bowerbirds becomes an attractive book that is worthy of any bookshelf ... From my own perspective, I love this book." - Avian and Poultry Biology Reviews
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List of colour plates
List of abbreviations
Plan of the book
Diagrams of bird topography
Map showing some locations mentioned in the text
Boundaries of the regional maps used in the species accounts of Chapter 8
PART I General chapters
1: The bowerbirds--an introduction
2: Systematics and biogeography
3: Ecological cycles, foraging, and other behaviour
4: Morphology, demography, bower sites, structures, and their significance
5: Bower site acquisition, fidelity, attendance, and courtship displays
6: Breeding biology and parental care
7: Evolution of mating systems and sexual selection
PART II Family, genus, and species accounts
8: Family PTILONORHYNCHIDAE 20 species in 8 genera
Appendices
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
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The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
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