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Review from BirdGuides.com
I’ve often said that some of the most valuable books for birdwatchers are the scientific publications by BirdLife International. Their fieldworkers are out there, gathering data on all the most important species and sites in the world and their findings are published so they can be used by conservationists and politicians – but they are so fascinating that they deserve to reach a wider audience of birdwatchers. Books such as Important Bird Areas in Europe are packed with really useful information but, since they are presented as scientific documents, many birders pass them by.
In the case of the Rare Birds Yearbook, someone at BirdLife International has spotted that the information that they need to publish anyway for conservation purposes could also be turned into a terrific book and sold to the general public. The task of making this happen has fallen to the editor Erik Hirschfeld and he’s done an excellent job. The book is based on species accounts for the rarest (or, at least, most threatened) 189 bird species in the world.
In all cases the current range and population is described, threats to its survival are highlighted, and details are given on what has been done already to safeguard the population and what needs to be done next. There’s also, for each species, a distribution map, one or two colour photos (or a painting, if the bird has never been photographed!) and a beautifully concise paragraph, listing the significant events, by date, in the history of that species. I have to confess I’ve never heard of most of the birds in this book and, like many of you, I’m never likely to be able to travel to all those remote islands on which many of them are found. But this doesn’t detract at all from the fascination of reading about species that have only recently been discovered (or re-discovered) or haven’t been seen for years or the reasons for crashes in their populations. There have been books before about the most threatened birds on the planet but none have been so comprehensive, so up-to-date and so concisely presented.
But this book is far more than just a compendium of data on the world’s rarest birds. The editor has added a number of articles that make great reading, sometimes exciting (the story of how Madagascar Pochard was re-discovered and is now being nurtured in its native habitat) sometimes worrying (the likely consequences of global warming) but always informative (like how to tell where a bird has come from by the molecules in its feathers). My favourite article was on the lives of 4 field workers, who devote themselves to seeking out species that are new to science; they have tales of success (25 newly-discovered species or subspecies between them) but also tales of difficult, uncomfortable, even life-threatening experiences in some of the most remote corners of the world. Will their stories inspire a new generation of field birders to follow in their footsteps?
Overall, the book successfully conveys the excitement and urgency of studying and protecting these birds. In some cases it reminds me of the immortal line ‘But Flash, we only have 14 hours to save the Earth’ – can the forces of good prevail to save each species before it’s too late? This book does more than any other to bring these birds to our attention – and just by buying a copy you can make a financial contribution towards their conservation
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Dave Gosney
Friday 23rd November 2007
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