Reviews
Review from UK400 club

Rare Birds Yearbook 2008 is an absolute essential purchase for all of you concerned about the predicament facing the World's 189 most threatened birds. This doomsday avian charter highlights the most threatened birds on the planet (in fact it includes some birds, such as Slender-billed Curlew, which I consider became extinct some 14 years ago and lists 39 species not actually physically recorded since at least 2001, some as long ago as 1823 - Hooded Seedeater) and describes the dramatic circumstances which have pushed these species to the brink of survival.
The 274 pages are crammed full of information, the book itself being edited by Erik Hirshfeld and published in association with Birdlife International. There are some very interesting feature-articles on such birds as the endangered Madagascan Pochard (one of six species of wildfowl on the Critical List) and Balearic Shearwater (now numbering just 12,500 birds), with the main heart of the book (pages 84-243) concentrating on defining those 189 species, highlighting the range and population, potential threats and conservation actions currently employed or required. Each species is illustrated, either by existing photographs or constructed plates, and range from White-winged Guan and Blue-billed Curassow through Gorgeted Woodquail, Red-headed Vulture, Samoan Moorhen, Moheli Scops Owl, Imperial Woodpecker to the Munchique Wood-wren. Some of the most exquisite and beautiful birds on the planet are represented. Sadly, since 1500, a total of at least 155 species has become extinct - an absolute tragedy, including 7 species between 1980 and 1989. In fact, five further species now only exist in captivity - Alagoas Curassow, Socorro Dove, Guam Rail, Spix's Macaw and Hawaiian Crow.
This is a publication that EVERY birder should own and for every copy purchased, £4.00 of the cover price goes direct to Birdlife International, where it can be converted into real support and education for each threatened species. The book was published on 7th November 2007 and, apart from putting the spotlight on the situation of the Critically Endangered species, sales of the book will create much needed funds to help save them.
The recommended retail price for the book in the UK is £18.95 and can be ordered direct through www.rarebirdsyearbook.com

Lee G R Evans
British Birding Association
UK400 Club, Rare Birds Magazine, Ornithological Consultant and Conservationist

4 January 2008