The Summer Atlas of North American Birds
Jeff Price, Sam Droege, & Amy Price

Cloth | 1995 | This edition is out of print | ISBN: 9780125646604
364 pp.

Reviews | Table of Contents

The North American Breeding Survey comprises a network of regularly censussed, road-based survey routes and constitutes the most comprehensive set of data on the relative abundance and population trends of these birds during the summer months. In this book, Jeff and Amy Price and Sam Droege have used these data to create detailed, computer-generated maps showing the relative abundance of 449 species that summer in the contiguous United States and southern Canada. Tabular information on distribution hotspots for these, and an additional 50 species too local in occurrence to map effectively, are also presented. The maps provide a baseline for future and more regionally based studies. Supporting chapters provide details on the survey methodology, the mapping procedures used, and some current concerns in North American bird conservation. The maps provide an unprecedented level of information, and far surpass the general picture given by distribution maps in field guides. For the first time, detailed occurrence and relative abundance of each species is provided. This is of great use to birders seeking to locate species of bird new to them, but also to everyone with an interest in and concern for, the health of North American bird populations. Ecologists, land managers, conservation agencies, environmental consultants, and land use planners will all benefit from this book.

Key Features:

• Introduction to the Breeding Bird Survey.
• Foreword by Ken Kaufman, author of Advanced Birding.
• Description of the data analysis methods and map preparation techniques.
• More than 450 species maps, in two colors, showing where the birds are found in early summer, with four levels of relative abundance.
• A relative abundance map pinpointing the areas of highest species richness
• Tabular information for all 530 species, listing locations of routes with the highest abundance for each species.

• This table includes data for Northern Canada and Alaska, and area excluded from the maps.

• Text focusing on species of conservation concern and their changing populations in recent years
• Full indices and lists of scientific and common names.

Review:

"The maps provide an unprecedented level of information, and far surpass the general picture given by distribution maps in field guides. . . . This book gives us a true indication of the health, or lack thereof, of bird populations and is an attractive and a necessary addition to any birder's library."--Indiana Audubon Society

"This book will be consulted internationally and should be in all of the World's major libraries. . . . If bird-distribution maps fascinate you, or you have any interest in North American birds, you will need to acquire this book and refer to it regularly."--J.T.R. Sharrock, British Birds

"The Atlas will be immediately useful to bird watchers and researchers wanting to locate prime study areas within a species' range as well as to conservationists interested in identifying strongholds for declining species. . . . I found the maps fascinating and informative. . . . The Atlas provides the best information on the abundance of North American birds."--James Briskie, Ibis

"For many years, surveys of breeding birds have been conducted throughout most of North America, but most of us cannot easily access and analyze the data. Now Jeff Price, Sam Droege and Amy Price have done it for us. . . . This level of detail does allow a better understanding than most other sources of information on where birds nest."--Barry Kent MacKay, Toronto Star

"A superb collection of 377 colour photographs, each carefully captioned, should prove an invaluable aid to the field identification of the 43 species covered here."--David Tomlinson, New Scientist

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgements vi
Foreword vii
Preface ix
Chapter 1. Overview of the Breeding Bird Survey 1
Chapter 2. Analysis of the Breeding Bird Survey data-creating the maps 7
Chapter 3. Relative abundance maps 15
Chapter 4. Annotated list of species, habitats, and areas with high relative abundance values 253
Chapter 5. Conservation issues and population trends 317
Appendix A. Common and scientific names 337
Appendix B. Selected bird-finding guides, breeding bird atlases, and other references 343
Appendix C. Cited references and suggested readings 349
Appendix D. Birding ethics 353
Index 355

Subject Areas:

• Birds and Natural History
• Biological Sciences

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