Molt in North American Birds (Peterson Reference Guides) - Hardcover

Howell, Steve N. G.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0547152353 ISBN 13: 9780547152356

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010

Synopsis

To most observers, molt seems an overwhelming subject. But birders use many aspects of molt more than they realize—to distinguish juvenile birds from adults, to pick out an individual hummingbird from among dozens visiting a feeder, and much more.

And for those whose interest goes beyond simply identifying birds, questions such asWhat triggers molt to start? How fast do feathers grow? and How long do they last? offer a fascinating window into the lives of birds. Put plainly, molt relates in some way to everything a bird does, including where it lives, what it eats, and how far it migrates.

Here, for the first time, molt is presented for the nonscientist. Molt is very orderly and built on only four underlying strategies: simple basic, complex basic, simple alternate, and complex alternate. This book clearly lays out these strategies, relates them to aspects of life history, such as habitat and migration, and makes this important subject accessible.

About this title

About the Author:

STEVE N. G. HOWELL has written more than six books and two hundred papers and book reviews on birds, including Hummingbirds of North America, A Bird-finding Guide to Mexico, and A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. He has been affiliated with the Point Reyes Bird Observatory for twenty years and is currently a senior birding tour leader for WINGS, Inc.

From the Inside Flap:

Feathers are an integral part of birds’ lives. They cover and protect a bird; signal a bird’s sex, age, and breeding status; and enable it to fly. But feathers don’t last forever, and they need to be replaced by a process known as molt. Molt can seem like an intimidating topic but really it isn’t. Even though birds have evolved many ways of balancing when and where to molt with other aspects of their life history, their molting patterns are actually very orderly and built upon only four underlying strategies: simple basic, complex basic, simple alternate, and complex alternate.  The Peterson Reference Guide to Molt in North American Birds clearly explains the molting strategies of each family of birds, using beautiful, large photographs to illustrate and simplify this important and useful tool in bird identification. Armed with a new understanding and appreciation for molt, birders can improve their skills with any number of species. Beyond identification, birds’ molting patterns reflect factors such as their habitat, food, clutch size, migration distance, and body size, and offer a novel window through which to view the remarkable lives of birds.

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0547152353
• ISBN 13: 9780547152356
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 267