Review by Booklist Review
This attractive encyclopedia is an updated paperback version of Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds (2003). An essay on What Is a Bird? in the introductory section sets the stage for the entries that follow. These are arranged by classification orders with short essays about such things as form and function, diet, social behavior, breeding, and conservation. There are also occasional special-feature essays, such as Why an Owl Looks like an Owl. Lavishly illustrated with photographs and drawings that expand on the text, the volume also contains a glossary and a bibliography of scientific works and field guides. In a world where species discovery continues, the editor has included 9,850 bird species. Charts called Factfiles summarize species' names, habitats, relative sizes, etc. Some groups, such as eagles, have several pages of species tables. For others, such as falcons, the various groups are listed in sidebars. Although the photographs and illustrations are often quite beautiful, they do not hide the facts of wildlife. Predators are occasionally seen with their prey, such as the skua eating the yolk of a penguin's egg. Cuckoos parasitize nests. Behavioral images as well as portraits are extensively used. The scavenging vultures and the dance sequence of the Japanese crane are images worth a thousand words. When selecting with value for cost in mind, this work rates very highly. It belongs in public and academic libraries, especially where the earlier edition is not owned.--Scarth, Linda Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
This is an updated paperback edition of the Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds (LJ 10/1/03), published in the UK by Oxford University Press as Encyclopedia of Birds (previously, New Encyclopedia of Birds). Perrins (Oxford, fellow of the Royal Soc.) combines the work of 150 contributors and more than 1000 great color photographs, maps, and other illustrations to produce a stunning book that informs both amateurs and experts. Coverage includes form and function, distribution, diet, breeding biology, and conservation and environment. Any updating is subtle, as no titles in the bibliography are more recent than 2003. A notice in small print states: "You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer," an attempt to thwart the cost-saving strategy of rebinding paperback copies with less-expensive-than-hardcover editions. Whether this statement is legally binding is not for this reviewer to say. BOTTOM LINE The repackaging of this work under slightly varying titles by different publishers is a real disservice; this book is a gem and deserves to be known by one title. Highly recommended for all libraries as well as all coffee tables not holding the earlier hardcover editions. [Also released this month: The Princeton Encyclopedia of Mammals. ISBN 978-0-691-14069-8; the Birds encyclopedia is available as an ebook through Oxford Reference Online.]-Teresa R. Faust, Vermont Dept. of Libs., Berlin (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
