The Cotingas

Inbunden. Engelska. 303s. 28x22c. 1,1kg.

Nyskick.
Snow's introductory chapters are coherent and accessible and should be read by anyone interested in (especially) neotropical birds. His chapter covering origin, classification and distributional history includes a cogent explanation of the evolution of those birds classified as suboscines.

The genus accounts and species accounts are superb, covering taxonomy, distribution, ecology and behavior, breeding and annual cycles, plumages and molts, and physical characters (the latter two categories being quite technical, addressing in some instances even skeletal distinctions). Many birders will find the distribution, ecology & behavior passages most compelling, while professional ornithologists may appreciate the details of physical characters.

When published in 1982, this work by David Snow summarized like no volume before it the contemporary knowledge (from the ornithological record and from personal observations) of a "family" (perhaps now better termed an "assemblage" of families) that includes birds of spectacular beauty and (in many instances) exotic ornamentation. He offered detailed descriptions of the often ritualized courtship displays, rendered more comprehensible in a few instances by accompanying line drawings. Range maps delineate species distributions. The Martin Woodcock plates usefully supplement the informative text of what is without doubt a classic ornithological work that retains relevance today, taxonomic changes notwithstanding. Cornell University Press.