Ornithology / 3rd ed.

Table Of Contents:
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xix
Omithology: A Short History xxi

PART 1 Origins

The Diversity of Birds 3(22)

Basic Characters of Birds 4(5)

Adaptive Radiation of Form and Function 9(9)

Life Histories 18(1)

Natural Selection and Convergence 19(1)

Biogeography 20(5)

History 25(26)

Birds As Reptiles 26(1)

Archaeopteryx: The Original Link Between Birds and Reptiles 27(4)

Birds As Dinosaurs 31(6)

Early Evolution of Birds 37(2)

Evolution of Feathers 39(1)

Evolution of Flight 40(1)

Modern Birds 41

Box 2--1 The Avian Genome: One Billion DNA Base Pairs Strong 36(15)

Systematics 51(28)

Species and Speciation 51(2)

Scientific Names 53(4)

Classification and Phylogeny 57(1)

Taxonomic Characters 58(3)

Cladistics 61(2)

Biochemical Systematics 63(1)

Box 3--1 DNA-DNA Hybridization Compares Total Genetic Divergence 64(15)

PART 2 Form and Function

Feathers 79(36)

Feather Structure 79(10)

Feather Growth 89(2)

Evolution of Feathers 91(3)

Feather Colors 94(6)

The Feather Coat 100(2)

Feather Care 102(3)

Plumage Color Patterns 105(3)

Molts and Plumages 108

Box 4--1 Desert Sandgrouse Carry Water in Modified Feathers 82(3)

Box 4--2 The Bird That Calls Like a Cricket 85(2)

Box 4--3 The Display Plumes of Egrets Nearly Caused Their Extinction 87(8)

Box 4--4 Bright Red Marks the Best Male House Finches 95(2)

Box 4--5 Structural Colors of Bird Skin and Eyes 97(18)

Flight 115(26)

Elementary Aerodynamics 116(6)

Kinds of Flight 122(9)

Wing Sizes and Shapes 131(2)

The Skeleton 133(3)

Flight Muscles 136(1)

Muscle-Fiber Metabolism 136(1)

Flightless Birds 137

Box 5--1 Peregrine Falcons: Speed Stooping 122(1)

Box 5--2 Flying in Formation 123(11)

Box 5--3 The Furcula Is a Flexible, Elastic Spring 134(7)

Physiology 141(42)

The High Body Temperatures of Birds 142(1)

The Respiratory System 143(5)

The Circulatory System 148(2)

Metabolism 150(2)

Temperature Regulation 152(12)

Feeding and Digestion 164(7)

Energy Balance and Reserves 171(2)

Water Economy 173

Box 6--1 Birds Hyperventilate Without Severe Penalty 147(10)

Box 6--2 Global Warming 157(4)

Box 6--3 Selection for Larger House Sparrows 161(22)

PART 3 Behavior and Communication

Senses, Brains, and Intelligence 183(32)

Vision 184(6)

Detection of Magnetic Fields 190(1)

Hearing 191(4)

Mechanoreception 195(2)

Chemical Senses: Taste and Smell 197(3)

Bird Brains 200(6)

Cognition and Intelligence 206

Box 7--1 How Robins Find Worms 184(13)

Box 7--2 Birds Like Chili Peppers 197(1)

Box 7--3 New Zealand Kiwis Sniff for Their Food 198(1)

Box 7--4 Auklets Use Perfume 199(10)

Box 7--5 Conversations with a Parrot Explore Avian Intelligence 209(6)

Vocalizations 215(30)

Physical Attributes 215(6)

Vocabularies and Communication 221(1)

Sound Production by the Syrinx 222(5)

Roles of the Central Nervous System 227(2)

Learning to Sing 229(6)

Dialects 235(2)

Vocal Mimicry 237(1)

Songs and Mates 238

Box 8--1 A Vocabulary for Sounds and Vocalizations 216(7)

Box 8--2 Chickadees Tell Flock Mates Which Predator Is Lurking 223(3)

Box 8--3 Birds Have Two Independent Voices 226(6)

Box 8--4 Birds with Fixed Repertoires Learn Songs in Four Stages 232(6)

Box 8--5 Both Bird Vocalists and Human Fiddlers Have Technical Duels 238(2)

Box 8--6 Bush Shrikes Duet with Precision 240(5)

PART 4 Behavior and the Environment

The Annual Cycles of Birds 245(28)

Basic Annual Cycles 246(2)

Annual Cycles of the White-crowned Sparrow 248(2)

Circadian Rhythms and the Photoperiod 250(5)

Master Hormones 255(3)

Breeding Seasons 258(1)

Timing of Migration 259(3)

Scheduling High-Cost Efforts 262(3)

Nonannual Cycles 265(4)

Climate Change 269

Box 9--1 Precisely When Do American Robins Nest? 260(3)

Box 9--2 Molt by White-crowned Sparrows Requires Energy and Special Nutrition 263(3)

Box 9--3 Late Molts in the American Redstart Incur Costs 266(7)

Migration and Navigation 273(34)

Migration 274(21)

Navigation 295

Box 10--1 Radar Records Document the Decline of Migrant Birds 278(5)

Box 10--2 A Migrating Thrush Outperforms Ornithologists 283(9)

Box 10--3 The Black-necked Grebe Reorganizes Its Whole Body 292(12)

Box 10--4 Baby Buntings Learn the Night Sky 304(3)

Social Behavior 307(28)

Individual Space 308(1)

Territorial Behavior 309(5)

Social Rank 314(4)

Agonistic Behavior 318(2)

Flocks 320(11)

Communal Roosts 331

Box 11--1 Territory Defense by Sunbirds Depends on Economics 310(5)

Box 11--2 Dominant Blue Tits Are More Cautious Than Their Subordinates 315(6)

Box 11--3 Harris's Hawks Hunt in Teams 321(3)

Box 11--4 Optimal Size of a Quail Covey 324(1)

Box 11--5 Wanted: Experienced Parrot Flocks for Conservation 325(4)

Box 11--6 Coloniality in Yellow-rumped Caciques Reduces Predation 329(6)

PART 5 Avian Life Histories

Mates 335(32)

Life-History Strategies 336(2)

Mate Choice and Sexual Selection 338(6)

Evolution of Displays 344(15)

Monogamy 359(2)

Cuckoldry and Promiscuity 361

Box 12--1 Blue Tits Choose Mates in the Ultraviolet 341(26)

Breeding Systems 367(32)

Diversity 368(2)

Polygyny 370(3)

Polyandry 373(4)

Brood Parasitism 377(8)

Cooperative Breeding 385(7)

Bee-eaters and Families 392

Box 13--1 Coots Count 378(11)

Box 13--2 Altruism Bypasses Infidelity in an Endangered Island Warbler 389(6)

Box 13--3 Knowing Kin by Their Calls 395(4)

Bird Sex 399(32)

The Sexes 400(5)

Ovary and Ovum 405(4)

Testes and Sperm 409(3)

Copulation 412(4)

Fertilization and Sperm Competition 416(2)

The Complete Egg 418(5)

Egg Formation in the Oviduct 423(2)

The Embryo 425(2)

Clutch Size 427

Box 14--1 Manipulating Egg Quality and Brood Mates 407(5)

Box 14--2 Prolonged Copulation 412(6)

Box 14--3 Sperm Competition Among Smith's Longspurs 418(9)

Box 14--4 Determinate versus Indeterminate Egg Layers 427(4)

Nests and Incubation 431(36)

Nests 432(15)

Incubation 447(13)

Hatching 460(2)

Moundbuilders 462

Box 15--1 Fragrance Helps 436(2)

Box 15--2 Kittiwakes Adapt to Cliff Nesting 438(16)

Box 15--3 Bone-Making Protein Changes Finch Bills 454(13)

Parents and Their Offspring 467(36)

Altricial Compared with Precocial Modes of Development 468(10)

Begging for Food 478(1)

Sibling Rivalry 479(3)

Parenting 482(8)

Fledging 490(3)

Behavioral Growth and Development 493

Box 16--1 Development Categories of Hatchlings 471(9)

Box 16--2 Laughing Kookaburras: Last to Hatch Loses 480(4)

Box 16--3 Feeding Nestlings 484(11)

Box 16--4 Endangered-Species Projects Accommodate the Sexual Preferences of Hand-Reared Birds 495(4)

Box 16--5 Password Access to Cowbird Society 499(4)

Lifetime Reproductive Success 503(30)

Life-History Patterns 504(2)

Life Tables 506(4)

Longevity and Life Span 510(4)

Fecundity 514(6)

Annual Reproductive Effort 520(4)

Evolution of Clutch Size 524

Box 17--1 Physiological Constraints Shape Avian Life-History Traits 507(4)

Box 17--2 Anti-aging Mechanisms in Birds? 511(8)

Box 17--3 Young Female Tree Swallows Delay Breeding 519(14)

PART 6 Population Dynamics and Conservation

Populations 533(38)

Growth 533(5)

Control 538(2)

Limitation 540(10)

Regulation 550(8)

Long-Term Population Trends 558

Box 18--1 Rebound of the Short-tailed Albatross 534(14)

Box 18--2 Avian Flu 548(14)

Box 18--3 The Breeding Bird Survey 562(2)

Box 18--4 Global Warming and Seabirds 564(7)

Species 571(32)

What Is a Species? 571(4)

Allopatric Speciation 575(8)

The Phylogenetic Species Concept 583(2)

Population Size and Structure 585(5)

Hybrids 590(2)

Hybrid Zones 592(5)

Behavior and Speciation 597

Box 19--1 Population Cohesion of Cuckoos 573(4)

Box 19--2 Character Heritability 577(1)

Box 19--3 Seven Rules of Speciation in Birds 578(6)

Box 19--4 A Ring Species in Siberia 584(19)

Communities 603(32)

The Dynamics of Communities 603(14)

Species Diversity 617(9)

Competition 626

Box 20--1 Stable Isotopes Clarify Seabird Food Webs 605(2)

Box 20--2 Character Displacement Evolved Rapidly in Supertramps 607(14)

Box 20--3 Distance to Cover Defines the Niches of Sparrows 621(11)

Box 20--4 Competition Affects the Use of Foraging Sites by Tits 632(3)

Conservation 635(50)

The State of Birds 636(3)

Threats 639(6)

Past Excesses 645(5)

Hope 650(10)

Conservation by Design 660(15)

Site-Based Conservation 675(3)

The Conservation Movement 678

Box 21--1 Symbol of Extinction: The Dodo 646(5)

Box 21--2 Saving the Whooping Crane 651(7)

Box 21--3 Loons and Lead 658(16)

Box 21--4 A Seabird of the Old-Growth Forest 674(9)

Box 21--5 Birding Ethics: American Birding Association 683(2)
Bibliography 685(40)
Index 725