Description
Book SynopsisUrban Ornithology is the first quantitative historical analysis of any New York City natural area's birdlife and spans the century and a half from 1872 to 2016. Only Manhattan's Central and Brooklyn's Prospect Parks have preliminary species lists, not revised since 1967, and the last book examining the birdlife of the entire New York City area is now more than fifty years old.
This book updates the avifaunas of those two parks, the Bronx, and other New York City boroughs. It treats the 301 bird species known to have occurred within its study areaVan Cortlandt Park and the adjacent Northwest Bronxplus 70 potential additions. Its 123 breeding species are tracked from 1872 and supplemented by quantitative breeding bird censuses from 1937 to 2015. Gains and losses of breeding species are discussed in light of an expanding New York City inexorably extinguishing unique habitats.
Trade ReviewThis is a detail-rich historical summary of a local urban avifauna.... Urban ecologists will find it valuable for its documentation of the declines and successes of birds in a well-studied metropolis. The text is enriched by many maps, photographs, figures, and tables.
* Choice *
Throughout the book you read and hear a voice that is tying together all that was, all that has been lost, and all that remains, and what people who love nature are trying to do to protect New York City's natural world.... A treasure for anyone wanting to learn about bird life in New York City, and for students and teachers of ornithology. Here we get not only a natural history of the city, but many of the reasons why we need to cherish and protect it.
* The Gotham Center for New York City History *
Any book that starts "It was a dark and very stormy night." has got to be worth investigating. [Urban Ornithology] is a testament to what long-term effort by dedicated observers can achieve.
* British Trust for Ornithology *
This book is remarkable, perhaps unique in my experience, for its organization and presentation of analyses on a hierarchical arrangement of spatial scales.... in addition to the wealth of data and interpretation, the text is readable and entertaining and will have strong appeal to residents of New York City as well as the multitudes of urban places elsewhere on the globe.
* The Condor *
His book is the first quantitative historical analysis of New York birdlife and its first modern complete literature revision... not only constitutes essential reading for ornithologists dealing with the North American birdlife, but they represent stimulating works for anyone interested in urban birds.
* Biological Conservation *
Table of ContentsSystematic List
List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Avifaunal Overview
Terminology
Subarea Coverage
Historical and Recent Data Sources
Van Cortlandt Contrasted with Central and Prospect Parks
Ecological Connectivity
Breeding Species
Winter Species
Migration
Resource Concerns
The Future
Introduction to the Species Accounts
Species Accounts
Appendixes
1. Tables
2. Scientific Names of All Organisms Mentioned in This Book Other Than Birds in the Species Accounts
3. Glossary of Symbols, Abbreviations, and Terms Used in This Book
4. Names of All Observers Appearing Anywhere in the Body of This Book
5. Stranger in a Strange Land: An Andean Gull in the Bronx
6. Specimens in Museum Collections from Van Cortlandt Park, Kingsbridge Meadows, Woodlawn Cemetery and Jerome Reservoir, and Riverdale
Literature Cited
About the Authors
Indexes
English Bird Names
Scientific Bird Names
Subjects
