A comprehensive monograph on waders. All of the Nethersole-Thompson family contribute in some measure to this book but it is Dr Desmond Nethersole-Thompson's life-long interest in waders which gives the work its exceptional quality and authority. For well over fifty years the study of waders and their behaviour has been his passion, and his great knowledge and experience are internationally recognised. There is a bonus, too, for the reader in the particular freshness and style of his writing which conveys not only his closely observed, patient study but also the joy and satisfaction he has known in watching such intriguing and beautiful birds, mainly in their Scottish habitats. The core of the book is the comprehensive accounts of the biology and behaviour of 18 species of waders in their breeding haunts. In addition there are chapters on waders generally, wader spacing and dispersion, the wader watchers of past and recent times, and two final chapters on new or returning waders and those pipe-dream species that, not too fancifully, may yet breed one day in these islands. Voice is one of the headings within the species accounts but there is also an appendix of sonagrams of wader songs and calls; there are tables of data and an extensive, selected bibliography. Donald Watson has provided more than a hundred drawings to complement and embellish the text and there are 32 photographs. Jacket paintings are also by Donald Watson.

"All of the Nethersole-Thompson family contribute in some measure to this book but it is Dr Desmond Nethersole-Thompson's life-long interest in waders which gives the work its exceptional quality and authority. For well over fifty years the study of waders and their behaviour has been his passion, and his great knowledge and experience are internationally recognised. There is a bonus, too, for the reader in the particular freshness and style of his writing which conveys not only his closely observed, patient study but also the joy and satisfaction he has known in watching such intriguing and beautiful birds, mainly in their Scottish habitats. The core of the book is the comprehensive accounts of the biology and behaviour of 18 species of waders in their breeding haunts (see Contents list). In addition there are chapters on waders generally, wader spacing and dispersion, the wader watchers of past and recent times, and two final chapters on new or returning waders and those pipe-dream species that, not too fancifully, may yet breed one day in these islands. Voice is one of the headings within the species accounts but there is also an appendix of sonagrams of wader songs and calls; there are tables of data and an extensive, selected bibliography. Donald Watson has provided more than a hundred drawings to complement and embellish the text and there are 32 photographs. Jacket paintings by Donald Watson."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

A detailed, authoritative yet highly readable monograph on one of Britain's best-loved farmland birds, the Lapwing. With its striking green-black and white plumage and distinctive pee-wit call, the Lapwing is one of Britain's best-known birds. Lapwings depend on agricultural land to breed and are considered a barometer of the health of this habitat; the population has crashed over recent decades, partly due to changes in farming practices. In winter, Lapwings switch to coastal areas and to wetlands, including those in suburban areas, where large, noisy flocks can gather. Michael Shrubb's The Lapwing is a thorough review of Lapwing biology contains sections on population dynamics, feeding ecology, habitat use, migration, and conservation; there is an impressively detailed review of our current understanding of breeding biology, plus discussion of some other species in the genus. The Lapwing is a superb addition to the Poyser list. Of interest to both amateur naturalists, who will enjoy insights into the birds' lives, and to academics, who will appreciate the broad overview of current research, this title will remain the definitive work on the species for many years to come.

This new field guide offers a complete identification reference to all of the sandpipers, plovers, stints and other waders found in Europe, Asia and North America. The superb plates show birds at rest and in flight, in every plumage variant likely to be encountered in the region. Species have been grouped, especially on the flight plates, so that similar species are shown close to each other. Facing text summarises key identification pointers to complete a quick-reference, field-friendly guide to this difficult and challenging group.

The landscape of Britain has been irreversibly changed over the last century. Modern agriculture, urban expansion, industry and transport have all left their mark, altering the face of the countryside forever. Shifting with the changing scene, the fortunes of Britain and Ireland's bird populations have fluctuated dramatically over the years. As current farming practices have evolved, the natural habitats and breeding patterns of many species have been disrupted. Urban and industrial growth has brought with it the pressures of new land use, pesticides, pollution and human interference. The activities of sportsmen, collectors and farmers have also taken their toll over the years. The new Poyser title The Historical Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1875-1900 is a fascinating book resulting form years of meticulous research by the author, Simon Holloway, who provides an absorbing account of the distribution changes of Britain and Ireland's birds over the last quarter of a century. Large colour distribution maps and their accompanying text paint a species-by-species picture of a period which completely transformed the landscape of this country. It is, says Natural World magazine, "a classic case of 'why did no one write this book before?'...The experienced birder, using a knowledge of species requirements, can only marvel at what the long-vanished landscapes were then like." Birdwatch praises Simon Holloway's achievement, saying: "This book brings together so much information from disparate sources, and its status maps present such a clear picture of our late Victorian avifauna, that it should take its place beside the BTO atlases on the bookshelf." While Birdwatching adds: "If you are interested in the historical side of birds and their populations this book will be an endless source of fascination." As with all Poyser publications, the attention to detail, the lovingly produced illustrations and the sheer breadth of knowledge demonstrated by the autho

Birdwatching has become an increasingly popular pastime in Ireland as elsewhere. Nor is all of the birdwatching done by the Irish. Many professional ornithologists from Britain and Western Europe find good reason to study Ireland's birds, as do the numerous birdwatching visitors each year. Clive Hutchinson, a leading Irish ornithologist, has compiled this comprehensive review of birds in the Republic and Northern Ireland to coincide with the 21st anniversary year of the Irish Wildbird Conservancy's foundation and he has had the IWC's active support throughout. Knowledge about the status and distribution of birds in Ireland has increased greatly since the 1960s and this is reflected in the detailed species accounts which form the major part of the book. Factors which led to this greater knowledge, recent changes in bird distribution and status, and reasons for the absence of some species are topics discussed in the book's introductory chapters. Other subjects covered are Ireland's topography, climate and habitats, a review of ornithology and ornithologists in Ireland over the last 100 years, and conservation programmes of more recent times. John Busby's superb illustrations (more than 100) are a feature of the book, helping to set the Irish scene as well as depict its birds.

This fascinating study describes the natural histories of these brood parasites and examines many of the exciting questions they raise about the evolution of cheating and the arms race between parasites and their prey. Brood parasites fill their armoury with adaptations including exquisite egg mimicry, rapid laying, ejection of host eggs, murder of host young, chick mimicry and manipulative begging behaviour: ploys shown by recent research to have evolved in response to host defence behaviour or through competition among the parasites themselves. While many host species appear defenceless, accepting parasite eggs quite unlike their own, many are more discriminating against odd-looking eggs and some have evolved the ability to discriminate against odd-looking chicks as well. How is this arms race conducted? Will defenceless hosts develop defences in time, or are there constraints which limit the evolution and perfection of host defences? And why are so few species obliged only to lay eggs in host nests? Have host defences limited the success of brood parasitism, or is it in fact much more common than we suspect, but occurring mainly when birds parasitize the nest of their own kind? All of these puzzles are examined in descriptions of the natural history of each of the groups of parasites in turn. Here is a book with wide appeal, both to amateur naturalists fascinated by this most singular and macabre of behaviours and by ornithologists and ecologists interested in the evolution of ecology and behaviour. The story takes us from the classic field work by pioneer ornithologists such as Edgar Chance, Stuart Baker, Herbert Friedmann and others, through to the experimental field work and molecular techniques of today's leading scientists. We visit brood parasites in Europe, Asia, Japan, Africa, Australasia, and North and South America, to look at some of the world's most interesting birds and some of biology's most interesting questions, many of which still beg answers from ornithologists in the future. Brilliant illustrations by David Quinn illuminate the species discussed, showing many behaviours never before illustrated and conveying the thrill of watching these astonishing birds in the wild.