Gatherings of Angels: Migrating Birds and Their Ecology

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic voyages
Review: This book works well on many levels for different readers. For the bird watcher, you will learn why Sept 16 is the best time to be at Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania. For sheer magnificence the Sandhill Crane migrations through Nebraska can't be surpassed, and that story also offers lessens on the role of man; both positive (leaving corn in the field), and negative (loss of the Platte River).

For those wanting to understand the scientific process, the disagreement about the migration route over the Atlantic of the Blackpoll Warbler offers an example of the use of circumstantial evidence. Sometimes the evidence seems too circumstantial, like infering Rufous Hummingbird migration paths from 2 banding returns. Looking at scientific cooperation the tracking of Western Sandpipers along the Pacific coastline is remarkable,as is the international cooperation on White-rumped Sandpiper migration from the Arctic to the tip of South America.

All of these esteemed authors present well written accounts of the biology of migration. Readers who enjoyed this book might also enjoy Paul Kerlinger "How birds migrate" and Brian Harrington's "Flight of the Red Knot".

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic voyages
Review: This book works well on many levels for different readers. For the bird watcher, you will learn why Sept 16 is the best time to be at Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania. For sheer magnificence the Sandhill Crane migrations through Nebraska can't be surpassed, and that story also offers lessens on the role of man; both positive (leaving corn in the field), and negative (loss of the Platte River).

For those wanting to understand the scientific process, the disagreement about the migration route over the Atlantic of the Blackpoll Warbler offers an example of the use of circumstantial evidence. Sometimes the evidence seems too circumstantial, like infering Rufous Hummingbird migration paths from 2 banding returns. Looking at scientific cooperation the tracking of Western Sandpipers along the Pacific coastline is remarkable,as is the international cooperation on White-rumped Sandpiper migration from the Arctic to the tip of South America.

All of these esteemed authors present well written accounts of the biology of migration. Readers who enjoyed this book might also enjoy Paul Kerlinger "How birds migrate" and Brian Harrington's "Flight of the Red Knot".