The essential field guide to the raptors of Mexico and Central America Raptors are among the most challenging birds to identify in the field due to their bewildering variability of plumage, flight silhouettes, and behavior. Raptors of Mexico and Central America is the first illustrated guide to the region's 69 species of raptors, including vagrants. It features 32 stunning color plates and 213 color photos, and a distribution map for each regularly occurring species. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features, age-related plumages, status and distribution, subspecies, molt, habitats, behaviors, potential confusion species, and more. Raptors of Mexico and Central America is the essential field guide to this difficult bird group and the ideal travel companion for anyone visiting this region of the world. Covers all 69 species of raptors found in Mexico and Central America Features 32 color plates and hundreds of color photos Provides multiple illustrations of each species Depicts and describes variations in plumage by individual, morph, age, and region Describes behavior, food preferences, hunting strategies, vocalizations, and molt Covers rare and extralimital species Includes distribution maps and flight silhouettes

The essential field guide to the raptors of Mexico and Central America Raptors are among the most challenging birds to identify in the field due to their bewildering variability of plumage, flight silhouettes, and behavior. Raptors of Mexico and Central America is the first illustrated guide to the region's 69 species of raptors, including vagrants. It features 32 stunning color plates and 213 color photos, and a distribution map for each regularly occurring species. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features, age-related plumages, status and distribution, subspecies, molt, habitats, behaviors, potential confusion species, and more. Raptors of Mexico and Central America is the essential field guide to this difficult bird group and the ideal travel companion for anyone visiting this region of the world. Covers all 69 species of raptors found in Mexico and Central America Features 32 color plates and hundreds of color photos Provides multiple illustrations of each species Depicts and describes variations in plumage by individual, morph, age, and region Describes behavior, food preferences, hunting strategies, vocalizations, and molt Covers rare and extralimital species Includes distribution maps and flight silhouettes

'Covering every species of raptor on the planet, this book is perfect for anyone with an interest in birds of prey.' - Birdwatch This guide covers all the world's 313 raptor species illustrated with adult, juvenile and selected immature plumages as well as main geographical races. There are illustrations of over 2000 perched and flying birds, some with typical prey and facing texts summarising length, wingspan, male-to-female proportion, shape and flight. The text is further enhanced with line drawings illustrating specific points about identification and behaviour.

No book has ever before specifically focused on the birds of prey of New Mexico. Both Florence Bailey (1928) and J. Stokley Ligon (1961) published volumes on the birds of New Mexico, but their coverage of raptors was somewhat limited. In the ensuing years a great deal of new information has been collected on these mighty hunters' distribution, ecology, and conservation, including in New Mexico. The book begins with a history of the word "raptor." The order of Raptatores, or Raptores, was first used to classify birds of prey in the early nineteenth century, derived from the Latin word raptor, one who seizes by force. The text then includes the writings of thirty-seven contributing authors who relate their observations on these regal species. For example, Joe Truett recounts the following in the chapter on the Swainson's Hawk: "From spring to fall each year at the Jornada Caves in the Jornada del Muerto, Swainson's hawks assemble daily to catch bats. The bats exit the caves--actually lava tubes--near sundown. The hawks swoop in, snatch bats from the air, and eat them on the wing." Originally from France, Jean-Luc Cartron has lived and worked on several continents, finding his passion in the wide-open spaces of New Mexico. He became fascinated by the birds of prey and has studied their ecology and conservation for nearly twenty years. Raptors of New Mexico will provide readers with a comprehensive treatment of all hawks, eagles, kites, vultures, falcons, and owls breeding or wintering in New Mexico, or simply migrating through the state. This landmark study is also beautifully illustrated with more than six hundred photographs, including the work of more than one hundred photographers, and more than twenty species distribution maps.

Depletion of fisheries due to acid rain may pose a future threat to bald eagle and osprey populations in some regions. Loss of essential habitat has affected declines in the caracara and western burrowing owl and the disappearance of the norther aplomado falcon from the southern United States. Most populations of the ferruginous hawk, marsh hawk, and prairie falcon appear stable; habitat loss is the most critical factor in population changes.

Birds are disappearing. Birds are nature's essential workers, and they are crucial members of ecosystems around the world. Hummingbirds pollinate our flowers; cardinals munch on beetles, grasshoppers, and other pests that damage crops; owls eat rodents that can spread disease; vultures clean up roadkill and other waste. Beyond their practical aspects, birds bring us joy through their songs and beautiful feathers. But since 1970, nearly 30 percent of all birds in the United States and Canada have vanished. Scientists are scrambling to figure out what may be causing such a drastic decline. The answer: humans. City lights and tall glass skyscrapers disorient migrating birds. Domesticated cats prowling outdoors kill billions of birds each year. Pesticides contaminate fish and insects, which are then consumed by birds of prey. And climate change might disrupt and even wipe out feeding grounds for entire species. Discover the vast impacts birds have on ecosystems, food systems, and human communities, and learn more about what scientists are doing to protect them. “Never have my astonishment, wonder, and admiration been so stirred as when I have witnessed these birds drop from their course like meteors from heaven.” —Simon Pokagon, Potawatomi tribal leader “In pushing other species to extinction, humanity is busy sawing off the limb on which it is perched.” — American biologist Paul R. Ehrlich “There’s something everyone can do in their lives and in their communities to make it a better place for birds and people.” — Gary Langham, chief scientist, National Audubon Society

This guide will help ecotravellers find, identify, and learn about Southern Mexico's insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, and plant and sea life.

Identifying hawks in flight is a tricky business. Across North America, tens of thousands of people gather every spring and fall at more than one thousand known hawk migration sites--from New Jersey's Cape May to California's Golden Gate. Yet, as many discover, a standard field guide, with its emphasis on plumage, is often of little help in identifying those raptors soaring, gliding, or flapping far, far away. Hawks from Every Angle takes hawk identification to new heights. It offers a fresh approach that literally looks at the birds from every angle, compares and contrasts deceptively similar species, and provides the pictures (and words) needed for identification in the field. Jerry Liguori pinpoints innovative, field-tested identification traits for each species from the various angles that they are seen. Featuring 339 striking color photos on 68 color plates and 32 black & white photos, Hawks from Every Angle is unique in presenting a host of meticulously crafted pictures for each of the 19 species it covers in detail--the species most common to migration sites throughout the United States and Canada. All aspects of raptor identification are discussed, including plumage, shape, and flight style traits. For all birders who follow hawk migration and have found themselves wondering if the raptor in the sky matches the one in the guide, Hawks from Every Angle--distilling an expert's years of experience for the first time into a comprehensive array of truly useful photos and other pointers for each species--is quite simply a must. Key Features? The essential new approach to identifying hawks in flight Innovative, accurate, and field-tested identification traits for each species 339 color photos on 68 color plates, 32 black & white photos Compares and contrasts species easily confused with one another, and provides the pictures (and words) needed for identification in the field Covers in detail 19 species common to migration sites throughout the North America Discusses light conditions, how molt can alter the shape of a bird, aberrant plumages, and migration seasons and sites User-friendly format

"Keith L. Bildstein has studied migrating raptors on four continents and directs the conservation science program at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Pennsylvania, the world's first refuge for migratory birds of prey. In this book, he details the stories and successes of twelve of the world's most important raptor-viewing spots, among them Cape May Point, New Jersey; Veracruz, Mexico; Kekoldi, Costa Rica; the Strait of Gibralter, Spain; and Elat, Israel."--BOOK JACKET.