Bøger i Oxford Ornithology Series serien

Bird migration is a charismatic topic that has fascinated naturalists. This book describes the migrations, the stamina and navigational skills of the birds, the effects on their distributions, survival, and evolution. It also describes the scientific skills and studies that underlie the information that has been gleaned about migration.

Parasites play a role in almost every aspect of the ecology, behaviour, and evolution of birds, and of vertebrates in general. This book looks at bird diseases and their epidemiology from an ecological and evolutionary perspective, investigating how individual growth, survival, and reproduction, as well as species abundance and distribution, are affected by parasite burdens.

Reviewing our understanding of avian population dynamics, this work explores ways in which population studies can contribute to effective conservation and management. It reviews general questions such as estimation of demographic parameters, the role of mathematical modelling, and the special problems of island populations and seabird populations.

Some birds mate for life, while others have many partners. Why? In this book, fourteen classic studies of bird behaviour are brought together to compare the different partnership patterns from ecological and evolutionary perspectives.

This is the first comprehensive review of avian incubation. It is written by leading authorities from around the world and covers all aspects of Incubation Biology from evolution to practical aspects. This is an invaluable text for both applied and pure scientists in the fields of Incubation and Ornithology.

Dealing with the concepts of development made in birds, this book is a case study in evolutionary diversification of life histories. It attempts to present an integrative perspective of organism biology, ecology, and evolution.

This book reports and summarizes the findings of several dozen studies that have used ptilochronology (the study of feather time) as a research tool. It provides a practical resource as well as a source of understanding of how the technique can be used to address important questions in avian biology.

Brings together the results from a significant long-term study of birds in the late twentieth century. The heart of this book analyses the working of natural selection on Snow Goose plumage colour, seasonal timing of breeding, clutch size, egg size, and body size. It will be useful reading for those with an interest in evolutionary ecology.

Synthesises and analyses the masses of data on the behavioural ecology of harriers. This work offers a comparison of breeding systems among harriers in the northern and southern hemispheres, and includes a phylogeny of the harriers, based on DNA findings. It is illustrated with line drawings of these impressive birds.

Reviewing the behaviour and population ecology of a shorebird, Oystercatcher, from a scientific conservation perspective, the authors suggest that field studies of individual behaviour can be used to predict how populations respond to environmental changes, and that their findings can play a useful role in coastal management schemes.

This book sumarizes current scientific knowledge of the Australian Zebra Finch, a bird popular with scientists and hobbyists throughout the world. It builds up a complete picture of the biology of the species, integrating findings from the laboratory with those from the wild, with emphasis on behaviour and ecology.

Presents a comprehensive overview of the diverse kinds of birds and interactions involved in avian brood parasitism. This phenomenon has attracted the interests of naturalists and evolutionists since Darwin. The amount of work being done on parasitic birds has grown as numerous researchers have begun to pursue the study of these birds.

Presents a study on the evolution of sexual selection in birds, as addressed through a research program by an ornithologist. This book also gives a portrait of the challenges and constraints of experimental design facing any field investigator working with animal behaviour.

Covering the aspects of aerial locomotion by birds, this book includes sections on the history of thinking about bird flight, aerodynamics, functional morphology, evolution, kinematics, physiology, energetics and the cost of flight. It also provides insights into the trend in metabolic costs of flight of birds varying in shape and mass.