Book description
Famous for their size and elegance in flight, albatrosses are familiar
to anyone who has travelled through the southern oceans, and are a
flagship family of conservation concern. However, albatrosses are just
one of several groups of 'pelagic' birds - those that visit land only to
breed, and spend the rest of their lives far from the coast, soaring
from ocean to ocean in a never-ending search for food. Mysterious and
graceful, these birds can present a formidable identification challenge
to even the most experienced birder. This book provides the answer - the
first comprehensive guide to pelagic birds, the albatrosses, petrels,
shearwaters, storm-petrels and diving petrels. A total of 46 spectacular
colour plates highlight key ID criteria of the birds in flight, with
close-ups of diagnostic regions of the plumage. The plates are
accompanied by accurate distribution maps, while the sparkling text
brings the world of these amazing birds to life. Several extremely rare
species, such as Beck's Petrel, are illustrated for the first time,
while the New Zealand Storm-petrel, rediscovered as recently as 2004, is
also included. Sea-watchers all around the world will find this superb
field guide indispensable. Paul Scofield is the Curator of Vertebrate
Zoology at Canterbury Museum, New Zealand. He has been a seabird
biologist for over 20 years and has travelled from the high Arctic to
the Antarctic studying them. Also based in New Zealand, Derek Onley is a
wildlife artist of international acclaim. Specialising in seabirds,
Derek has illustrated more than a dozen books and numerous other
publications.
