Book description
This book looks at the world's naturalised (successfully introduced)
species of bird. Many species have been introduced to countries outside
their natural range by people, either deliberately or accidentally, with
varied consequences for both those species themselves and the native
fauna of their 'new' homes. In Britain, the introduced Canada Goose has
quickly become ubiquitous at every lake and riverside, while the Golden
Pheasant remains a scarce and unobtrusive inhabitant of a few scattered,
remote woodlands. The House Sparrow and Common Starling, both in decline
over parts of their native range, are thriving in a naturalised state in
North America and elsewhere in the world. Naturalised populations of
Mallard in various parts of the world are threatening a total of seven
other duck species with extinction through hybridisation. This book
discusses each species in turn, describing how, why, when and where its
introduction took place, how it became established, and the ecological
and economic impacts its presence has had in the country or countries it
is naturalised in. Each account has a map, showing natural and
introduced range, and there is a wealth of beautiful line drawings of
the species concerned. Sir Christopher Lever is an expert on the
world's naturalised vertebrate animals. Previous books are Naturalized
Mammals of the World (Longman), Naturalized Birds of the World (Longman)
out-of-print, Naturalized Fishes of the World (Academic Press).
