Selected by Forbes.com as one of the 12 best books about birds and birding in 2016

This much-anticipated third edition of the Handbook of Bird Biology is an essential and comprehensive resource for everyone interested in learning more about birds, from casual bird watchers to formal students of ornithology. Wherever you study birds your enjoyment will be enhanced by a better understanding of the incredible diversity of avian lifestyles. Arising from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology and authored by a team of experts from around the world, the Handbook covers all aspects of avian diversity, behaviour, ecology, evolution, physiology, and conservation. Using examples drawn from birds found in every corner of the globe, it explores and distills the many scientific discoveries that have made birds one of our best known - and best loved - parts of the natural world.

This edition has been completely revised and is presented with more than 800 full color images. It provides readers with a tool for life-long learning about birds and is suitable for bird watchers and ornithology students, as well as for ecologists, conservationists, and resource managers who work with birds.

The Handbook of Bird Biology is the companion volume to the Cornell Lab’s renowned distance learning course, Ornithology: Comprehensive Bird Biology.

Irby Lovette is the Fuller Professor of Ornithology at Cornell University, Associate Director for Academic Affairs at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Director of the Lab's Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program, and Curator of Genomics at the Cornell Museum of Vertebrates. He has authored more than 130 scientific publications on topics related to avian evolution, ecology, behavior, and conservation, along with numerous articles for the general public.

John Fitzpatrick is the Louis Agassiz Fuertes Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Professor in Cornell's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. His many contributions to ornithology and bird conservation include 140 scientific publications, discovery of seven previously unknown bird species in Peru, 45 years leading one of the world’s longest continuous studies of the ecology and behavior of a wild bird population, the Florida Scrub-Jay, and service on numerous conservation boards and panels. He is past president of the American Ornithologists’ Union and the recipient of that society’s highest awards for research (William Brewster Medal), conservation (Ralph W. Schreiber Award), and service (Marion Jenkinson Award).

Editorial Team and Contributors vii

Preface ix

Bird Academy Web Resources xiii

1 Why Study Birds? 1
Irby J. Lovette and John W. Fitzpatrick

2 Avian Diversity and Classification 7
Irby J. Lovette

3 How Birds Evolve 63
Irby J. Lovette

4 Feathers and Plumages 101
Kimberly Bostwick

5 Avian Flight 149
Bret W. Tobalske

6 Avian Anatomy 169
Howard E. Evans

7 Bird Physiology 215
Scott McWilliams, Elizabeth Adkins‐Regan, and Carol Vleck

8 Avian Food and Foraging 265
Thomas W. Sherry

9 Avian Mating and Social Behavior 313
John Alcock

10 Avian Vocal Behavior 355
Bruce E. Byers and Donald E. Kroodsma

11 Breeding Biology of Birds 407
David W. Winkler

12 Avian Migration and Dispersal 453
David W. Winkler, Judy Shamoun‐Baranes, and Theunis Piersma

13 Ecology of Bird Populations 495
Walter D. Koenig

14 Bird Communities 537
Russell S. Greenberg

15 Bird Conservation 579
John W. Fitzpatrick and Amanda D. Rodewald

Glossary 641

Index 657