
Forsters Tern
Prompted by a couple of bird-related news stories that caught our eye in the past couple of weeks, we are highlighting some of the best GFU Library resources on our feathered friends.
Database
Birds of North America Online.
A comprehensive reference covering the life histories of North American birds. BNA Online contains image and video galleries showing behaviors, habitat, nests, eggs and nestlings, and more. Each online species account contains recordings of that bird’s songs and calls, selected from the extensive collection in Cornell’s Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds.
Documentary Film
The Life of Birds.
3 DVD set, written by David Attenborough ; BBC produced in association with PBS, c2002.
Chapters: 1. To fly or not to fly? — 2. The mastery of flight — 3. The insatiable appetite — 4. Meat-eaters — 5. Fishing for a living — 6. Signals and songs — 7. Finding partners — 8. The demands of the egg — 9. The problems of parenthood — 10. The limits of endurance.
http://catalog.georgefox.edu/record=b1245699~S0
eBooks
Birds of the Horn of Africa : Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Socotra.
London : Christopher Helm, 2010.
This field guide illustrates every species that has ever occurred in the region, and succinct text covers the key identification criteria. Special attention is paid to the voices of the species. Includes 1000+ color distribution maps.
http://catalog.georgefox.edu/record=b1477375~S0
The new encyclopedia of birds.
Oxford University Press, 2007.
Provides a systematic account of every bird family, covering their form and function, distribution, diet, social behavior, and breeding biology.
http://catalog.georgefox.edu/record=b1462423~S0
Books
Nature’s music : the science of birdsong.
Edited by Peter Marler, Hans Slabbekoorn.
Amsterdam ; Boston : Elsevier Academic, c2004.
http://catalog.georgefox.edu/record=b1240414~S0
The private lives of birds : a scientist reveals the intricacies of avian social life.
By Bridget Stutchbury
New York : Walker & Co., c2010
http://catalog.georgefox.edu/record=b1401751~S0
The Sibley guide to bird life & behavior.
Illustrated by David Allen Sibley ; edited by Chris Elphick, John B. Dunning, Jr., David Allen Sibley.
New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.
http://catalog.georgefox.edu/record=b1197130~S0
Journal
Journal of Field Ornithology.
New Ipswich : Northeastern Bird-Banding Association.
GFU Print Holdings: 1980-2010. Continues in full-text online at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291557-9263
GFU Research
Lastly, we’d be remiss if we failed to mention GFU professor Don Powers’ dramatic research on hummingbird flight, covered in the Fall 2005 issue of the
George Fox Journal:
“Using lasers, olive oil, a wind tunnel, and advanced imaging technology designed originally for engineers, biology professor Don Powers and his colleagues solved a mystery last spring…” [more]