Avian Flight covers all the main aspects of aerial locomotion by birds including sections on the history of thinking about bird flight, aerodynamics, functional morphology, evolution, kinematics, physiology, energetics and the cost of flight. The subject is complex and still not yet fully understood, and the author argues a convincing case for rethinking or even abandoning some of the old, well-established concepts.
In 1861, just a few years after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, a scientist named Hermann von Meyer made an amazing discovery. Hidden in the Bavarian region of Germany was a fossil skeleton so exquisitely preserved that its wings and feathers were as obvious as its reptilian jaws and tail. This transitional creature offered tangible proof of Darwin's theory of evolution. Hailed as the First Bird, Archaeopteryx has remained the subject of heated debates for the last 140 years. Are birds actually living dinosaurs? Where does the fossil record really lead? Did flight originate from the "ground up" or "trees down"? Pat Shipman traces the age-old human desire to soar above the earth and to understand what has come before us. Taking Wing is science as adventure story, told with all the drama by which scientific understanding unfolds.
The aerodynamics of flying birds and insects plays a crucial role in the domain of aeronautical engineering. The energy-efficient construction of winglets for airplanes, the formation flight of tactical aircraft or the drone engineering or military applications are inspired by birds. This holds also for flow and structure simulation of flapping wing motion, taking the unsteady aerodynamics and corresponding wing deformations into account at high flow velocities and flapping frequencies.
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, www.birds.cornell.edu/courses/home/homestudy/.
"On the Wing is the first book to take a comprehensive look at the evolution of flight in all four groups of powered flyers: insects, pterosaurs, birds, and bats."--Book jacket.
'Nature's Flyers' is a detailed account of the current scientific understanding of the primary aspects of flight in nature. The author explains the physical basis of flight, drawing upon bats, birds, insects, pterosaurs and even winged seeds.
The bird book for birders and nonbirders alike that will excite and inspire by providing a new and deeper understanding of what common, mostly backyard, birds are doing—and why: "Can birds smell?"; "Is this the same cardinal that was at my feeder last year?"; "Do robins 'hear' worms?" "The book's beauty mirrors the beauty of birds it describes so marvelously." —NPR In What It's Like to Be a Bird, David Sibley answers the most frequently asked questions about the birds we see most often. This special, large-format volume is geared as much to nonbirders as it is to the out-and-out obsessed, covering more than two hundred species and including more than 330 new illustrations by the author. While its focus is on familiar backyard birds—blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees—it also examines certain species that can be fairly easily observed, such as the seashore-dwelling Atlantic puffin. David Sibley's exacting artwork and wide-ranging expertise bring observed behaviors vividly to life. (For most species, the primary illustration is reproduced life-sized.) And while the text is aimed at adults—including fascinating new scientific research on the myriad ways birds have adapted to environmental changes—it is nontechnical, making it the perfect occasion for parents and grandparents to share their love of birds with young children, who will delight in the big, full-color illustrations of birds in action. Unlike any other book he has written, What It's Like to Be a Bird is poised to bring a whole new audience to David Sibley's world of birds.
P. Berthold and E. Gwinnd Bird migration is an intriguing aspect of the living world - so much so that it has been investigated for as long, and as thoroughly, as almost any other natural phenomenon. Aristotle, who can count as the founder of scientific ornithology, paid very close attention to the migrations of the birds he ob served, but it was not until the reign of Friedrich II, in the first half of the 13th century, that reliable data began to be obtained. From then on, the data base grew rapidly. Systematic studies of bird migration were introduced when the Vogelwarte Rossitten was founded, as the first ornithological biological observation station in the world (see first chapter "In Memory of Vogelwarte Rossitten"). This area later received enormous impetus when ex perimental research on the subject was begun: the large-scale bird-ringing experiment initiated in Rossitten in 1903 by Johannes Thienemann (who was inspired by the pioneering studies of C. C. M. Mortensen), the experiments on photoperiodicity carried out by William Rowan in the 1920s in Canada and retention and release experiments performed by Thienemann in the 1930s in Rossitten, the first experimental study on the orientation of migratory birds. After the Second World War, migration research, while continuing in the previous areas, also expanded into new directions such as radar ornithology, ecophysiology and hormonal control mechanisms, studies of evolution, ge netics, telemetry and others.
Sturkie's Avian Physiology is the classic comprehensive single volume on the physiology of domestic as well as wild birds. The Sixth Edition is thoroughly revised and updated, and features several new chapters with entirely new content on such topics as migration, genomics and epigenetics. Chapters throughout have been greatly expanded due to the many recent advances in the field. The text also covers the physiology of flight, reproduction in both male and female birds, and the immunophysiology of birds. The Sixth Edition, like the earlier editions, is a must for anyone interested in comparative physiology, poultry science, veterinary medicine, and related fields. This volume establishes the standard for those who need the latest and best information on the physiology of birds. - Includes new chapters on endocrine disruptors, magnetoreception, genomics, proteomics, mitochondria, control of food intake, molting, stress, the avian endocrine system, bone, the metabolic demands of migration, behavior and control of body temperature - Features extensively revised chapters on the cardiovascular system, pancreatic hormones, respiration, pineal gland, pituitary gland, thyroid, adrenal gland, muscle, gastro-intestinal physiology, incubation, circadian rhythms, annual cycles, flight, the avian immune system, embryo physiology and control of calcium - Stands out as the only comprehensive, single volume devoted to bird physiology - Offers a full consideration of both blood and avian metabolism on the companion website (http://booksite.elsevier.com/ 9780124071605). Tables feature hematological and serum biochemical parameters together with circulating concentrations of glucose in more than 200 different species of wild birds
