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B/RDS endeavors to dismantle discourses that create an artificial distinction between nature and humanity through a subversive erasure of an iconic work of natural history: John James Audubon’s Birds of America (1827-1838). This process of erasure considers the text of Birds of America as an archival cage. The author selectively erases words from the textual cage to reveal its ambiguity and the complex relationship between humanity and the other-than-human world. As the cage disappears, leaving a space for scarce, lyrical poems, birds break free, their voices inextricably entangled with ours.

Prose poems written in the author’s own words and prompted by the erasure process are also interspersed throughout the collection. These migratory poems, like ripples, trace the link between past and present and reveal the human-nature disconnect at the root cause of environmental and social problems, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Along its five movements, B/RDS also explores how we can reimagine our relationship to environment through language within new frameworks of interconnectedness. Thus, as the collection resists the distinction between nature and culture on which traditional nature poetry relies, it also acts as an ecopoetic manifesto. It suggests that a critical, lyrical poetry could contribute to ecological awareness by singing humanity back within nature.

Finding all the birds in Texas can be a lifetime pursuit. Basic Texas Birds, an easy-to-use field guide, will help you identify over 180 species of birds that are found across the state, including a selection of the rarer "Texas specialties" that draw birders to Texas from around the world. These are the birds that form the basis of a birder's life list for Texas.

Basic Texas Birds is organized by bird families to aid in identifying any bird you see in the wild. It is loaded with resources, including:

• 200 full-color, close-up photos of the birds
• State-of-the-art range maps—the most accurate of any currently available—that show each species' distribution within the state
• Up-to-date species accounts that provide a wealth of current and historical information, including each bird's appearance, habitat, status, and distribution, and that also identify similar species
• A glossary of terms used in bird identification
• A list of selected readings for learning more about birds found in Texas
• The Texas Ornithological Society's list of birds documented in Texas

Much more convenient for identifying common birds than a comprehensive state or national field guide, Basic Texas Birds is a must-have resource for both beginning and experienced birders.

Immediately following the success of the Model T, Henry Ford turned to how he could apply his newfound wealth toward protecting birdlife on his new rural acreage in Dearborn, Michigan. Best of Companions weaves Henry Ford’s personal and very public participation in bird protection into the overall national push to save disappearing North American birdlife in the early twentieth century. 

Acting on his love of birds, Ford formed acquaintances and friendships with some of the most prominent North American wildlife conservation activists of the time. Michigan Audubon Society President Jefferson Butler was recruited to plan, establish, and promote an expansive, visionary bird protection project known as Henry Ford’s Bird Farm. Highlighting the economic benefit of birds, the farm modeled how farmers could use both natural and artificial means to boost populations of native insectivorous bird species on their land, reducing crop damage from insects and increasing agricultural productivity. Best of Companions takes readers on an exciting journey through Ford’s ambitious efforts to secure passage of the first federal bird protection law in the United States, to support the Migratory Bird Treaty with Canada, and to improve the lives of farmers.

At thirteen, George Miksch Sutton planned a school of ornithology centered around his collection of bird skins, feathers, bones, nests, eggs, and a prized stuffed crow. As an adult, he became one of the most prominent ornithologists and bird artists of the twentieth century. He describes his metamorphosis from amateur to professional in Bird Student.

Born in 1898, Sutton gives us his clearest memories of his boyhood in Nebraska, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, Texas, and West Virginia with his closely knit family. Recognizing birds, identifying them correctly, drawing them, and writing about them became more and more important to him. His intense admiration for Louis Agassiz Fuertes had a good deal to do with his beginning to draw birds in earnest, and his correspondence and his 1916 summer visit with the generous Fuertes taught him to look at birds with the eyes of a professional artist and to consider the possibility of making ornithology his career.

By 1918, Sutton had talked himself into a job at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, which gave him fresh opportunities to learn and travel, and his 1920 field trip to the Labrador Peninsula stimulated his lifelong interest in arctic birds. Further expeditions to James Bay, the east coast of Hudson Bay—on leave from his job as state ornithologist of Pennsylvania—and Southampton Island at the north end of Hudson Bay, in search of the elusive blue goose and its nesting grounds, give us glimpses of field methods before the days of sophisticated equipment. Sutton ends his autobiography in 1935, with an account of his graduate days at Cornell University and his position as curator of the Fuertes Memorial Collection of Birds.

Bird Student is about raising young roadrunners and owls and prairie dogs, sailing (and being stranded) in arctic waters, preparing specimens in the hold of a ship, hunting birds and caribou and bears in almost inaccessible regions, canoeing in the Far North, camping in Florida, and delivering speeches in Pennsylvania. Sutton's gift for mixing facts and philosophy lets us see the evolution of a naturalist, as his inherent curiosity and innocent enjoyment of beauty led to a permanent desire to preserve this beauty.

From the tufted puffin in the Pacific Northwest to the hook-billed hermit in the Brazilian rainforest, birds suffer from the effects of climate change in every corner of the globe. Scientists have found declines of up to 90 percent in some troubled bird populations and unprecedented reproductive failure in others. The most recent studies suggest dire prospects: 1,227 avian species are threatened with extinction and an additional 838 near-threatened species are urgent priorities for conservation action.

As much an indispensable guide as a timely call to action, Bird Watch is an illustrated tour of these endangered birds and their habitats. Encyclopedic in scope, this book features all 1,227 species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, thoroughly detailing the environmental pressures and conservation prescriptions that hold their futures in the balance. After introducing readers to the main threats to birds and regions at high risk, Bird Watch presents a visually stunning and scientifically accurate flight over the major bird habitats, including tropical forests; temperate and northern forests; deserts; mountains; grasslands; and Mediterranean, marine, freshwater, and oceanic islands. The volume concludes with an overview of bird species by region—categorized by family within each region, and a guide to the world’s best birding sites. Produced in cooperation with BirdLife International, Bird Watch is a celebration of the beauty and diversity of birds and their habitats—and a warning of the dangers they face around the world.

Nature takes a surprising turn in the heart of Texas. The flat Gulf Coastal Plains, which become the fertile Blackland Prairies in Central Texas, end abruptly at the Balcones Escarpment, one of the state’s most dramatic geological features, and the rolling, more sparsely vegetated Hill Country begins. The animal life varies as dramatically as the land. More than 400 species of birds alone, nearly three-fourths of all Texas birds, can be spotted in the region.

This handbook offers a concise natural history of Central Texas and a complete checklist of all native and naturalized vertebrate animals, including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, as well as invertebrates that include butterflies and land snails. The listings cite both scientific and common names for each species, relative abundance in the region, and preferred habitats.

A distinguishing feature of the handbook is its list of parks and recreational areas in the region, which includes the counties of Bastrop, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Comal, Fayette, Gillespie, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Hays, Kendall, Lee, Llano, Milam, Travis, and Williamson. The authors describe the recreational facilities available in each park and list the animal species likely to be encountered there.

For birdwatchers, naturalists, visitors, and residents alike, this popular handbook will be the essential "where-to-find-it" reference.

With nearly six hundred identified species of birds—and an average of five "new" species discovered annually—Belize is becoming a birding hotspot for amateur and professional birders from around the globe. Thousands of birders visit the country each year to enjoy Belize's amazing abundance and variety of both temperate and tropical birds in natural habitats that remain largely unspoiled. But until now, despite the growing need for an authoritative identification guide, birders have had to rely on regional field guides that offer only limited information on Belizean birds.

Birds of Belize provides the first complete guide to the identification of all currently known species—574 in all. The birds are grouped by families, with an introduction to each family that highlights its uniquely identifying characteristics and behaviors. The species accounts include all the details necessary for field identification: scientific and common names, size, plumage features, thorough voice descriptions, habitat, distribution, and status in Belize. Full color, expertly drawn illustrations by noted bird artist Dana Gardner present male and female, juvenile and adult, and basic and alternate plumages to aid visual identification throughout the year, while 234 range maps show the birds' distribution and seasonality in Belize. A comprehensive bibliography completes the volume.

At the biological crossroads of the Americas, Costa Rica hosts an astonishing array of plants and animals—over half a million species! Ecotourists, birders, and biologists come from around the world, drawn by the likelihood of seeing more than three or four hundred species of birds and other animals during even a short stay. To help all of these visitors, as well as local residents, identify and enjoy the wildlife of Costa Rica, Carrol Henderson published Field Guide to the Wildlife of Costa Rica in 2002, and it became the instant and indispensable guide.

Now Henderson has created a dedicated field guide to the birds that travelers are most likely to see, as well as to the unique or endemic species that are of high interest to birders. Birds of Costa Rica covers 310 birds—an increase of 124 species from the earlier volume—with fascinating accounts of the birds' natural history, identification, and behavior gleaned from Henderson's forty years of traveling and birding in Costa Rica. All of the accounts include beautiful photographs of the birds, most of which were taken in the wild by Henderson. There are new updated distribution maps and a detailed appendix that identifies many of the country's best bird-watching locations and lodges, including contact information for trip planning purposes.

No matter where you see birds in the city—in parks or woodlands, on power lines or in parking lots—they are the natural soul of the urban landscape. They enhance the city and the lives of those who watch them.

Nature writer B. C. Robison and wildlife photographer John Tveten have teamed up to produce this field guide for birders who want to identify the birds most commonly seen in Houston. Fifty-five species are included, ranging from such well-known favorites as the mockingbird and cardinal to the more exotic yellow-crowned night heron.

A full-color photograph for each bird appears alongside warm and often witty description. For quick reference, a summary of the primary field marks of the adult bird is also provided. This summary includes not only identifying features of the bird but also its habitats, the time of year it can be found, and its distinctive behavioral traits.

Aimed at the beginning birder, the guide also gives tips on buying binoculars and on attracting birds to your yard.

The guide to neotropical bird behavior that picks up where field guides leave off.

Why are tropical birds like parrots and quetzals so much more colorful than those in more temperate climates? How can a vulture soaring thousands of feet above the canopy spot a dead rodent no bigger than a mouse on the rainforest floor? What permits sparrow-sized antbirds to not only survive but to thrive among relentless hordes of army ants that devour every other living thing in their path?

Steven Hilty has led birding tours to the American Tropics for decades. By providing answers to the hundreds of questions asked by participants of these expeditions, Hilty has produced a natural history of the bird life of the New World Tropics that is at once practical, accurate, and as endlessly fascinating as the species whose lives it reveals.

Birds of Tropical America was published by Chapters Publishing in 1994 and went out of print in 1997. UT Press is pleased to reissue it with a new epilogue and updated references.

From the bald eagle to the pileolated woodpecker, the varied and abundant birdlife of the northwestern national parks is as impressive as the parks' dramatic scenery. To help both beginning and advanced birders make the most of their visits to these parks, Roland Wauer has written this finding guide, which introduces the most common birds and the most likely places to see them.

The book opens with practical advice on getting started in birding—choosing binoculars, bird identification, proper field techniques, etc. Then after a concise discussion of the national parks as "islands" of bird habitat, the succeeding chapters fully describe each park, including its plant and animal communities and the facilities and interpretive activities available to visitors. Wauer takes readers on "walks" through each park's most popular and accessible places, where he explains the identification and behavior of the birds that visitors are most likely to see. He closes each account with a review of the park's bird life and a list of key species. Pen-and-ink drawings illustrate many of the birds.

Scarlet macaws are native to tropical forests ranging from the Gulf Coast and southern regions of Mexico to Bolivia, but they are present at numerous archaeological sites in the U.S. Southwest and Mexican Northwest. Although these birds have been noted and marveled at through the decades, new syntheses of early excavations, new analytical methods, and new approaches to understanding the past now allow us to explore the significance and distribution of scarlet macaws to a degree that was previously impossible.

Birds of the Sun explores the many aspects of macaws, especially scarlet macaws, that have made them important to Native peoples living in this region for thousands of years. Leading experts discuss the significance of these birds, including perspectives from a Zuni author, a cultural anthropologist specializing in historic Pueblo societies, and archaeologists who have studied pre-Hispanic societies in Mesoamerica and the U.S. Southwest and Mexican Northwest. Chapters examine the highly variable distribution and frequency of macaws in the past, their presence on rock art and kiva murals, the human experience of living with and transporting macaws, macaw biology and life history, and what skeletal remains suggest about the health of macaws in the past. Experts provide an extensive, region-by-region analysis, from early to late periods, of what we know about the presence, health, and depositional contexts of macaws and parrots, with specific case studies from the Hohokam, Chaco, Mimbres, Mogollon Highlands, Northern Sinagua, and Casas Grandes regions, where these birds are most abundant.

The expertise offered in this stunning new volume, which includes eight full color pages, will lay the groundwork for future research for years to come.

Contributors

Katelyn J. Bishop
Patricia L. Crown
Samantha Fladd
Randee Fladeboe
Patricia A. Gilman
Thomas K. Harper
Michelle Hegmon
Douglas J. Kennett
Patrick D. Lyons
Charmion R. McKusick
Ben A. Nelson
Stephen Plog
José Luis Punzo Díaz
Polly Schaafsma
Christopher W. Schwartz
Octavius Seowtewa
Christine R. Szuter
Kelley L. M. Taylor
Michael E. Whalen
Peter M. Whiteley

The Trans-Pecos, that huge region of Texas west of the Pecos River, is richer in recorded bird species than all but three of the United States. Hundreds of birders come here each year in search of species such as the Colima Warbler which are rarely if ever spotted in other parts of the country. Yet, until now, there was no comprehensive birding guide devoted to the entire region.

Designed for intermediate to advanced birders, Birds of the Trans-Pecos provides an annotated checklist of all 482 species found in the region. The species accounts include seasonal distribution, documentation of nesting, most likely habitat, and the bird's status as a "Texas Review Species." The authors also describe the geography and bird habitats of the Trans-Pecos; federal and state parklands in the area (including Big Bend and Guadalupe Mountains), with the species that occur in each; and the mountain-breeding birds and species of special interest.