Ecology and Conservation of Forest Birds

There is a growing realisation that all is not well with populations of forest birds. In this volume Grzegorz Mikusinski, Jean-Michel Roberge and Rob Fuller have edited contributions from 28 leading authorities on forest birds (of course including themselves) covering the factors determining bird communities of forests, the drivers of population trends and conservation issues.

The 14 contributed chapters are grouped in three sections; Forest Birds and their Adaptions, European Forests and their bird Communities and Conservation and Management. Each chapter is a thorough and up to date review of current knowledge with extensive reference lists both of which will be extremely valuable for those working in this field.

The focus is on northern temperate forests and their birds. Although important studies from North America and Asia are reviewed within the relevant chapters it is European forests and their birds that receive most attention. Perhaps inevitably with a multi-authored work such as this there is some repetition between the chapters, but this does not detract from the overall flow. I would have welcomed the addition of summaries with each chapter but, for those interested in forests and forest birds, this book will be a valuable source of reference material. Even the most knowledgeable will find something new in this book. For me this was Jacques Blondel’s chapter on the Origins and Dynamics of Forest Birds of the Northern Hemisphere.

Book reviewed by Ken Smith