Vultures of the World: Essential Ecology and Conservation

Review\n"This is the first scientifically grounded, engagingly told review of the ecology and conservation of the iconic bird group we know as vultures. No other book has come close to the depth, scope, and intrigue of Vultures of the World." -- Allen Fish, Director of the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy\n"A treasure-trove of important information for both those that already love vultures and those that surely will after reading this book." -- Munir Virani, Executive Vice President of The Peregrine Fund\nIn Vultures of the World, Keith L. Bildstein provides an engaging look at vultures and condors, seeking to help us understand these widely recognized but underappreciated birds.
Bildstein's latest work is an inspirational and long overdue blend of all things vulture. Based on decades of personal experience, dozens of case studies, and numerous up-to-date examples of cutting-edge science, this book introduces readers to the essential nature of vultures and condors. Not only do these most proficient of all vertebrate scavengers clean up natural and man-made organic waste but they also recycle ecologically essential elements back into both wild and human landscapes, allowing our ecosystems to function successfully across generations of organisms. With distributions ranging over more than three-quarters of all land on five continents, the world's twenty-three species of scavenging birds of prey offer an outstanding example of biological diversity writ large.
Included in the world's species fold are its most abundant large raptors―several of its longest lived birds and the most massive of all soaring birds. With a fossil record dating back more than fifty million years, vultures and condors possess numerous adaptions that characteristically serve them well but at times also make them particularly vulnerable to human actions. Vultures of the World is a truly global treatment of vultures, offering a roadmap of how best to protect these birds and their important ecology.