As the largest flying bird of North America, and one of the most endangered, the California Condor has been a source of tremendous interest and awe. This book offers up-to-date information on both the biology and conservation of the condor, as analyzed by the two most knowledgeable field biologists to have studied the species. The authors present first a thorough review of the history of condor studies and conservation efforts, then a detailed examination of the biology and recent decline of the species, and finally a hopeful plan for ultimate restoration of the species as a viable member of wild ecosystems. The book is illustrated with over a hundred superb color photographs covering numerous aspects of natural history of the species and recent conservation efforts on its behalf. Conservation of the California Condor has always been highly controversial, and this book does not shrink from controversy. Instead it offers a broad and insightful, but nevertheless sympathetic treatment of the many political conflicts of the past century.
 Key Features?
<ul>
 <li>Reviews historical account of condor biology and conservation </li>
 <li>Analyzes nest site characteristics and limitations </li>
 <li>Studies breeding behavior and analyzes breeding effort and success </li>
 <li>Discusses mortality rates and the causes for their decline and efforts to improve reproduction </li>
 <li>Discusses the techniques, problems, and results of captive breeding and release programs </li>
 
</ul>

The California Condor: A Saga of Natural History and Conservation (Ap Natural World)

Science & Math

Snyder, Noel F. R.

Snyder, Helen

Biological Sciences

Princeton University Press

The story of the California Condor—an awe-inspiring symbol of wilderness—is one of the most dramatic and contentious in conservation biology. Huge scavengers with wingspans reaching more than nine feet, Condors declined by 1985 to just nine individuals left in the wild. At that point, under a highly controversial program, the last birds were brought into captivity to create a population that could eventually be reestablished in nature. This engaging book, written by two scientists who were intimately involved with the Condor conservation effort, tells the full story of the California Condor, from the bird's evolution and biology to its captive breeding and subsequent releases, and its uncertain future. It introduces the largest soaring bird in the continental United States to a broad audience and at the same time presents an important case study of a critically endangered species. Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Condors suffered from a variety of stresses—from shooting to strychnine poisoning that was an inadvertent side effect of campaigns to exterminate wolves and grizzly bears from California. Condors also faced dramatic declines in their food supply and progressively smaller foraging habitats. But as we are now coming to understand, the most important cause of their decline was lead poisoning caused by the ingestion of the ammunition fragments often present in its carrion food supply, especially in deer that were killed, but not recovered, by hunters. Noel and Helen Snyder delineate in clear fashion the myriad issues facing the Condor today and, looking to the future, convey a measure of hope that we may still achieve viable wild populations of this magnificent denizen of the California landscape.

Introduction to the California Condor (California Natural History Guides)

Snyder, Helen A.

University of California Press

This book provides the first comprehensive account of the biology of one of North America's most enigmatic and colorful wildlife species, the Carolina Parakeet. The only parrot endemic to the United States, this species once ranged in large, noisy flocks from Florida to New York, and as far west as Colorado. But although it was still widespread and common during the time of John James Audubon (whose illustration of the species is perhaps his finest work), the parakeet was gone completely by the mid-twentieth century.
 Through analyses of historical accounts and presentation of considerable new information gleaned from interviewing senior citizens with firsthand knowledge of the species, Noel Snyder develops an intriguing portrait of the parakeet that challenges long-held assumptions.
 Although it has long been believed that the Carolina Parakeet was exterminated largely by shooting, Snyder argues that exotic diseases may have figured more heavily in its final disappearance. He also presents evidence that the parakeet lasted far longer into the twentieth century than generally believed, and that it may have been toxic and distasteful to predators by virtue of its frequent consumption of the cocklebur--a plant highly poisonous to many other vertebrates. Snyder proposes avenues of research that could help resolve some of the enduring mysteries about this fascinating bird, and he discusses the significance of its extinction for wildlife conservation in general.

The Carolina Parakeet: Glimpses of a Vanished Bird

Nearly two feet long with striking black, white, and red plumage, the Ivory-billed and Imperial Woodpeckers were two of the most impressive woodpeckers in the world. Both species were known to be in serious decline by the end of the nineteenth century and are likely extinct today, though occasional reports of sightings persist. While the Ivory-billed was one of the first endangered birds to receive intensive conservation attention, the efforts were too often misdirected, and too little, too late. Concern for the fate of the Imperial Woodpecker came even later and resulted in a similar fate. 
The probable extinction of two of North America's largest and most charismatic birds has much to teach us regarding conservation efforts, especially as many other species face similar problems. In closely examining the history of the decline and causes of extinction of the Ivory-billed and Imperial Woodpeckers, the authors offer explanations for the birds' demise and strategies for future conservation and research efforts that focus mainly on the deadly, though largely understated, role of human depredations.

The Travails of Two Woodpeckers: Ivory-Bills and Imperials

Brown, David E.

Clark, Kevin B.

Nature & Ecology

University of New Mexico Press

Discusses the biology and conservation of the thirty-four species of diurnal raptors found in North America, and looks at their everyday behavior and the threats to their continued existence

Birds of Prey: Natural History and Conservation of North American Raptors

Voyageur Pr

Pp. xiii, 384; 8 pages of color plates, numerous black-and-white plates and graphs. Publisher's original green cloth, lettered in gilt on the spine and front cover, color pictorial white dust jacket, lettered in black on the spine and front cover, lg 8vo. This is the first comprehensive study of the Puerto Rican Parrot, Amazona vittata. The book offers valuable information for the professional ornithologist, aviculturist, and conservationist. No ownership marks and no signs of use.

The parrots of Luquillo: Natural history and conservation of the Puerto Rican parrot

Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology

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