Wood Thrush, Kentucky Warbler, Eastern Kingbirdmigratory songbirds are disappearing at a frightening rate. By some estimates, we may already have lost almost half the songbirds that filled the skies only 40 years ago. Bridget Stutchbury, in a narrative as colourful as the creatures she studies, demonstrates why this decline should concern us all. The expert ornithologist and naturalist convincingly argues that songbirds truly are the canaries in the coal mineexcept the coal mine looks a lot like Earth and we are the hapless excavators. 
Following the birds on their 10,000-kilometre migratory journey, Stutchbury looks at the most threatening factors: pesticides, still a major concern decades after Rachel Carson first raised the alarm; the destruction of vital habitat, from the boreal forests of Canada to the tropical jungles of Brazil to the vast grasslands of Argentina; coffee plantations, which push birds out of their forest refuges so we can have our morning fix; the bright lights and structures in our cities, which prove a minefield for migrating birds; the notorious cowbirds that force songbirds to act as surrogate mothers to their own voracious young; and global warming. We may well wake up in the near future and hear no songbirds singing. We won’t only be missing their cheery calls, we’ll be missing a vital part of our ecosystem. Without songbirds, our forests face insect infestations, and our trees, flowers and gardens lose a crucial element in their reproductive cycle. What does this very real threat mean for our ecosystem, and ultimately, us?
A perfect full moon rose in the east as I paddled back to shore before it got dark, the martins safely tucked in for the night. Big storms had been brewing over land since late afternoon, and . . . a distant lightning bolt lit up the bottom of the clouds briefly. I was tired and heading home at day’s end, but as I paddled against a headwind, I thought about the hundreds of thousands of songbirds that must be hidden in the forests and fields around me, only minutes away from taking to the sky. One by one, the warblers, tanagers, thrushes and countless others would be in the air and heading southward with uncanny navigation skills, not knowing exactly where they would land, but driven by instinct born of the successful migration of their ancestors. fromSilence of the Songbirds

Silence Of The Songbirds

Science & Math

Stutchbury, Bridget

Biological Sciences

HarperCollins, Publishers

Migratory songbirds are disappearing at a frightening rate. By some estimates, we may have already lost almost half the songbirds that filled the skies only 40 years ago. Following the birds on their 10,000-kilometre migratory journey, Bridget Stutchbury looks at the most threatening factors in their extinction, from pesticides, still a major concern decades after Rachel Carson first raised the alarm, to the destruction of vital habitat; from the bright lights and structures in our cities―which are a minefield for migrating birds―to climate change. We may well wake up in the near future and hear no songbirds singing. We won’t only be missing their cheery calls, we’ll be missing a vital part of our ecosystem.

Harper-perennial

Wood thrush, Kentucky warbler, the Eastern kingbird―migratory songbirds are disappearing at a frightening rate. By some estimates, we may already have lost almost half of the songbirds that filled the skies only forty years ago. Renowned biologist Bridget Stutchbury convincingly argues that songbirds truly are the "canaries in the coal mine"―except the coal mine looks a lot like Earth and we are the hapless excavators.
Following the birds on their six-thousand-mile migratory journey, Stutchbury leads us on an ecological field trip to explore firsthand the major threats to songbirds: pesticides, still a major concern decades after Rachel Carson first raised the alarm; the destruction of vital habitat, from the boreal forests of Canada to the diminishing continuous forests of the United States to the grasslands of Argentina; coffee plantations, which push birds out of their forest refuges so we can have our morning fix; the bright lights and structures in our cities, which prove a minefield for migrating birds; and global warming. We could well wake up in the near future and hear no songbirds singing. But we won't just be missing their cheery calls, we'll be missing a vital part of our ecosystem. Without songbirds, our forests would face uncontrolled insect infestations, and our trees, flowers, and gardens would lose a crucial element in their reproductive cycle. As Stutchbury shows, saving songbirds means protecting our ecosystem and ultimately ourselves.
Some of the threats to songbirds: • The U.S. annually uses 4–5 million pounds of active ingredient acephate, an insecticide that, even in small quantities, throws off the navigation systems of White-throated sparrows and other songbirds, making them unable to tell north from south. • The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conservatively estimated that 4–5 million birds are killed by crashing into communication towers each year. • A Michigan study found that 600 domestic cats killed more than 6,000 birds during a typical 10-week breeding season. Wood thrush, Kentucky warbler, the Eastern kingbird―migratory songbirds are disappearing at a frightening rate. By some estimates, we may already have lost almost half of the songbirds that filled the skies only forty years ago. Renowned biologist Bridget Stutchbury convincingly argues that songbirds truly are the "canaries in the coal mine"―except the coal mine looks a lot like Earth and we are the hapless excavators.
Following the birds on their six-thousand-mile migratory journey, Stutchbury leads us on an ecological field trip to explore firsthand the major threats to songbirds: pesticides, still a major concern decades after Rachel Carson first raised the alarm; the destruction of vital habitat, from the boreal forests of Canada to the diminishing continuous forests of the United States to the grasslands of Argentina; coffee plantations, which push birds out of their forest refuges so we can have our morning fix; the bright lights and structures in our cities, which prove a minefield for migrating birds; and global warming. We could well wake up in the near future and hear no songbirds singing. But we won't just be missing their cheery calls, we'll be missing a vital part of our ecosystem. Without songbirds, our forests would face uncontrolled insect infestations, and our trees, flowers, and gardens would lose a crucial element in their reproductive cycle. As Stutchbury shows, saving songbirds means protecting our ecosystem and ultimately ourselves.
Some of the threats to songbirds: • The U.S. annually uses 4–5 million pounds of active ingredient acephate, an insecticide that, even in small quantities, throws off the navigation systems of White-throated sparrows and other songbirds, making them unable to tell north from south. • The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conservatively estimated that 4–5 million birds are killed by crashing into communication towers each year. • A Michigan study found that 600 domestic cats killed more than 6,000 birds during a typical 10-week breeding season.

Silence of the Songbirds: How We Are Losing the World's Songbirds and What We Can Do to Save Them

Nature & Ecology

Walker Books

A distinguished scientist reveals how we are losing the world's songbirds, why this predicts widespread environmental problems, and what we can do to save the birds and their habitats. Wood thrush, bobolinks, the Eastern kingbird―migratory songbirds are disappearing at a frightening rate. Following the birds on their six-thousand-mile migratory journey, renowned biologist Bridget Stutchbury leads us on an ecological field trip to explore firsthand their major threats, and reveals what a vital part of our ecosystem they are.

Silence of the Songbirds

Biologist Bridget Stutchbury takes readers along on her escapades as a bird detective, stalking subjects through the woods for hours, taking blood samples from nestlings for DNA analysis, and mounting miniature tracking devices on tiny backs. She captures several young white-and-brown male purple martins and paints them the darker color of mature males to see if the painted youngsters are more successful than their unaltered peers in wresting away nest sites from older males. They are! 
The Private Lives of Birds is a treasure trove of fascinating insights into bird behavior. But understanding the social lives of birds does much more than slake our curiosity. Aware that many birds will not occupy an area unless other birds are already there, biologists used mirrors and two-dimensional cutouts to lure Atlantic puffins to establish colonies off the coast of Maine, getting curious puffins to visit the site and linger long enough to encounter a live bird. As Stutchbury says, "Trying to save birds without understanding what makes them tick is a shot in the dark … birds are highly social, and their social needs are at least as important as their physical needs."

The Private Lives of Birds: A Scientist Reveals the Intricacies of Avian Social Life

A Yale-educated professor of biology and a GG finalist for Silence of the Songbirds, Bridget Stutchbury roams forests studying the social lives and sexual antics of birds, sharing with us the curious reasons for their strange behaviour, bright colouring and elaborate songs. Are birds truly faithful to their mates? Stutchbury explains the science behind the surprisingly sophisticated and often amusing habits of birds, drawing on examples from around the world. In The Bird Detective, the author explains why some birds readily “divorce,” why parents don’t treat their sons and daughters equally, why females sneak in quick sex with neighbouring males and why some adults forgo breeding altogether. Stutchbury writes about the territorial nature of birds and describes their nesting habits, revealing why some species prefer to live in over-crowded groups. Perhaps most important, she illuminates how climate change and other pressures of the modern world are forcing birds to change their habits as they fight for their very survival.

Bird Detective

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Stutchbury, Bridget. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Stutchbury, Bridget

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Stutchbury, Bridget. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Silence Of The Songbirds

Silence Of The Songbirds

Silence of the Songbirds: How We Are Losing the World's Songbirds and What We Can Do to Save Them

Silence of the Songbirds

The Private Lives of Birds: A Scientist Reveals the Intricacies of Avian Social Life

Bird Detective