Falcons of North America. By Kate Davis with photographs by Rob Palmer and Nick Dunlop. 2008. Mountain Press Publishing, Missoula, Montana, U.S.A. 226 pp. ISBN 978-0-87842-553-2. Paperback; alk. paper. 8 drawings by author, 6 maps. $22.00.— This is a nifty little book. It is beautifully illustrated with some 195 high quality, clearly detailed, precise color photographs within the 207 pages of text and, in addition to the two principle photographers mentioned, 13 other people have contributed photographs, including the author, Will Sooter, Joel Pagel, Ron Austing, and Dan Varland. With the photographic technology today, however, the quality is not surprising. The author is an excellent writer. I found nothing that might be confusing to either the professional or casual lay reader. First glance at the title might suggest that the author has simply marched through the six taxa of North American falcons species by species giving the standard life history information (description, distribution, breeding, etc.). But not so this book. Only the last 52 or so pages does that. The first part (pages 1–149) is well done with a variety of topics and discussions. Throughout the book scattered here and there in appropriate places are several of what I will call ‘‘sidebars’’ for the want of a better term, covered in one or two pages. They include: Taxonomy (an example of classification from kingdom to common name); Peregrines Catching Salmonflies (a sketch of a paper on the phenomenon that was published elsewhere in the open literature); Southern Cross Peregrine Project (a short segment about the project by Clifford ‘‘Bud’’ Anderson and others on the use of satellite telemetry on migrants between North America and Chile); Coastal Raptor Monitoring (a snapshot of Dan Varland’s project along Pacific Coastal Washington); Raptor Research Foundation (a review of the organization), Peregrines Return To Montana (self-explanatory); The Peregrine Fund (a review of the organization); Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group (a snapshot of the organization); and The Raptor Center, University of Minnesota (a short discussion of the work of Pat Redig and the late Gary Duke and veterinarian medicine). The book starts with an introduction to the falcons discussing where they fit in an evolutionary scheme and a sketch of their history followed by seven major sections: Falcon Morphology and Physiology, Falcon Behavior and Feeding, Falcon Nesting and Breeding, Falcon Movements, Falcons and Humankind, Falcon Conservation, Current Falcon Threats, and lastly, the Finale, a pitch for the education of young children about the marvels of the natural world – a nonelectronic part of the world– and falcons within that world. To give a flavor of the contents, the chapter on Falcon Behavior and Feeding contains discussions of: hunting tactics, food, plucking posts and pellets, upkeep (bathing, preening, and the like), and reverse sexual size dimorphism. This chapter, with its discussion of reversed sexual size dimorphism, punctuates the nice blend of information that might be more on the academic side of the ledger along with topics of more interest to the layperson. Other discussions show this dichotomy as well, with the more lay-oriented material such as general hawkwatching and locations to see large numbers of falcons in migration, and the more technical discussions on the use of stable isotopes in research and r-selection and K-selection as ecological strategies in falcons. In addition to a glossary of terms used, there are two appendices, one on Protocols for Falcon Nest Observations, and the other giving diagrams and the plans for the Building and Placing an American Kestrel Nest Box. There are nice succinct reviews of both the DDT years and its effects on the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), that species’ reintroduction and eventual recovery, and also the reintroduction of the Aplomado Falcon (F. femoralis) in the Southwest. Both of these appear in their respective species accounts under the title the author termed Tidbits.
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