https://www.birdobserver.org/Issues/2026/June-2026https://www.birdobserver.org/Issues/2026/June-2026/hot-birds-june-2026Hot BirdsMon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:15 GMTTo view the rest of the article you'll need to subscribe. Bird Observer publishes original articles on birding locations, on avian populations and natural history, on regional rarities, field notes, field records, photographs, and art work. https://www.birdobserver.org/Issues/2026/June-2026/about-books-a-vibrant-science-and-owls-and-illnessBook and Video ReviewsMon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:07 GMT

<p>People are passionate about birds for a wide variety of reasons, including birds as the focus of an avocation (birding), as the subject for scientific research (ornithology), as sustenance (chicken tenders), for sport (pigeon racing), as the subject of poetry (The Raven by Poe), and even as the protagonist for a horror movie (The Birds, directed by Hitchcock). Here are two books with very different, yet still very passionate, celebrations of birds: the scientific and the personal.</p> <h2><em><img alt="New Perspectives in Ornithology: 21st Century Dispatches Across the World of Birds." src="/Portals/0/Assets/bo54-3/Bookcover_1.png?ver=dNEp4I9mj30_DKM9sGui-A%3d%3d" style="margin: 12px; float: right;" />New Perspectives in Ornithology: 21st Century Dispatches Across the World of Birds</em>.</h2> <h4>Edited by Scott V. Edwards and J. Michael Reed. 2025. New York: Oxford University Press and Nuttall Ornithological Club.</h4> <p>Last year was the 150th anniversary of the Nuttall Ornithological Club and, to commemorate that event, this book was published. The two editors, Scott V. Edwards and J. Michael Reed, compiled a series of 26 papers that celebrate and describe the current state of the science of ornithology. Edwards is the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard University and Curator of Ornithology at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. Reed is Professor of Biology at Tufts University. People in Reed’s lab work on a variety of problems related to “the distribution and persistence of species, mostly birds, on human-altered landscapes” (from the overleaf author description). Having talked with both of these academic experts, I can say they bring two different perspectives and attitudes to bear on this project. They are both enthusiastic boosters for the science of ornithology and members of the Nuttall Ornithological Club.</p> <p>This book, which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Nuttall Ornithological Club (NOC), the oldest bird club in the United States, capitalizes on and draws strength from the widespread popularity of ornithology among scientists and the broader public. Founded in 1873, the NOC survives today as an active group of birders and bird enthusiasts with a strong interest in natural history, biodiversity, and conservation of birds. (p. 2–3)</p>

To view the rest of the article you'll need to subscribe. Bird Observer publishes original articles on birding locations, on avian populations and natural history, on regional rarities, field notes, field records, photographs, and art work. https://www.birdobserver.org/Issues/2026/June-2026/at-a-glance-june-2026At a GlanceMon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:03 GMTTo view the rest of the article you'll need to subscribe. Bird Observer publishes original articles on birding locations, on avian populations and natural history, on regional rarities, field notes, field records, photographs, and art work. https://www.birdobserver.org/Issues/2026/June-2026/zaps-543ZapsMon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:02 GMTTo view the rest of the article you'll need to subscribe. Bird Observer publishes original articles on birding locations, on avian populations and natural history, on regional rarities, field notes, field records, photographs, and art work. https://www.birdobserver.org/Issues/2026/June-2026/adverisers-543AdvertisersMon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:01 GMTTo view the rest of the article you'll need to subscribe. Bird Observer publishes original articles on birding locations, on avian populations and natural history, on regional rarities, field notes, field records, photographs, and art work.