Blackbirds of the Americas

More about the book

Noted ornithologist Gordon Orians and well-known artist Tony Angell portray the physical and behavioral traits of this fascinating family. Orians discusses the various species' adaptations with a provocative introduction to evolutionary biology and behavioral ecology. He describes how blackbirds interact with others of the same species and with the environment how vocal and visual communication signals are related to social organization and how special features of bill musculature and feathering have enabled blackbirds to exploit a remarkable number of feeding niches not available to most other species. Covers the family Icteridae including oropendola cacique oriole blackbird meadowlark grackle bobolink and cowbird.Black and white drawings by Tony Angell.