A Brief Survey of Austrian History

Product Description

This project began as a personal search for the author's ancestors in the MacRae branch of her family. It led her to the discovery that she was a Mackenzie of Ballone, which further led to the discovery that she was also a MacLeod, a MacDonald and to then be able to trace her Scottish roots very far back.

Customer Reviews:

Macraes to America!A brif History of the Clan Macrae.......2007-09-26

Author did a lot of work getting the census on the various named MacRae's, and there are over 300 pages of it and she should be commended. However,I found her entries wanted because beyond locations there are little other identifiers associated with the names listed such as ages etc.. Additional information would have been helpful considering the volume of similar first names of the various MacRae's. This lack of depth makes it difficult connecting a given entry with records in a genealogy family file without first doing a bit of separate research. The few pages of MacRae history in the beginning of the book is interesting.

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First rate, fascinating, and engaging natural history book on neotropical birds

Essential for the curious tropical naturalist

Recommended for tropical birders

Birds of Tropical America: A Watcher's Introduction to Behavior, Breeding, and Diversity (Mildred Wyatt-Wold Series in Ornithology)
Steven Hilty
Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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A Neotropical Companion

Tropical Nature: Life & Death in the Rain Forests of Central & South America

Chasing Neotropical Birds (Corrie Herring Hooks Series)

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Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A Field Guide

ASIN: 0292706731

Book Description

" Birds of Tropical America offers a comprehensive look into the lives of some of the most fascinating birds in the world. The book will entertain and educate the amateur birder and professional ornithologist alike and would be a valuable addition to libraries at home and university."

— Condor

"Hilty, who has led birding expeditions to Central and South America and the Caribbean, supplies not a field guide to species identification but rather a natural history of tropical birds. He writes about tropical diversity, nesting habits, the structure of a rain forest bird community, biogeography, Andean genealogy, bird migration within the tropics, bird color and patterns, seed dispersal, foraging techniques, courtship rituals, and song patterns. This is a fascinating book for enthusiastic birders and stay-at-home naturalists alike."

— Booklist

"[Hilty] deals with such fascinating topics as why there are so many species in tropical America, why antbirds don't eat ants, why there are so many flycatchers, why tropical birds are so colorful (or not), how hummingbirds survive and even prosper in the Andes, and what makes manakins and cotingas do their curious songs and dances. He writes with knowledge, grace, and humor....After [Alexander] Skutch, Hilty is the finest synthesizer and popularizer of the life of Neotropical birds."

— Birding

Birds of Tropical America was published by Chapters Publishing in 1994 and went out of print in 1997. UT Press is pleased to reissue it with a new epilogue and updated references.

Customer Reviews:

First rate, fascinating, and engaging natural history book on neotropical birds.......2007-04-16

One might guess by the title of Steven Hilty's book _Birds of Tropical America_ that he has written an informative though dry field guide, one that lists a number of birds of Central and South America but is not really a book to sit down and read. In fact, Hilty has written an engaging and extremely interesting natural history work covering many aspects of neotropical bird behavior, breeding, and evolution and is one of the finest popular science books I have read in a while.

The book is organized into twenty different chapters, several illustrated with black and white drawings by artist Mimi Hoppe Wolf, and includes an extensive bibliography. Roughly half of the chapters deal with aspects of neotropical avian behavior and physiology that are applicable to most if not all of the region's birds, while the remainder deals with specific types of birds, such as antbirds, hummingbirds, and vultures. The focus is largely on birds of rainforests but Hilty also discusses birds of mountains, grasslands, and in one interesting chapter, islands of the Amazon River.

The first few chapters tackle common questions asked about tropical American birds, questions Hilty has encountered over his years as not only a researcher but as a leader of birding tours in Central and South America. For instance, why are so many tropical rainforest birds so spottily distributed when there appears to be many hundreds of square miles of suitable habitat? Hitly wrote that distribution patchiness is a basic structural component of tropical rainforests; in an area that might contain up to 500 bird species, a particular acre or so of forest will only contain 100 to 200 species. One answer to this question is the existence of microhabitats, areas perhaps not obvious to naturalists recently arrived from temperate latitudes, but quite obvious to the local fauna. Some birds are found only along the edges of tree fall openings, while others that live in the canopy avoid areas where the canopy is discontinuous with tree fall openings. Birds might be rare because of their place on the food chain (harpy eagles occur generally at low densities though might be widespread throughout neotropical rainforests), of the lower population densities of tropical birds (the populations of the most common Peruvian rainforests birds are one-tenth that of those in temperate forests), the secretive nature of many understory rainforest birds (making them appear rare), and the large territories of birds (when compared to temperate species). A later chapter adds additional information; Hilty noted the work of Jurgen Haffer, who proposed that during the Pleistocene epoch the rainforests of South America at times contracted into isolated units he called refugia and that this repeated forest breakup increased speciation and helped produce many often small and localized ranges of birds in South America. Another theory, proposed by among others biologist Angelo Capparella, noted the importance of the major rivers of the Amazon Basin, which fragment the ranges of many widespread species and can act as barriers to gene flow; in a later chapter, Hilty noted how big a barrier the river can be, at one spot in Colombia, nearly 2,000 miles from the mouth of the Amazon River, the river banks are nearly five miles apart, a huge barrier to many tropical species that scarcely like crossing even forest trails.

Interestingly, many tropical birds migrate. No, not the famous temperate-to-tropics-and-back-again migrations, but migrations within the tropics, often quiet migrations that only involve some species and an aspect of the neotropics that took researchers many years to discover. These are short-distance migrations, perhaps a few miles or a few hundred miles. The quetzal and the bellbird for instance are fruit-eaters that breed in mountain cloud forests during the drier months of the year, but migrate downslope during the rainy season in search of drier conditions and more fruit. Even lowland forest species migrate to seek concentrations of fruiting trees, while others migrate to take advantage of the short-lived and unpredictable seed crops of bamboo, or in areas south of the Amazon Basin, are fire-followers, seeking out recently burned grasslands for breeding.

In a chapter on why there are so many more species in the tropics than in temperate areas Hilty noted the many niches unique to the tropics, for example antbirds, follow the swarms of raiding army ants, which flush small prey for them to eat, while other birds follow monkeys or the large peccary herds for the same reason (the latter of which are followed by the nimble, roadrunner-like ground-cuckoos).

Hilty discussed hummingbirds in two chapters, noting not only the many different hummingbird niches (some are nectar thieves, poking holes on the outside of flowers to get nectar, not aiding the plant in pollination one bit, others are territorial, while still others forage over large areas) but that they even have different niches at different altitudes (wing length and body weight have a huge influence in the type of flight and behavior a hummingbird is capable of and as higher altitudes have less dense air and produce less lift, some species have different ecological niches at different altitudes).

A number of chapters focused or dealt with breeding behavior. One interesting discussion analyzed why males might cluster together in lek assemblages when they are so extremely competitive. The "hotspot" theory of Jack Bradbury argued that leks form in areas where females forage widely for food and the males have a good opportunity to catch the attention of these wide-ranging females, while the "hotshot" theory of Bruce Beeler and Mercedes Foster argues that the success of a few dominant males attracts the attention of less successful males, who bide their time and try to move up the hierarchy.

Other interesting topics include the flycatchers (part of a group of birds called suboscines) which have been among the few animal groups to colonize northwards with the appearance of the Panamanian landbridge and the influence of environment on song (different terrains affect song propagation in different ways).

Essential for the curious tropical naturalist.......2005-12-05

Steve Hilty does a wonderful job of translating the results of published scientific papers into the language of the curious layman without compromising the fidelity of the original research. With a strong academic background, coupled with many years of field experience and a formidable talent for communication, he successfully transmits the joy of the natural historian and the excitement of the pioneering ornithologist.

The book consists of twenty essays on the ecology, behavioural ecology, biogeography and evolution of Neotropical birds, each based on three or four seminal scientific papers. The topics covered include flocking behaviour, species diversity, intra-tropical migration, seasonality, song, hummingbird foraging ecology, seed dispersal and much more. Many of the topics arose as answers to the questions posed to the author by fellow travellers, so they address a host of the main questions the curious naturalist will ask. The examples and original research come from all parts of the New World tropics making this book of direct relevance to those travelling anywhere in Latin America. Specific sites mentioned range from La Selva in northeastern Costa Rica to Manu in Amazonian Peru, and from Panama's Barro Colorado Island to the Oilbird Cave in eastern Venezuela. Species like the Yellow-rumped Cacique and Oilbird and key Neotropical groups like the Vultures, Hummingbirds, Antbirds, Tyrant Flycatchers, Manakins and Cotingas are treated in detail.

In sum, a great introduction to the biology and natural history of American tropical birds for those who are new to the region and a fascinating companion for tropical veterans. Whether your interest is birding, natural history or simply enriching your tropical travels, this book should be on your shelves - or, better still, in your backpack.

Recommended for tropical birders.......2001-02-21

It is a shame that this book is out of print, because as more birders discover the wealth and happy confusion of birding in the tropics this book would find a ready audience. Birders who take their first trips to Central or South America step into an alien world, where the rules of the temperate zone do not apply.

Hilty's essays draw upon many years as a birding tour guide, kind of a "frequently asked questions" collection. He discusses answers to questions such as: Why do birds in the tropics migrate? Why are tropical birds often so colorful yet so hard to see? Why are tropical mixed flocks so large and varied (up to 50 or more species in a single foraging flock), and how can so many birds forage together? In the course of the essays, Hilty also provides a great deal of insight into tropical ecology. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the tropics in general, and tropical birding in particular.

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More Great Essays from Alexander Skutch

This Book Should Be Reprinted

A Bird Watcher's Adventures in Tropical America (Corrie Herring Hooks Series)
Alexander F. Skutch
Manufacturer: Univ of Texas Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Naturalist In Costa Rica

ASIN: 0292707665

Customer Reviews:

More Great Essays from Alexander Skutch.......2007-10-06

This is a collection of 14 essays that vary greatly in focus and scope from the narrow nearly academic "Study of the Woodcreepers of Tropical America" to the wide open view of "Mexico by Train" and Through Peruvian Amazon by Gunboat".

Skutch's training is as a biologist and naturalist but his talents as a writer and his enthusiasm in the field have combined to help produce these fascinating essays. As someone interested in the birds and natural history of Central and South America I enjoyed each chapter. The Epilogue:"The Appreciative Mind" resonated with some of my own thoughts on birds and nature. Here again Skutch has written something I wish I could write, a philosophy of the appreciation of nature. It is particularly enjoyable when reading to find an author that has already collected thoughts that you yourself have stumbled about on. Here Skutch writes so eloquently on the enjoyment of nature and birds and the imperative to protect what has taken millenia to produce what we see that I have the greatest admiration of him.

This Book Should Be Reprinted.......2004-11-30

Alexander Skutch traveled around much of Latin America as a USDA botanist in the 1930s and 1940s. His job involved such work as surveying the Amazon for rubber trees and studying the various plant life found in this remarkable region. However, his real love was the birds. It's difficult for birders to make their sport sound interesting to lay people but Skutch has a way with words that will capture the imagination of anyone with an interest in nature. He's a gentle soul who lived through interesting times, including the 1948 Costa Rican Revolution. His essay, "Birding during a Time of Revolution," is not only one of the most fascinating birding adventures I've ever read but it also perfectly captures the follies of man in this region, and throughout the world for that matter. My other favorite is "Birding on a Gunboat in the Amazon"-an essay about a military mission that Skutch made in the 1940s to survey the Amazon for rubber trees. While the times have changed in Central America, many of the birds remain the same. If you enjoy Latin America, and its culture, history, flora, and fauna, you will cherish this book and read Skutch's stories again and again.

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really fun for the amateur naturalist
Textbook
A Neotropical Companion
Great overview of the tropics
whet your appetite for a fascinating region of the Americas

A Neotropical Companion
JOHN KRICHER
Manufacturer: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0691044333

Amazon.com

A second revised edition of John Kricher's well-received 1989 text, A Neotropical Companion distills whole libraries of information on the Americas' tropics. Kricher explores the workings of a rainforest with admirable clarity, discussing matters such as regeneration pathways and ecological succession. He also takes a sidelong glance at current issues in evolutionary theory, using his deep knowledge of the tropics to add to the literature on speciation and various hypotheses surrounding it. Ethnobotanists in particular will want to have a look at Kricher's catalog of tropical medicinal plants, in which lie the promise of cures and reliefs for a host of modern illnesses.

Book Description

A^I Neotropical Companion^N is an extraordinarily readable introduction to the American tropics, the lands of Central and South America, their remarkable rainforests and other ecosystems, and the creatures that live there. It is the most comprehensive one-volume guide to the Neotropics available today. Widely praised in its first edition, it remains a book of unparalleled value to tourists, students, and scientists alike. This second edition has been substantially revised and expanded to incorporate the abundance of new scientific information that has been produced since it was first published in 1989. Major additions have been made to every chapter, and new chapters have been added on Neotropical ecosystems, human ecology, and the effects of deforestation. Biodiversity and its preservation are discussed throughout the book, and Neotropical evolution is described in detail. This new edition offers all new drawings and photographs, many of them in color. As enthusiastic readers of the first edition will attest, this is a charming book. Wearing his learning lightly and writing with ease and humor, John Kricher presents the complexities of tropical ecology as accessible and nonintimidating. Kricher is so thoroughly knowledgeable and the book is so complete in its coverage that general readers and ecotourists will not need any other book to help them identify and understand the plants and animals, from birds to bugs, that they will encounter in their travels to the New World tropics. At the same time, it will fascinate armchair travelers and students who may get no closer to the Neotropics than this engagingly written book. ^IFrom reviews of the first edition:^N "An intense and lively field guide ... compact and richly substantive."--Scientific American "The book is exactly what it says it is, a companion to take with you on your travels in the New World tropics.... The author has written ... with just the right amount of informality and humor."--Journal of Natural History

Customer Reviews:

really fun for the amateur naturalist.......2007-08-15

This is just a great book if you like this sort of stuff. The content is thorough but not overwhelming, and the author does a really good job making the complex science of neotropical ecology accessible for non-academics.

I purchased it before I traveled to birdwatch in Costa Rica and wowed my companions with little tidbits and facts that I pulled pretty much verbatim from the book. It opens you eyes to things in the tropics that you would most certainly miss otherwise and should be considered indispensable for anyone traveling there with an interest in nature.

Textbook.......2007-04-11

Well, this is a requirement for class, so I can't complain too much. Still, it looks to be chock full of useful tidbits.

A Neotropical Companion.......2007-01-10

Received the book in a few days and in excellent condition. Very pleased with my purchase.

Great overview of the tropics.......2006-11-10

I took this book along with me to Peru and read it during long boat rides on the river. If you have an interest in biology and ecosystems, this book is a great introduction. It covers a little bit of everything, from birds to mammals to plants. You can dip into one topic without having to read it linearly.

The book greatly enhanced my trip. Guides are great but they can't be experts in everything at once.

whet your appetite for a fascinating region of the Americas.......2006-07-02

Kricher's NEOTROPICAL COMPANION is not the kind of 'field-guide-for-dummies' that many of us depend on to find our way around Central and South America's flora and fauna. Rather, it's the next step for people who've become familiar with that kind of guide and want to understand at a deeper and occasionally more abstract level why the natural life around them is what it is.

Ours accompanied us through many years in Costa Rica.

The photos are stunning, but there are not many of them. Fairly dense, instructive prose dominates.

A fine book by a recognized authority. Buy the field guide and get it well-thumbed and into your mind. Then add Kricher's NEOTROPICAL COMPANION to it.

Birds of Tropical America (Corrie Herring Hooks Series)

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Birds of Tropical America (Corrie Herring Hooks Series)
Alexander Skutch
Manufacturer: Univ of Texas Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0292746342

The Imperative Call: A Naturalist's Quest in Temperate and Tropical America

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Stories of a lost Paradise

The Imperative Call: A Naturalist's Quest in Temperate and Tropical America
Alexander F. Skutch
Manufacturer: University Press of Florida
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0813011493

Book Description

In The Imperative Call, Alexander F. Skutch recounts his early years growing up in Maryland and Maine and his adventures in Central America and Jamaica during the 1920s and 1930s, well before modernization affected the region, when the began his classic studies of nesting birds. Weaving precise descriptions of tropical plan, bird, and animal life into a personal philosophy about man and nature, the book is both autobiography and natural history.

Customer Reviews:

Stories of a lost Paradise.......2007-08-02

Dr. Alexander Skutch passed away in 2004 just short of his 100th birthday.
He was an acclaimed biologist and had published a multitude of studies, articles and books on tropical botany, nature and ornithology.

In this book he describes his early days in Costa Rica just after concluding his work with the banana producing companies in the 1930's. In 1941 he purchased a farm in the rich San Isidro Valley in the South Central part of the country and named it Los Cosingos after the Fiery-billed Aracari, a species of Toucan that was common in the area. Skutch then devoted his time to studying the birds and plants of the area and worked to save some of the forests and preserves of the country. He along with Dan Janzen were two of the most influencial biologists that helped Costa Rica shape a system of national parks that may be the best of any country in the world.

In this book Skutch writes of the early days on the farm, what the area was like before the main rush of settlers and how it changed into an agricultural center. His farm, or better called his sanctuary is the last forest left in the area and still shelters many of the birds, animals and plants once found in the valley before it changed to cropland.
He describes journeys across the Cerro Muerte before the road when it was just a horse trail and travelers would sometimes freeze on its heights here in the tropics. He describes fantastic natural phenomena such as migrations of irridescent winged butterflys that stretched from horizon to horizon that sadly dwindled with time and are no more.

I had noticed that no one had reviewed this book which I imagine is an indicator of the present interest in this book. This is very unfortunate as it is an excellent read and will illuminate aspects of tropical life that have all but disappeared in Central America.

Birds Of Tropical America - A Watcher's Introduction To Behavior, Breeding And Diversity - The Curious Naturalist

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Birds Of Tropical America - A Watcher's Introduction To Behavior, Breeding And Diversity - The Curious Naturalist
Steven; Illustrations by Wolf, Mimi Hoppe Hilty
Manufacturer: Chapters Publ. Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JZMLJ4

Birds of Tropical America: A Watcher's Introduction to Behavior, Breeding & Diversity

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Birds of Tropical America: A Watcher's Introduction to Behavior, Breeding & Diversity
Steven Hilty
Manufacturer: Diane Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0788192809

Product Description

Why are tropical birds like parrots & quetzels so much more colorful than birds of temperate lands? How can a vulture soaring thousands of feet above the canopy spot a dead rodent no bigger than a mouse on the rainforest floor? What permits sparrow-sized antbirds to thrive among hordes of army ants that devour every other living thing in their path? Hilty has led birding tours to the American Tropics for over 20 years. By providing answers to the hundreds of questions asked by participants of these expeditions, he has produced a natural history of the bird life of the New World Tropics that is as practical, accurate & fascinating as the species it reveals.

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ECOL & CONS NEOTROP MIG BIRDS
HAGAN III JOHN M
Manufacturer: Smithsonian
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 156098113X

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A Naturalist amid Tropical Splendor
Alexander F. Skutch
Manufacturer: University Of Iowa Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Portraits of Tropical Birds
John S. Dunning
Manufacturer: Harrowood Books
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Binding: Hardcover

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