Handbook of the Birds of the World Vol. 15: Weavers to New World Warblers

Volume 15 of the Handbook of the Birds of the World series covers eight families and a total of 606 species. This volume begins with the fascinating weavers of Africa and South Asia, known for building the most elaborate nests among all birds, including colonies of Red-billed Quelea, which can contain more than 30 million nests. It then explores the whydahs and indigobirds, brood parasites endemic to tropical Africa, and the colorful waxbills, popular as aviary birds across a wide range from tropical Africa to Pacific islands.

The New World is also well represented in this volume, with vireos, the critically endangered Hawaiian honeycreepers, the Olive Warbler, and the New World warblers. The largest family in this volume is the finches, with 144 species, including some of the most well-known and widely distributed birds, such as the European Goldfinch and the Island Canary.

The foreword, written by conservation experts Stuart Butchart, Nigel Collar, Alison Stattersfield, and Leon Bennun from BirdLife International, provides a comprehensive and well-documented overview of the threats to bird diversity and populations caused by human development, along with recommendations to mitigate these dangers.

Highlighted Features

• Foreword: Conservation of the World’s Birds: The View from 2010, by Stuart Butchart, Nigel Collar, Alison Stattersfield, and Leon Bennun
• 60 color plates
• 495 color photographs showcasing a wide variety of species in their natural habitats
• 614 distribution maps
• More than 6,000 bibliographic references

Content

• Order Passeriformes
• Family Ploceidae: 15 genera, 117 species
• Family Viduidae: 1 genus, 20 species
• Family Estrildidae: 33 genera, 141 species
• Family Vireonidae: 8 genera, 63 species
• Family Fringillidae: 50 genera, 144 species
• Family Drepanididae: 21 genera, 50 species
• Family Peucedramidae: 1 genus, 1 species
• Family Parulidae: 18 genera, 70 species