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<\/p>\nThere’s a fantastic and brand new resource out there for serious students of birds from Johns Hopkins University Press and it contains three of my bird photographs so I hope you’ll allow me a little horn tootin’ today.<\/p>\n
Let’s have a closer look at this massive new book.<\/p>\n
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My complimentary copy arrived two days ago so I haven’t had much time to go through it but after perusing it for several hours I’m extremely impressed. According to the publishers “the textbook is intended for undergraduate and graduate students” but it’s also “written to be useful for professionals who are experts in one or a few subject areas (e.g. ecology and behavior) and want to strengthen their understanding of others.”<\/p>\n
All three of my photos were used in chapter 15 – “Foraging Behavior”, dealing with foraging and feeding behaviors of birds and their diets. I’ve included those photos below. The authors of this chapter were interested in images that illustrate how birds deal with food.<\/p>\n
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A Loggerhead Shrike casting a pellet.<\/p>\n
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A Bald Eagle eating a carp in flight. This photo was used to illustrate one of the ways birds use their feet while handling food.<\/p>\n
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A Short-eared Owl in flight with rodent prey.<\/p>\n
It would be a legitimate question for readers to wonder why I’m making such a big deal out of being published in this textbook. After all, my photos are published in books and magazines fairly regularly and I generally don’t gloat about it on Feathered Photography. I’ll try to explain.<\/p>\n
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These two books are the two I’m most proud to be published in (I have two photos in Handbook<\/i>) and that includes publishers like National Geographic, Ranger Rick Junior and many others that have also purchased and used my images. It all boils down to my interest in bird biology and behaviors. Traditional “pretty bird photos” are nice and they’re the ones that most publishers are interested in but these textbooks used my photos to illustrate bird biology and behaviors and that pleases me even more than the others.<\/p>\n
And then there’s the biology teacher in me coming out. The 2nd edition of Handbook of Bird Biology<\/i> was and still is a highly respected classic that was used by universities and serious students of birds for 13 years before the 3rd edition came out last year and I expect Ornithology<\/i> to be at least as widely used and respected. I anticipate that thousands of bird nerds, academic and otherwise, will have both books as companions on their bookshelf just as I do for years to come. And that thought makes this old teacher very happy.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/thickness-of-2-bird-books-0751-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"thickness-of-2-bird-books-0751-ron-dudley\\"")
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But damn, Ornithology is a monster! Handbook<\/i> is a big book but Ornithology<\/i> dwarfs it. The pages of both are roughly 11″ x 8.25″ but Ornithology has over 1000 of them so it’s 2.5″ thick and weighs 9 brutish pounds. That’s two pounds more than my 500mm lens so believe me it’s heavy. I’ve included the quarter for scale.<\/p>\n
Don’t get me wrong, Ornithology<\/i> isn’t for the casual reader. But if you’re serious about learning current, detailed and scientifically vetted information about the biology, behavior, evolution and conservation of birds it just might be for you.<\/p>\n
But if you decide to take the plunge it won’t be cheap ($110 suggested retail price). I’m sure glad I’m no longer a penniless college student buying textbooks.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There’s a fantastic and brand new resource out there for serious students of birds from John Hopkins University Press and it contains three of my bird photographs so I hope you’ll allow me a little horn tootin’ today. Let’s have a closer look at this massive new book.<\/p>\n