Urban Ornithology: 150 Years of Birds in New York City

by P. A. Buckley, Walter Sedwitz, William J. Norse, John Kieran

Overview

Urban Ornithology is the first quantitative historical analysis of any New York City natural area’s birdlife and spans the century and a half from 1872 to 2016. Only Manhattan’s Central and Brooklyn’s Prospect Parks have preliminary species lists, not revised since 1967, and the last book examining the birdlife of the entire New York City area is now more than fifty years old.

This book updates the avifaunas of those two parks, the Bronx, and other New York City boroughs. It treats the 301 bird species known to have occurred within its study area—Van Cortlandt Park and the adjacent Northwest Bronx—plus 70 potential additions. Its 123 breeding species are tracked from 1872 and supplemented by quantitative breeding bird censuses from 1937 to 2015. Gains and losses of breeding species are discussed in light of an expanding New York City inexorably extinguishing unique habitats.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501719615
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	12/15/2018
Pages:	536
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

P. A. Buckley, a Riverdale native, is Senior Scientist Emeritus at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Walter Sedwitz was a Bronx resident whose favorite fieldwork site was Jerome Reservoir. William J. Norse studied birds throughout the Bronx and compiled its Christmas Bird Counts. John Kieran was Bronx-born and a sports writer for the New York Times. Fervent students of New York City–area birdlife, the four have been writing extensively about it since the 1930s.

Table of Contents

Systematic List
List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Avifaunal Overview
Terminology
Subarea Coverage
Historical and Recent Data Sources
Van Cortlandt Contrasted with Central and Prospect Parks
Ecological Connectivity
Breeding Species
Winter Species
Migration
Resource Concerns
The Future
Introduction to the Species Accounts
Species Accounts
Appendixes
1. Tables
2. Scientific Names of All Organisms Mentioned in This Book Other Than Birds in the Species Accounts
3. Glossary of Symbols, Abbreviations, and Terms Used in This Book
4. Names of All Observers Appearing Anywhere in the Body of This Book
5. Stranger in a Strange Land: An Andean Gull in the Bronx
6. Specimens in Museum Collections from Van Cortlandt Park, Kingsbridge Meadows, Woodlawn Cemetery and Jerome Reservoir, and Riverdale
Literature Cited
About the Authors
Indexes
English Bird Names
Scientific Bird Names
Subjects

What People are Saying About This

Geoffrey LeBaron

Urban Ornithology is a phenomenal compendium combining over a century of both birding and ornithological study that results in an incredibly detailed look at a region steeped in bird lore. We need more studies like it!

Roger F. Pasquier

Growing up in mid-twentieth Century Manhattan with Central Park as my birding backyard, it was eye-opening to read John Kiernan's accounts of the much more diverse birdlife of the Bronx. Van Cortlandt Park seemed as remote and promising as the Adirondacks to a twelve-year old on his first visit in 1960. Even now, for the city birder it still feels like the countryside. Urban Ornithology makes clear that the Bronx continues to be a birding hotspot and that, at its core, Van Cortlandt Park could with smart management become the premier urban wildlife park in the United States. The book's rich information on the ever-changing status of birdlife in the entire New York City region and the detailed comparisons with Central and Prospect parks make Urban Ornithology essential and fascinating reading for all New York City birders and naturalists.

Richard R. Veit

Urban Ornithology is a book of exceptionally high quality and reflects the expertise of the four authors, spanning their more than one hundred years of field work. What the authors have produced is unique for a North American regional work on ornithology. Urban Ornithology will be a monumental contribution to the growing field of urban ecology.

Richard P. Kane

This book is quite simply an inter-generational life work of exceptional breadth and depth by co-authors intimately acquainted with their subject. Urban Ornithology provides a meticulous account of eco-history of the Northwest Bronx, complete with excellent illustrations of the study area and environs at various periods, all of which is vital to an understanding of avifaunal changes and the importance of Van Cordtlandt Park and its sub areas to migratory birds.

Editorial Reviews

Any book that starts "It was a dark and very stormy night." has got to be worth investigating. [Urban Ornithology] is a testament to what long-term effort by dedicated observers can achieve.

British Trust for Ornithology

This book is remarkable, perhaps unique in my experience, for its organization and presentation of analyses on a hierarchical arrangement of spatial scales.... in addition to the wealth of data and interpretation, the text is readable and entertaining and will have strong appeal to residents of New York City as well as the multitudes of urban places elsewhere on the globe.

The Condor

His book is the first quantitative historical analysis of New York birdlife and its first modern complete literature revision... not only constitutes essential reading for ornithologists dealing with the North American birdlife, but they represent stimulating works for anyone interested in urban birds.

Biological Conservation

This is a detail-rich historical summary of a local urban avifauna.... Urban ecologists will find it valuable for its documentation of the declines and successes of birds in a well-studied metropolis. The text is enriched by many maps, photographs, figures, and tables.

Choice

Throughout the book you read and hear a voice that is tying together all that was, all that has been lost, and all that remains, and what people who love nature are trying to do to protect New York City's natural world.... A treasure for anyone wanting to learn about bird life in New York City, and for students and teachers of ornithology. Here we get not only a natural history of the city, but many of the reasons why we need to cherish and protect it.

The Gotham Center for New York City History

"Urban Ornithology is a phenomenal compendium combining over a century of both birding and ornithological study that results in an incredibly detailed look at a region steeped in bird lore. We need more studies like it!"

Geoffrey LeBaron

"Growing up in mid-twentieth Century Manhattan with Central Park as my birding backyard, it was eye-opening to read John Kiernan's accounts of the much more diverse birdlife of the Bronx. Van Cortlandt Park seemed as remote and promising as the Adirondacks to a twelve-year old on his first visit in 1960. Even now, for the city birder it still feels like the countryside. Urban Ornithology makes clear that the Bronx continues to be a birding hotspot and that, at its core, Van Cortlandt Park could with smart management become the premier urban wildlife park in the United States. The book's rich information on the ever-changing status of birdlife in the entire New York City region and the detailed comparisons with Central and Prospect parks make Urban Ornithology essential and fascinating reading for all New York City birders and naturalists."

Roger F. Pasquier

"Urban Ornithology is a book of exceptionally high quality and reflects the expertise of the four authors, spanning their more than one hundred years of field work. What the authors have produced is unique for a North American regional work on ornithology. Urban Ornithology will be a monumental contribution to the growing field of urban ecology."

Richard R. Veit

"This book is quite simply an inter-generational life work of exceptional breadth and depth by co-authors intimately acquainted with their subject. Urban Ornithology provides a meticulous account of eco-history of the Northwest Bronx, complete with excellent illustrations of the study area and environs at various periods, all of which is vital to an understanding of avifaunal changes and the importance of Van Cordtlandt Park and its sub areas to migratory birds."

Richard P. Kane

"Urban Ornithology's rich historic and current information on New York City's birdlife makes it essential and fascinating reading for all metropolitan naturalists. The Bronx remains a birding hotspot, and Van Cortlandt Park, at its core, could with smart management become the premier urban wildlife park in the United States."

Roger Pasquier