The Atlas of Birds: Mapping avian diversity, behaviour and habitats worldwide

Authoritative and concise, this beautifully illustrated atlas captures the dazzling diversity of bird life around the world. Its stunning full-colour maps reveal where birds are found and explain the many factors behind their distribution, while numerous photographs and illustrations showcase the most fascinating and colourful aspects of bird behaviour. Conservation concerns are highlighted throughout, underpinned by the very latest data from BirdLife International on the threats birds face worldwide. The atlas reveals how an astonishing variety of behavioural adaptations - from flight and feeding to nest building and song - have enabled birds to exploit virtually every habitat niche available. It also unveils the miracles of bird migration, charting key flyways around the globe and drawing upon the latest satellite-tracking technology to shed new light on this most mysterious phenomenon. The greatest threat to birds today comes from the human impact on their environment. Such forces as deforestation, wetland drainage, pollution, the introduction of alien species and climate change have placed at least 1,200 species in danger of extinction. The atlas draws on work by BirdLife International and other organisations to explore this issue, using maps and case studies to illustrate where and why birds are most under threat, and what is being done to protect them.

Mike Unwin is an experienced writer and illustrator of wildlife, and author of over 20 books, including several for the RSPB. Among the numerous publications for which he writes are Bird Watching, Birdwatch and Bird Life. In 2000 he won BBC Wildlife magazine's nature travel writer of the year.