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OUP Ecology & Evolution

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Birds of the Western Palearctic

Handbook of Australian, New Zealand, and Antarctic Birds

Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan

Other field guides and h/books

Oxford Ornithology Series

Avian Biology Series

Threatened Birds (India)

Images of Asia (Birds)

Ecology & Evolution Series

Biology of Habitats Series

Techniques in Ecology & Conservation

Other bird related books

Evolutionary Biomechanics: Selection, Phylogeny and Constraint

Graham K. Taylor and Adrian L.R. Thomas

Oxford University Press

2013

"Evolutionary biomechanics is the study of evolution through the analysis of biomechanical systems. Its unique advantage is the precision with which physical constraints and performance can be predicted from first principles. Instead of reviewing the entire breadth of the biomechanical literature, a few key examples are explored in depth as vehicles for discussing fundamental concepts, analytical techniques, and evolutionary theory. Each chapter develops a conceptual theme, developing the underlying theory and techniques required for analyses in evolutionary biomechanics. Examples from terrestrial biomechanics, metabolic scaling, and bird flight are used to analyse how physics constrains the design space that natural selection is free to explore, and how adaptive evolution finds solutions to the trade-offs between multiple complex conflicting performance objectives."

Evolutionary Ecology of Birds: Life Histories, Mating Systems and Extinction

Peter Bennett and Ian P.F. Owens

Oxford University Press

2002

"Birds show bewildering diversity in their life histories, mating systems and risk of extinction. Why do albatrosses delay reproduction for the first 12 years of their life while zebra finches breed in their first year? Why are fairy-wrens so sexually promiscuous while swans show lifelong monogamy? Why are over a quarter of parrot species threatened with global extinction while woodpeckers and cuckoos remain secure? Some of these topics are classic problems in natural and sexual selection, while others have arisen in the last decade, such as variation in genetic mating systems or extinction risk. Birds offer a unique opportunity for investigating these questions because they are exceptionally well-studied in the wild. By employing phylogenetic comparative methods and a database of up to 3,000 species, the authors identify the ecological and evolutionary basis of many of these intriguing questions. They also highlight remaining puzzles and identify a series of challenges for future investigation. This is the most comprehensive reappraisal of avian diversity since David Lack's classic "Ecological Adaptions for Breeding in Birds". It is also the most extensive application of modern comparative methods yet undertaken. This novel approach demonstrates how an evolutionary perspective can reveal the general ecological processes that underpin contemporary avian diversity on a global scale."

Contents: Comparative biology of birds; Comparative methods; Natural selection and diversity in life histories; Diversity among living species; Patterns of covariation between life history traits; Ecological basis of life history and diversity; Further problems; Sexual selection and diversity in mating system; Variation in mating systems and sexual dimorphism; Ecological basis of mating system diversity; Ecological basis of sexual dimorphism; Further problems; Birth and death of bird species; Variation in extinction risk and species richness; Explaining variation and extinction risk; Explaining variation in species richness; Further problems; Conclusions.

The Evolution of Sibling Rivalry

Douglas W. Mock, Geoffrey A. Parker

Oxford University Press

1997

"One of the main tenets of evolutionary biology is that organisms behave so as to maximize the number of their genes that will be passed on to future generations. Parents often produce more offspring than they can rear in case special opportunities or calamities occur. This frequently leads to deprivations and even death of some offspring. This book is about the evolutionary diversity, importance, and consequences of such squeezes. The authors, experts in their field, review the theory, field experiments, and natural history of sibling rivalry across a broad sweep of organisms, in a clear and accessible style that should appeal to both academics and natural historians."

Contents: Theory I: Hamilton's Rule and the Evolutionary Limits of Selfishness; Theory II: Phenotypic Models of Sublethal Sibling Competition; Theory III: Fatal Sibling Competition; An Introduction to Sibling Rivalry in Birds; Supply, Demand, and Defendability; Parent-Offspring Conflict I: The Battleground; Conflict Resolutions I: Begging Scrambles; Conflict Resolutions II: begging as an Hones Signal; Conflict Resolutions III: Clutch Size and Sexual Conflicts; Tests of Parents-Offspring Conflict Vs. Collaboration; Sibling Rivalry in Birds; Sibling Rivalry in Mammals; Sibling Rivalry in Vertberate Ecthotherms; Sibling Rivalry in Invertebrates; Sibling Rivalry in Plants.

Cooperation Among Animals: An Evolutionary Perspective

Lee Alan Dugatkin

Oxford University Press

1997

"This study outlines four different categories of co-operation among animals - reciprocal altruism, kinship, group-selected co-operation, and by-product mutualism - and ties them together in a single framework called the "Co-operator's Dilemma". Studies on co-operation in insects, fish, birds and mammals are then reviewed, each example being tied back to the theoretical framework developed early on when the data allows. Future experiments designed to further elucidate a particular type of co-operation are provided throughout the book."

Contents: Chapter 1 Historical perspectives on cooperative behavior; Chapter 2 Theoretical perspectives on the evolution of cooperation; Chapter 3 Cooperation in fishes; Chapter 4 Cooperation in birds; Chapter 5 Cooperation in mammals I: non-primates; Chapter 6 Cooperation in mammals II: non-human primates; Chapter 7 Cooperation in insects; Chapter 8 To the future."

Sexual Selection and the Barn Swallow

Anders Pape Moller

Oxford University Press

1994

"An important empirical test of the theoretical predictions of sexual selection theory, this book presents a long-term field study of the monagamous barn swallow. By using information on behaviour, ecology, morphology, genetics, and evolution, the book reviews this theory and its two components: male-male competition and female choice. The selective advantages of a long tail are investigated for this common bird, demonstrating such effects as mating behaviour, copulation behaviour, migration strategies, and host-parasite interactions. A rich informative text which clearly elucidates the mechanisms and consequences of sexual selection."

Dunnock Behaviour and Social Evolution

N.B. Davies

Oxford University Press

1992

"At first sight just a small brown bird, the dunnock's unobtrusive appearance belies its extraordinary behaviour and mating patterns. In this book Nick Davies gives a full account of the mating systems of the dunnock or hedge sparrow, , which include pairs, a male with two females, two males with one female, and several males with several females. Detailed observations, elegant field experiments, and DNA fingerprinting are combined to show how this variable social organization from selfish individuals competing to maximize their own reproductive success. Further experiments reveal how the cuckoo may thwart the dunnock's parental efforts. David Quinn's exquisite drawings provide a visual summary of the birds' behaviour. All students of ecology, evolution, and animal behaviour will want to be familiar with this work, which addresses the wider issues of the influence of ecology on mating systems and the evolutionary significance of conflict within and between species."