Brief Book Reviews

California boasts over 600 species of recorded bird species, roughly two-thirds of the North American bird list. What better way to celebrate California’s bird diversity than to own a copy of “Wild Birds of California”. This coffee-table album boasts spectacular photographs (many taken by famous photographers) of birds one might find in the various habitats of California: from Brown Pelicans along the rocky Pacific coast to Gray-crowned Rosy Finches on top of Mount Whitney, over 14,000 feet above sea-level.

The photographs in this book are not simply for identification purposes, but are works of art themselves, capturing the essence of the bird in its natural habitat. I especially like the photograph of the California Quail, calling from the safe haven of a low-hanging sycamore tree. The author, David Lukas, has appended brief personal notes beneath each photograph. In these notes, we find sprinklings of curious facts, ranging from breeding and foraging biology to fundamental conservation issues.

Usually, books based on a compilation of works from different photographers are plagued with errors and typos. I only found a few errors: an Elegant Tern that’s really a Forster’s Tern, the misplacement of the Santa Rosa Mountains in San Bernardino County (actually in Riverside County), and the misplacement of Morongo Valley in Riverside County (actually in San Bernardino County). However, these errors don’t detract from the overall vision portrayed in this book. Highly recommended to serious and beginning birders alike.

Cin-Ty Lee

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