Vanishing Birds by Tim Halliday

Vanishing Birds

Their Natural History and Conservation

by Tim Halliday

Sidgwick & Jackson, 1978, [First Edition], ISBN 0283983914, illustrated colour plates, black and white illustrations, illustrated endpapers (maps), hardcover, dustjacket

Very Good Condition, some edge and shelf wear, a little rubbing and bumping to edges and corners, minor foxing to fore edges, dustjacket shows a little edge and shelf wear with a little rubbing and bumping to edges and corners, some discolouration to edges (see photographs)

“At the end of the seventeenth century, the Dodo of Mauritius, a large flightless bird with a permanently dishevelled appearance, became extinct.  This was the first recorded extinction of a bird species, and since then about 130 species and races of birds have become ‘as dead as a Dodo”, while many others are now critically rare.  Extinction is a natural part of the evolutionary process, but the primary cause of the great majority of extinctions in the last three hundred years has been man, through his direct and indirect influences on wildlife.
The history of man’s relationship with his fellow creatures is a melancholy one, but this book adopts a constructive approach to the problem.  Dr Halliday examines the ways in which birds have evolved, so as to identify what it is about some species that makes them particularly vulnerable to changes in their environment, and thus tragically susceptible to human influences.  The histories of several extinct species, including the Dodo, the Great Auk and the Passenger Pigeon are discussed in detail, with the aim of establishing general principles that can be of help in the conservation of endangered species.  The author’s primary interest in birds as an artist, and he has illustrated his text with fine colour plates and line drawings.”