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by: Gary W. Kaiser  Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Dewey Decimal Number: 571.318 EAN: 9780774813433 ISBN: 0774813431 Label: University of British Columbia Press Manufacturer: University of British Columbia Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 386 Publication Date: March 09, 2007 Publisher: University of British Columbia Press Studio: University of British Columbia Press Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: The Inner Bird introduces readers to the avian skeleton, then moves beyond anatomy to discuss the relationships between birds and dinosaurs and other early ancestors. Gary Kaiser examines the challenges scientists face in understanding avian evolution even recent advances in biomolecular genetics have failed to provide a clear evolutionary story. Using examples from recently discovered fossils of birds and near-birds, Kaiser describes an avian history based on the gradual abandonment of dinosaur-like characteristics, and the related acquisition of avian characteristics such as sophisticated flight techniques and the production of large eggs. Such developments have enabled modern birds to invade the oceans and to exploit habitats that excluded dinosaurs for millions of years. While ornithology is a complex discipline that draws on many fields, it is nevertheless burdened with obsolete assumptions and archaic terminology. The Inner Bird offers modern interpretations for some of those ideas and links them to more current research. It should help anyone interested in birds to bridge the gap between long-dead fossils and the challenges faced by living species. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Not flawless, but a badly needed addition to most birding bookshelvesThe Inner Bird is not a typical bird book, and therein lies a great deal of its value. It is the first recent popular science treatment of the anatomy of birds, and how that anatomy ties into the features more commonly written about aspects of avian biology; evolution, behaviour and taxonomy. Even experts of bird ecology or taxonomy will find something of value here, it brings back the almost Victorian emphasis on anatomy, on the skeleton, on how the shape drives the function (and visa versa). The ... Read More Rating:  - New thoughts on birdsKaiser's book is called 'The Inner Bird' because he concentrates on the skeleton and internal features of this large and varied group of animals rather than the superficial plumage and behaviour which have been the subject of a great number of books in the past. It is an exceptional and possibly unique presentation of the highly specialized field of modern ornithology and the origin and development of the bird written in language readily accessible to the reader by an acknowledged expert. Kaiser ... Read More 
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