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Title: Pheasants by Peter Robertson ISBN: 0-89658-361-9 Publisher: Voyageur Press Pub. Date: July, 1997 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (2 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: An excellent read
Comment: I am certainly not a scientist, but I found this book to be very accessable and educational. Indeed, by the end, I felt like I'd had a semester with a brilliant professor who not only knows and loves his subject matter, but who also has mastered the art of teaching.
In terms of subject matter, John Pittman's review provides a nice overview; I would add just a few particulars that I found especially interesting. First, and most generally, I appreciated Robertson's skill in summarizing the scientific literature (including his own research) in a way that makes sense to the non-scientist. Although numbers are necessarily involved in describing this kind of topic, Robertson never drowns his readers in math. Instead, he focuses on the concepts that are revealed by the numbers. And, perhaps more importantly, he explains those concepts without too much reliance on the scientist's jargon.
Second, although many books treat pheasants as a purely American phenomenon (with a passing comment about ancient origins in China), Robertson discusses their lives and management across the world. For example, Robertson describes how pheasants in England make far more use of trees than those in the U.S. This is not because Britain has a different species of bird. Rather, Robertson explains, the red fox is more trouble in England, while the red-tailed hawk is more trouble here. Hence, the ground is safer here, and the trees are safer there. This, of course, has implications for both habitat reconstruction and predator management. More broadly, by providing this and other "international" observations, Robertson teaches us a great deal about the pheasant and how it reacts to different environments.
Finally, although Robertson is not a hunter, I was refreshed to read his very fair appraisal of hunting and its impact on the pheasant population. (I was also fascinated to read his detailed description of driven shoots in England - quite a departure from our practice in Iowa!)
Overall, this is an excellent book and excellent read. I flew through it in just a few short evenings, and I will undoubtedly re-read it several times. Also, it will surely provide a good reference book for specific questions. Buy it for yourself or someone you really like!
Rating: 5
Summary: A wonderfull book on pheasants and pheasant habitat
Comment: Every pheasant population has limits to its growth placed by its niche in a larger ecology. Only one large brained vertebrate seems unconstrained by the general rule. For those of us who want to know more about limits to the growth of pheasant populations, and about the life of pheasants at all seasons, Dr. Peter Robertson's "Pheasants" is a must buy. This is a brilliant book and is highly recommened
Bird and wildlife lovers who are not specifically interested in pheasants should read this book, not only because, as Robertson explains, good pheasant habitat is good wildlife habitat for the whole range of small creatures of the woods and fields. This book can lead to a deeper understanding of wildlife habitat in general, and of how a habitat supports and limits the populations of wildlife species.
This book is an absolute must for all pheasant habitat managers and their superiors in the state agencies. An understanding of the book's central themes could increase the reader's ability to identify the elements of good habitat, even when the vegetation is different from that described by Robertson. A careful student of the book and of local habitat might gain the skill of identifying particular habitat deficiencies which limit a local pheasant population.
Following the pheasant through a year in its life cycle, Robertson discusses critical habitat requirements in elegant and convincing detail. The life and needs of the pheasant in Winter are revealed. Robertson tells us what spring territories are all about, what kind of habitat is required for a good territory, and where and how far the hens go to nest. And Robertson explains the habitat needs of chicks, that they must have an adequate diet of insects in the first weeks of their lives, and how that is a critical vulnerability.
This book is absolutely up to date, breaking new ground in our understanding of pheasants. It is based on the latest research, much of it performed by Dr. Robertson and his colleagues. Dr. Peter Robertson, BSc, PhD, perhaps the world's foremost authority on pheasants, has performed much of his research as the Senior Scientist to The Game Conservancy's Pheasants and Woodlands Research Project, in Britain.
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Title: The Pheasants of the World: Biology and Natural History by Paul A. Johnsgard, Joseph Wolf ISBN: 1560988398 Publisher: Smithsonian Institution Press Pub. Date: August, 1999 List Price(USD): $55.00 |
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Title: Ringneck: A Tribute to Pheasants and Pheasant Hunting by Steve Grooms, Russ Sewell, Dave Nomsen ISBN: 158574056X Publisher: The Lyons Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $40.00 |
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