Birds of Ontario: Habitat Requirements, Limiting Factors, and Status

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

Ornithologists and very serious birders will welcome this review of the
literature and research on selected Ontario bird species.

The book, the first of four planned volumes, is limited to that section
of the AOU (American Ornithologists’ Union) checklist the author
describes as “waterfowl through cranes.” This includes geese, swans,
pelicans, cormorants, ducks, mergansers, loons, grebe, partridge,
pheasant, grouse, bobwhite, wild turkey, bitterns, herons, egrets,
vultures, osprey, eagles, hawks, rails, moorhens, coot, and cranes.

The focus for each species is on the nest (where it is likely to be
situated); other information includes range size, reproduction cycle,
diet, and “limiting factors” such as habitat loss, human
disturbance, and population changes. A range map for each species shows
the breeding and wintering areas and migration routes.

The approach is an academic review of published research, highlighting
findings that expand the body of information available to today’s
serious student or researcher. The volume of literature cited is
huge—hundreds of published works spanning a century of research packed
into 60 pages. The result is an assembly (in an easily accessible
format) of the best data available about each species.

Although meticulous in providing cites and sources, Sandilands’s text
is quite readable, and the birder interested in exploring information
beyond the field-guide level will find much of interest. For naturalists
planning a research study involving birds, it is an essential first
step.