The Inner Bird: Anatomy and Evolution.

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.

While it is the ability to fly that characterizes and even defines birds for most people, Kaiser makes the case for viewing birds as “terrestrial pedestrians” and reinterprets their anatomy in this context. He explores the mystery of a bird’s movement, always relating skeletal and organ structure to function. This approach opens up the opportunity for new insights into adaptations that evolved to enable birds to survive in specific environments, such as forests and oceans.

Much is made of the possible link between birds and dinosaurs, with discussion of recent fossil discoveries that may help bridge the evolution gap. The relationship among the various families of birds is discussed, with a review of the various criteria used for classification in the past and the role of DNA today.

A comprehensive section is devoted to how birds fly, including the role of feathers, aspect ratio, muscles, and bone structure. Again, the relationship to what is known about dinosaurs is part of the discussion.

Biologists and dedicated amateur ornithologists will welcome this detailed text on avian skeletal systematics. The work strives for readability but doesn’t shy away from the use of technical language. A prior knowledge of anatomy would be helpful when reading the descriptions of birds’ internal structures and how they work. At least 60 illustrations, a dozen tables, and a descriptive glossary help the reader new to looking beyond the feathers to a greater understanding of birds.