The Birds of British Columbia, Vol. 4: Passerines-Wood-Warblers Through Old World Sparrows

David Allinson is the president of the Rocky Point Bird Observatory in Victoria, B.C.

The long-awaited fourth and final volume of the monumental work on
British Columbia birds marks 25 years of painstaking effort by a team of
authors and countless volunteers. The product of the latest computer
mapping and graphics programs, the book stands apart even from the
excellent earlier volumes in the series. Color photos of birds, nests,
nestlings, and habitat join charts, graphs, record lists, and maps to
make this book almost overwhelming in its scope and attention to detail.
Each species account is comprehensive, conveying the range, status,
changes in conservation, both breeding and nonbreeding movements,
taxonomic details, and regional fluctuations and distribution.

Perhaps overlooked by most readers are the excellent synopsis chapters
on the future of bird conservation in British Columbia. The unevenness
of regional coverage, which encourages future study and data
accumulation, is among the authors’ concerns. In particular, I like
the sentiments expressed in the final photo caption: “The future for
most birds ... will depend on humans accepting the present reality that
we have not been treating the Earth very well.” This work should be
required reading for any serious birder or naturalist.