Excuse me if this is old news, but I haven't picked up on it yet here or
elsewhere. The third volume of The Birds of British Columbia is out
(Campbell et al.). I ordered one up from the pre-pub offer posted to
tweeters last fall; it came on Friday.

This volume covers from flycatchers through vireos. It is crammed with the
same sorts of marvelously thorough, well-organized, and generally useful
information (text, photographs, maps, charts) as the first two volumes
(status, distribution, abundance, movements, breeding biology, etc.). But
there is now lavish use of color and other refinements. For example, the
distribution maps are reproduced on a slightly smaller scale which,
combined with a color background, actually makes them more readable.
Another welcome innovation is that the map symbols indicating a species'
presence are somewhat smaller, so that in areas of dense populations these
symbols no longer touch one another, obscuring the underlying map. Smaller
maps for many species indicate the ecprovinces where they are seasonally
the most numerous -- another helpful new feature.

Widely acclaimed ("...one of the most spectacular ornithological
publications of the century . . . a benchmark in regional
ornithologies..."), the first two volumes quickly sold out when they were
published in 1990. By early 1991 they were available only at scalpers'
prices, if you could find them at all. Happily, a limited number of copies
of the earlier volumes has been reprinted. If you buy them along with the
new third volume there is a slight price advantage.

The publisher is University of British Columbia Press. Price is $95.
Prior volumes are $80 each, or the set of three for $240 (all prices
Canadian).

The fourth and final volume is scheduled for publication in 1999.

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Hal Opperman - P. O. Box 286 - Medina, Washington 98039 - USA
halop at accessone.com - phone 1-206-635-0503 - fax 1-206-635-0271
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