Birds of the World Checklists: Lynx Publishing

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Every time we get a book delivery, it’s exciting.

And when we get something from Lynx…well, we usually have to take measures in the office to keep heads from exploding 🙂

What showed up was a two-volume set entitled “Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World” containing the following:

• Non-passerines (Vol 1)
• Passerines (Vol 2)

Volume 1 is over 900 pages and Volume 2 is over 1,000!

Clearly, with each volume weighing in at 10 pounds each, these are not field guides, so they won’t be coming out with us into the field…

The set contains a wonderful and enormous set of illustrations, as well as distribution maps for every bird species in the world. IN. THE. WORLD.

It would an enormous undertaking if the “tree of evolution” was clear cut, but of course it is not (is it ever?), so we have nothing but awe for the folks at Lynx who compiled this set.

A partnership between HBW and BirdLife made possible the resources needed to tackle avian taxonomy at the species-level on the global scale…a task not for faint of heart nor those not dedicated to see it though!!!

So why a new checklist?

This turned out to be NOT a simple question actually, and the answer is not easy to give. To answer the “why?,” the publishers of Lynx Edicions and the conservationists at BirdLife International described, over 30 pages in the Introduction, the “why” and the “how” of their endeavor, which was primarily to:

• address the speciation process and the species problem, and
• determine the convergence and criteria in species-level avian taxonomy.

Carlolus Linnaeus (love that guy!) was the first person to create a structure for classifying species, known as Taxonomy (from the Ancient Greek for “arrangement” (taxis) and “method” (-nomia)). Classification goes from broad to narrow: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.

Bird Taxonomy

1. Kingdom: birds are categorized under the animal Reptiles.
2. Phylum: Chordata – animals that have a backbone.
3. Class:  Aves – warm-blooded vertebrates.
4. Order: There are 23 bird orders. Birds in the same order have all similar characteristics and features.
   • FASCINATING FACT: Most birds belong to the Passeriformes order (birds who perch on branches or stems, approximately 4,600 species, nearly one-half the world’s bird species).
5. Family: There are approximately 142 families.
6. Genus: The class Aves has around 2,057 genera.
7. Species: There are between 9,000 and 10,000 species of birds.
8. Subspecies: Species further divided into subspecies, based on differences in the same bird species based on geographical impact.

Volume I: Non-Passerines

Birds NOT classified as Passerines comprise Volume I.

Unlike Passerines (see Volume II: Passerines, below), non-passerines have no specific feature that binds them to the order, other than they are not Passerines.

Non-Passerines range in size from hummingbirds to emus! The Non-Passerine class comprises:

• 35 orders, 105 families, 988 genera, 4,372 extant species, 99 extinct species.
• 904 pages, 357 plates, 8,290 bird illustrations and 4,428 distribution maps.

The non-Passerines come in all shapes, sizes, and colors; the only thing connecting them is that none of them (not a single one) have claws with three toes facing forward and one facing backward. Yep, these birds are in the same order because they don’t have something.

Another thing that sets the non-Passerines apart is that they don’t (because they can’t) sing like most of the Passerines can, because they have a less-developed voice box. They may be able to sing, just not as melodically or with so many notes.

Volume II: Passerines

Passerines contain more families of birds (more than half of the entire bird world!), and the range/type of bird is wide; the only thing that groups them together is their feet: they all have three toes facing forward and one toe facing backward.

• 1 order, 138 families, 1,358 genera, 6,592 extant species, 57 extinct species.
• 1,013 pages, 446 plates, 12,629 bird illustrations (including 642 new and 1.208 improved) and 6,649 distribution maps.

Passerines are the perching birds, characterized by having four toes—three pointed forward and one backward—all joining the foot at the same level (humans might call it “an ankle”), which gives the Passserine clan the ability to grasp branches and the like, allowing them to perch (bird for “hanging out”). This also allows them to SWP – Sleep While Perching.

Of the 4,000 or so types of birds in the Passerine group, almost every single one sings. These are the creatures that brighten any/every body’s day with their “music.” Details on each entry have been vetted, arranged for clarity, and presented in an orderly fashion.

FinalThoughts

This set of books from Lynx Edicion is an investment, absolutely. Anyone fortunate enough to acquire this set will find it educational, beautiful, and hugely rewarding in unexpected ways…even if just flipping through the pages.

While an “active” page on a website is an effective way to link different-but-relevant information/facts together in one place, the printed page is still the most efficient way to present dense information all at once. These two volumes are incredibly dense, yet the  information contained in the almost 2000 pages are well organized, amazingly accessible, and beautifully presented.

After having spent time with the Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World, we are certain they will be a welcome addition to any birder’s—and many non-birder’s—library.

Links to items mentioned:

• Illustrated checklist of the birds of the world Volume 1: Non-Passerines
• Illustrated checklist of the birds of the world Volume 2: Passerines