Wildlife - Birds - California Environment Information Sources - Research Guides at Humboldt State University

Magazines and Journals

Condor
Western Birds

Environmental History

"Notes on Persons whose Names Appear in the Nomenclature of California Birds: a Contribution to the History of West Coast Ornithology, with Five Portraits (Palmer)"
Condor vol 30, no. 5, pp 261-307, 1928. The names of approximately 200 birds found in California bear the names of individuals. The annotated list of these people includes information on the person and the circumstances surrounding the naming of the bird in their honor.

Data Compilations

California's Important Bird Areas
(Audubon California) Includes information on 145 important bird areas in California. These sites provide essential habitat for one or more bird species for breeding, wintering, and/or migration. Each site description includes a site summary, ornithological significance, conservation issues and site map. Also includes state and regional maps and downloadable gis data.

CA - Wildlife - Birds Maps

Greater San Joaquin Important Bird Areas

Bird Maps (Washington NatureMapping Program) Includes distribution maps by species for California birds.
Catalog of California Seabird Colonies (Sowls) 1980 (print copy available in Docs I 49.2:SE1/4) (FWS/OBS-80/37) Summary of the location, size and species composition of seabird colonies along the coast of California. Includes species accounts for 17 California seabirds followed by a series of 1:24,000 scale maps of seabird colonies documenting 260 nesting areas. For each area gives species present and number of breeding birds.
California's Important Bird Areas (Audubon California) Includes information on 145 important bird areas in California. These sites provide essential habitat for one or more bird species for breeding, wintering, and/or migration. Each site description includes a site summary, ornithological significance, conservation issues and site map. Also includes state and regional maps and downloadable gis data.
Life History Accounts and Range Maps: Birds (California Department of Fish & Game) Contains species accounts, distribution maps and literature references for 344 birds found in California. Species accounts include notes on distribution, abundance and seasonality; habitat requirements for feeding, cover, reproduction, water and pattern; and life history. Accounts are intermediate in detail between treatment found in typical field guide and a more extensive literature review. Distribution maps show winter, summer and yearlong range. Distribution maps originally were published in Distribution of California Birds (Grenfell and Laudenslayer) 1983 (Docs A 13.2: C12/7). Prepared as part of the California Departments of Fish and Game's California Wildlife Habitat Relationships Program. The print version was published as California's Wildlife Vol. 2 Birds (Zeiner, Laudenslayer, Mayer and White) 1990 (ref QL 164 C26) The online version contains updated species accounts and distribution maps.

Guides and Bibliographies

Bibliography of California Ornithology
(Grinnell) 1909-1939 (Pacific Coast Avifauna # 5, 16, 26) (print copy available in ref QL 683 P3 P3 no 5, 16, 26) Older bibliography that includes literature on California birds from 1797 to 1938. Arranged by date with author and bird name indexes.
Bibliography of California Ornithology - Second Installment to 1923
Bibliography of California Ornithology - Third Installment to 1938
California Bird List of the Western Field Ornithologists' California Bird Records Committee
(Western Field Ornithologists) List of all recorded bird species in California, arranged in taxonmic order.
California County Geographic Birding Guide
(Joe Morlan) For each county includes birding-related statistics, bird clubs, birding sites, bird checklists, other birding resources, and recommended field guides.

General Introductions

Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds. Western Region
(Udvary) 1994 (ref QL 681 U33 1994)
Birder's Guide to Northern California
(Westrich and Westrich) 1991 (ref QL 684 C2 W46) Describes more than 250 birding locations in northern California.
The Birds of California: a Complete, Scientific and Popular Account of the 580 Species and Subspecies of Birds Found in the State
(Dawson) 1923 (QL 684 C1 D3 1923) (4 volumes) Considered at the time the authoritative source of information on the birds of California. Most species accounts include at least three B/W photos, usually of a typical environment; nest, eggs, or young; and of the bird itself. Color plates for each bird are done chiefly from watercolor drawings by Allen Brooks. Species accounts vary in completeness. Accounts begin with standard information on nomenclature, description, recogniton marks, nesting, distribution, and five or six key references. This is followed by a more popularized narrative that ranges from two pages to 10 pages. Published in several editions that vary in the number of plates included in the edition. See Bibliographical Notes on Dawson's Birds of California published in Condor in 1939.
Birds of California: an Introduction to More Than Three Hundred Common Birds of the State and Adjacent Islands, with Supplementary List of Rare Migrants, Accidental Visitants, and Hypothetical Subspecies
(Wheelock) 1912 (print copy available in QL 684 C2 W5 1912) 3rd Edition. Early "field guide" to California birds. Birds are grouped by habitat--water birds and land birds, with land birds subdivided by color. Descriptions are largely taken from other authors. Limited illustrations.
Birds of California: Their Status and Distribution
(Small) 1994 (Ref QL 684 C2 S635 1994) Contemporary scholarly work containing short species accounts (seasonal status, habitat and range) and selective color plates for 586 California birds. Arranged taxonomically. Also includes an introductory chapter on bird habitats and climate of California, general nature and origins of California birds and bird migration in California. Includes an extensive bibliography and a checklist of California birds. Updates Grinnell's Distribution of the Birds of California published in 1944.
Birds of North American
(Alsop) 2001 (ref QL681 Z625 2001) Guide containing one page descriptions of 930 bird species. For each species includes annotated color photographs to highlight the key field marks of the adult male; photographs or artworks of other plumages if they differ significantly; an explanation of the typical flight pattern; information on typical vocalizations, feeding behavior, breeding, nesting, population, and conservation concerns; and a range map showing each bird's occurrence in North America during summer, winter, and on migration. Similar species are shown and distinguishing characteristics are noted. The work is arranged taxonmically. A subset of the main work Birds of North American: Western Region (Alsop) is available in QL 683 W4 B52 2001.
Birds of Northern California
(Fix and Bezener) 2000 (ref QL 684 C2 F59 2000) Field guide to 328 bird species found in northern California.
California Bird Species of Special Concern: A Ranked Assessment of Species, Subspecies, and Distinct Populations of Birds of Immediate Conservation Concern in California
(Shuford and Gardali) 2008. Collaborative project of the California Department of Fish and Game, PRBO Conservation Science, and Western Field Ornithologists that includes species accounts and range maps for 63 bird species of special concern in California. Updates Bird Species of Special Concern in California published in 1978.
Catalog of California Seabird Colonies
(Sowls) 1980 (print copy available in Docs I 49.2:SE1/4) (FWS/OBS-80/37) Summary of the location, size and species composition of seabird colonies along the coast of California. Includes species accounts for 17 California seabirds followed by a series of 1:24,000 scale maps of seabird colonies documenting 260 nesting areas. For each area gives species present and number of breeding birds.
Distribution of the Birds of California
(Grinnell and Miller) 1944 (print copy available in QL 683 P3 P3 no.27) (Pacific Coast Avifauna # 27) For many years the definitive work on the distribution and nomenclature of birds in California. Updated with changes and additional material by Miller's An Analysis of the Distribution of the Birds of California, published in University of California Publications in Zoology, No. 50 (1951) (QL 1 C15 #50)
Field Guide to Western Birds. Western Region
(Peterson) 1990 (ref QL 683 W4 P4 1990) (Peterson Field Guides)
Game Birds of California
(Grinnell, Bryant and Storer) 1918 (print copy available in Case QL 696 G2 G8) First scholarly work on the birds of California resulting from research work conducted at the UC Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Includes species accounts for 108 game birds in California. Includes introductory chapters on decreases in game birds, introduction of non-native species, natural enemies, propagation, and gun clubs Color and B/W drawings by Louis Agassiz Fuertes and Allan Brooks.
Introduction to California Birdlife
(Evens) 2005 (QL 684 C2 E94 2005) (California Natural History Guides # 83) Not a field guide but an introduction to California birds and their habitats. The book is organized into seven California bioregions ranging from marine to desert, each of which supports its own complement of bird species. For each bioregion there is a discussion of its ecological dynamics along with the distribution, occurrence and behaviorial adaptations of its representative birds. Includes a checklist of checklist of California birds and selective color illustrations.
Life History Accounts and Range Maps: Birds
(California Department of Fish & Game) Contains species accounts, distribution maps and literature references for 344 birds found in California. Species accounts include notes on distribution, abundance and seasonality; habitat requirements for feeding, cover, reproduction, water and pattern; and life history. Accounts are intermediate in detail between treatment found in typical field guide and a more extensive literature review. Distribution maps show winter, summer and yearlong range. Distribution maps originally were published in Distribution of California Birds (Grenfell and Laudenslayer) 1983 (Docs A 13.2: C12/7). Prepared as part of the California Departments of Fish and Game's California Wildlife Habitat Relationships Program. The print version was published as California's Wildlife Vol. 2 Birds (Zeiner, Laudenslayer, Mayer and White) 1990 (ref QL 164 C26) The online version contains updated species accounts and distribution maps.
Ornithology Vol 1. Land Birds
(Baird and Cooper) 1870 (print copy available in QL 684 C2 C7) Published under the authority of the Geological Survey of California this is the first book to focus on California’s birds, although the geographic scope actually encompasses the region north of Mexico and west of the Rocky Mountains. Based on the drawings and notes of J. G. Cooper with technical notes provided by Baird. Noted at the time for the quality of its woodcut illustrations which include a full body woodcut of each genus and a head woodcut of each species. Each species account includes notes on taxonomy, special identifying characteristics, habitat and other personal observations on such topics as distribution, behavior, nests and vocalization. Intended to be published in two volumes, Cooper’s notes and drawings on water birds of “California” were used in Water Birds of North America (Baird, Brewer and Ridgway) (print copy available in QL 681 B18) published in 1884.
Raptors of California
(Mallette and Gould) 1976 (Cal Doc F 650 R357) General booklet published by the California Department of Fish and Game that includes short accounts for 34 raptor species found in California. Each account includes a general descriptive, life history and distribution information.
Raptors of California
(Peeters and Peeters) 2005 (QL 677.78 P44 2005) Combines field identification information on 27 raptor species found in California along with a general discussion of raptor natural history, including their anatomy, foraging, reproduction, movement, where and how to observe raptors, human-raptor interactions, raptor conservation, endangered species, caring for injured hawks, and falconry. Field identification information includes information on foraging behavior as an aid to identification. Includes colored plates and next photos.
Upland Game of California
(Mallette and Slosson) 1987 (Cal Doc F650 G3u 1987) General booklet published by the California Department of Fish and Game on game birds, squirrels, hares and rabbits. Includes short species notes, hunting notes and a distribution map for each of the 30 included species.
Water Birds of California
(Cogswell) 1977 (QL 684 C2 C63) (California Natural History Guides # 40) Popular work containing pictorial keys for bird identification; individual species accounts containing recognition characteristics, habits and range; and graphic calendars which indicate relative numbers expected to be observed in each species' preferred habitat throughout the year. Includes color plates.
Waterfowl of California
(Kozlik, Connelly and Deuel) 1985 (Cal Doc F650 W41 1985) Popularly written booklet by the California Department of Fish and Game to 40 ducks, geese and swans found in California. Includes an introductory section on wetland habitat and loss, private duck clubs and the Pacific flyway.

California Environment Information Sources

Contents

Magazines and Journals

Environmental History

Data Compilations

CA - Wildlife - Birds Maps

Guides and Bibliographies

General Introductions