Chandler Seymour Robbins (1918-2017)

The Auk, 2017

The Prairie Naturalist, 1999

This photographic identification guide covers more than 530 species of birds that regularly occur in the western half of North America. It is slightly larger than most field guides, including the popular National Geographic Society's Field Guide to the Birds of North America, which is continental in coverage. Nonetheless, it is small and sturdy enough to conveniently carry in a jacket pocket or backpack. The field guide begins with a short section on how to use the book; the bulk of the book consists of species accounts. Each species account occurs on one page (a few species are jointly covered) and includes one to four color photographs (ranging in size from 3.5 X 5.0 cm to 7.5 X 10.0 cm), a species description, a distribution map, and brief notes on feeding, nesting, behavior, habitat, vocalizations, and population trends. All birds in the pictures are oriented in the same direction to simplify comparisons. Species descriptions are brief and emphasize key features with boldface type. Symbols are provided for species that use bird feeders or nest boxes. Interspersed among the individual accounts are several "learning pages" for the more challenging bird groups, including hawks (in flight), shorebirds, gulls, flycatchers, warblers, and sparrows. A glossary, photograph credits, and a general index complete the book. A color tab index and an alphabetical index provide quick access to general bird groups....

The Prairie Naturalist, 2005

How do birds drink? How fast can a hummingbird fly? Why do some birds balance on one leg? How fast can an ostrich run? Why do some birds hop and others walk? What is the most abundant bird in the world? As an avian ecologist, these are just a smidgen of the many questions I have been asked by the public during the past several years. To answer these and similar questions, I typically do not reach for a text on ornithology or avian ecology. Rather, I have come to rely on a number of quick-reference, encyclopedic resources on birds, including John Terre’s The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds, Paul Ehrlich et al.’s The Birder’s Handbook, David Bird’s Birder’s Almanac, Frank Todd’s 10,001 Titillating Tidbits of Avian Trivia, and Christopher Leahy’s The Birdwatcher’s Companion: An Encyclopedic Handbook of North American Birdlife. Each of these resources has its merits and shortcomings, but the latter tome has always held a special place in my heart and on my shelf because it was one of the first bird books that I had purchased as a budding birder and ecologist.

2009

N ATLAS IS a collection of maps, usually published in book form, very often prepared from a specific point of view (geological, hydrological, zoogeographic, etc.) for a specific purpose In recent years and presently, a very special type of atlas is being complied in various parts of the world, designed to show, to the limits of our most recent knowledge, where each bird species breeds within specified geographical (thus far almost always political) boundaries. In these atlases a separate map is developed for each species which presents graphically the known boundaries of that species' breeding range, in some of these atlases, a general idea of how that species' breeding population is distributed or concentrated can also be shown.

Journal of Field Ornithology, 2011

2009

N ATLAS IS a collection of maps, usually published in book form, very often prepared from a specific point of view (geological, hydrological, zoogeographic, etc.) for a specific purpose In recent years and presently, a very special type of atlas is being complied in various parts of the world, designed to show, to the limits of our most recent knowledge, where each bird species breeds within specified geographical (thus far almost always political) boundaries. In these atlases a separate map is developed for each species which presents graphically the known boundaries of that species' breeding range, in some of these atlases, a general idea of how that species' breeding population is distributed or concentrated can also be shown.

The Canadian Field Naturalist, 2009

2001

Birds of North America

"From the YUP web site: "Amateurs and professionals studying birds at the end of the nineteenth century were a contentious, passionate group with goals that intersected, collided and occasionally merged in their writings and organizations. Driven by a desire to advance science, as well as by ego, pride, honor, insecurity, religion and other clashing sensibilities, they struggled to absorb the implications of evolution after Darwin. In the process, they dramatically reshaped the study of birds. Daniel Lewis here explores the professionalization of ornithology through one of its key figures: Robert Ridgway, the Smithsonian Institution’s first curator of birds and one of North America’s most important natural scientists. Exploring a world in which the uses of language, classification and accountability between amateurs and professionals played essential roles, Lewis offers a vivid introduction to Ridgway and shows how his work fundamentally influenced the direction of American and international ornithology. He explores the inner workings of the Smithsonian and the role of collectors working in the field and reveals previously unknown details of the ornithological journal The Auk and the untold story of the color dictionaries for which Ridgway is known.""