About the Book

The Birds of Manitoba was published by the Manitoba Avian Research Committee of the Manitoba Naturalists Society in November 2003. It is a 20-year labour of love by scores of contributors, brought to fruition over a three-year period by a dedicated committee of 11 birders. Designed by Brendan Carruthers and illustrated by Rudolf Koes, it won the 2003 Best Illustrated Book of the Year award of the Manitoba Writers' Guild and the Association of Manitoba Book Publishers.

A series of introductory chapters describes Birding in Manitoba, the History of Ornithology in the province, Physical Geography and Bird Distribution, Ecosystems and Bird Habitats in Manitoba, Aboriginal People and Birds, and provincial Bird Conservation. These chapters are illustrated with black-and-white photographs and figures.

The bulk of the book (325 of the 504 pages) consists of essay-style Species Accounts, one for each of the 382 species confirmed to occur in the province at the time of publication. The vast majority of these species are illustrated, with 160 Drawings interspersed in the text, 64 Colour Paintings in four blocks of 16 plates, and a further 16 Photographic Plates documenting about 80 rarities.

Each species account summarizes information on seasonal occurrence (including migration periods) and geographic distribution in the province, including individual range maps. While the book is not a field guide, each species is briefly described, emphasizing tips for distinguishing similar birds. Preferred habitats and breeding information are summarized, along with historical information about the discovery of less-common species in the province and any evidence of long-term population changes. Copious references are compiled in a bibliography with over 1400 citations of books and articles, and countless newspaper columns of historic interest are also cited. Individual accounts range in length from about 100 words for some rarities to well over 1000 words for intensively studied species such as the American White Pelican, Canada Goose, and Great Gray Owl.

Click here to read about the Black-and-white Warbler

"Hypothetical" species (those which have been reported at one time or another but not fully documented) are dealt with in a separate series of 30 mini-accounts, while a one-page epilogue brings the book up-to-date with major bird sightings that occurred during the final editing and production in 2003.

A series of appendices summarizes data on rare birds (those reported 15 times or fewer in Manitoba), Breeding Bird Surveys, Christmas Bird Counts, scientific names of plants and other organisms mentioned in the book, and the latitude and longitude of every locality mentioned. The book concludes with indexes for all the black-and-white drawings of birds and for all the bird species mentioned in the text, plus a checklist of Manitoba birds.

ISBN 0-9697280-1-8

National Library of Canada Cataloguing :
QL685.5.5.M35B58 2003
598'.097127

504 pages, hardcover, 9" x 12"
Recommended retail price $63.95 (Canadian) plus mailing costs