[Book review] Massachusetts breeding bird atlas

The Auk
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Abstract

A glance at the dust jacket of this handsome volume drives home the conservation message that breeding bird atlases are designed to promote—that bird populations are changing over vast areas and, unless we become aware of changes in status and take remedial action, some species will disappear from our neighborhoods and even our county or state. A case in point involves the closely related Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) and Blue- winged Warbler (Vermivora pinus). The males are shown in the atlas with their breeding distribution maps. When I was an active birder in the Boston suburbs in the 1930s, the Golden-winged Warbler was a common breeder and it was a treat to find a Blue-winged Warbler. The atlas map 40 years later (1974–1979) shows only five confirmed records statewide for the Golden-winged Warbler, compared with 73 for the Blue-winged Warbler, and the Golden-winged Warbler is now listed as endangered by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Nationally, it is a species of management concern.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title [Book review] Massachusetts breeding bird atlas
Series title The Auk
DOI 10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122[1305:MBBA]2.0.CO;2
Volume 122
Issue 4
Year Published 2005
Language English
Publisher American Ornithological Society
Contributing office(s) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Description 3 p.
First page 1305
Last page 1307
Public Comments Review of: Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas. Edited by Wayne R. Petersen and W. Roger Meservey. 2003. Massachusetts Audubon Society, Lincoln, Massachusetts. 441 pp., 225 watercolor paintings by John Sill and Barry Van Dusen, 198 range maps, 2 appendices. ISBN 1-55849-420-0. Cloth.
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