Suburban Birdlife Round the World

摘要

In this beautifully produced account of a lifetime's ornithological and environmental research, John M. Marzluff presents compelling evidence for the importance of birdlife to suburban sustainability and wellbeing. In so doing, he - unexpectedly, perhaps - sets some fears to rest. Suburban development, it transpires (even when fairly piecemeal in terms of planning), rather than eroding the birds' traditional environments or threatening their survival as one might expect, can provide a welcome haven both for established and new species. This is the case in suburban housing estates, retail sites and leisure facilities alike and can be seen throughout Europe, the USA, Japan, and Australia (one of the strengths of the book, incidentally, is its global reach). Bushtits, for example, thrive more successfully in established suburban neighbourhoods in the US than in forest reserves. Juncos in Washington, tits in the Netherlands and sparrows in Italy have demonstrably evolved (and continue to evolve) in ways suited to their new suburban environments.