Jon Fjeldså, Les Christidis, Per G. P. Ericson: The Largest Avian Radiation: The Evolution of Perching Birds, or the Order Passeriformes. Lynx 2020

*********************

I think I first heard about this book sometimes on the notorious blue-bird-pages aka. shitter, no twitter ….

Anyways, this is easily one of the best books I have ever read; as its title already suggests, it deals with the greatest radiation in the bird kingdom – the Passeriformes.

Every family, and every new family is mentioned and described, some future splits are predicted (subfamilies in the book, that now, three years later, are accepted as full families); it is just breathtaking, and I learned so much new stuff!

Every family is depicted with at least one, sometimes more representative species, all painted by Jon Fjeldså himself; in some cases I even know the original photos he used for his depictions.

This is a book that I simply have to recommend for every bird enthusiast! 

*********************

edited: 02.11.2023