Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Tennessee

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Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Tennessee
Charles P. Nicholson

 This atlas provides ornithologists, ecologists, and birdwatchers with an invaluable resource for monitoring birds within the state. It offers the first fully documented account of distribution patterns for 170 species confirmed as breeding in Tennessee, as well as for several unconfirmed or extirpated species. The species list includes permanent residents, short-distance migrants, neotropical migrants, and endangered species.

 Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Tennessee is based on research conducted from 1986 through 1991 by the Tennessee Ornithological Society and is the first study of its kind ever published for the state. It reviews the methodology employed in the study, which included innovative miniroute censuses. It features detailed accounts of individual species which include both grid maps that plot their distribution and contour maps that reflect their relative abundance. The accompanying text for each species discusses its geographical and historical occurence, cites habitat preferences, and offers notes on breeding biology such as nest placement and clutch size. Line drawings accurately portray the birds in the nesting cycle.

 In addition to this wealth of data on individual species, the atlas provides background information on the physical and cultural geography of Tennessee and on patterns of land-use change that followed the arrival of European settlers. It also presents the most comprehensive history of ornithology in the state yet published.

 Because of Tennessee's central location among eastern states and its variety of habitats, information on its breeding birds is particularly relevant to the ornithology of the entire region. This encyclopedic work is an indispensable reference and a perfect companion to existing field guides - a book that belongs on the shelves of everyone concerned with birds in Tennessee and the Southeast.

 The Author Charles P. Nicholson is an environmental scientist with the Tennessee Valley Authority. He was one of the organizers and the director of the Tennessee Breeding Bird Atlas Project.

504 pages (est.), 483 line drawings and range maps
8x10, LC 97-4622
ISBN 0-87049-987-4 $45.00s (cloth)
Available now from The University of Tennessee Press.
Call 1-800-621-2736 to place orders
"Easily the most significant contribution to Tennessee ornithology since the written history of bird studies in Tennessee began." - Charles R. Smith, New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University.
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