Birds of the world - Frank B. Gill

For many years the nomenclature of birds has been a divisive issue, with little consistency around the world. Species are often given different names in different places; for example, the species known as Long-tailed Duck in Britain is called Oldsquaw in North America. Similarly, different (and sometimes only distantly related) species sometimes share the same name, such as the Black Vultures of North America and Asia and the White Ibises of America and Australia, while different members of the same genus are often given different English names, such as Parus, members of which are variously referred to as either tits or chickadees.

The product of more than 15 years of discussion, debate and review by a team of international experts sanctioned by the International Ornithological Congress, Birds of the World unifies and standardises the avian nomenclature of the English-speaking regions of the world. It provides recommendations for the English name of every species of bird, and comes complete with a CD-rom containing searchable and sortable Excel files of all the material in the book. Accommodating the very latest taxonomic revisions, this landmark volume will become an invaluable reference on the subject for scholars and ornithologists around the world.