This oversize, continent-by-continent pictorial guide to the world's birdlife comprises of double-page spreads. Using a regional approach, it is divided into such sections as the Arctic, the Americas (further subdivided into North American deserts and wetlands, the Amazon rain forest, the Andes, the pampas, the Galapagos Islands), and Asia (the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, Japan, and China). These sections are prefaced by information on how birds live. At the end of the book are sections on migratory flight and endangered birds.The brief text covering more than 270 birds is accessible and accurate, with pertinent facts about each bird's characteristics and behavior. The common and scientific names are given, along with size in common and in metric terms. The illustrations, mostly artwork with some photographs, are attractive, clear, and informative. Maps indicate specific bird habitats. A brief index lists popular bird names.Illustrator Richard Orr is recognized as one of Britain's foremost natural-history artists. Taylor has worked with the National History Museum in London and has authored many science and nature books for children.The Bird Atlas has limited information for full reports, but as an atlas, a supplementary source for interesting facts, or a visual guide, it will be useful in elementary and junior high schools, with high school and adult appeal also. (Reviewed Dec. 1, 1994)

The oversized introduction to representative species of birds that live in various habitats of the world includes color illustrations showing many of the birds flying, hunting, or fishing. Although in describing each habitat the text is vague and imprecise, it covers unique aspects of a few of the birds of the region. Ind.

A handsome oversize pictorial atlas that will fly off the shelf. Nearly 270 of the world's 9,000 bird species are meticulously illustrated in color and arranged by continental regions, with an introduction to climate, topography, and typical birds for each. Boxes and inserts provide maps, photos, and a sampling of facts (the tiniest bird, fastest runner, largest lake). Birds from major habitats within the different regions are described and illustrated on double spreads that include common and scientific names, size, and range. But occasional generalizations are so awkwardly phrased that their meaning is muddled (``These tiny birds [Dovekie] look like penguins of the Antarctic because they live and feed in a similar way''). Still, a mostly dramatic, visually striking book for nature browsers. Index. (Nonfiction. 8- 14)"

Gr 4-6- This introductory atlas arranges various birds by habitat, country, or area of the world in which they live. The oversized format features one-and two-page entries to introduce four to seven birds. They are shown flying, fishing, hunting, or sitting and displaying resplendent plumage in the brilliantly colored drawings. A small silhouette icon of each bird is placed on a map on each spread to pinpoint its location, but the map is a physical depiction, and country names are not shown. The text is vague, and the one-paragraph entries contain random bits of information rather than pertinent facts. Because these entries describe something unique about each bird, they may be useful as additional sources for reports. But because they are short and incomplete (e.g., the word echolocation is never introduced in the oilbird paragraph, and readers are not told where in the Caribbean it lives), the book's usefulness as a reference tool is severely limited.-Frances E. Millhouser, Reston Regional Library, VA