Thrushes, warblers, vireos, and tanagers are probably the most familiar of the Neotropical migrants - birds that breed in the United States and Canada, then journey to spend the winter in the Caribbean, Mexico, or southward. But this extraordinary group actually comprises a large number of diverse species, including waterfowl, shorebirds, terns, hawks, flycatchers and hummingbirds. In their compendious review of information on these birds, Richard M. DeGraaf and John H. Rappole illuminate the need for a thorough understanding of the ecology of each species, one that extends throughout the entire life cycle. The authors argue convincingly that conservation efforts must be based on such an understanding and carried out across a species' range - not limited to the breeding grounds. This book is the first to summarize in one volume much-needed practical data about the distribution and breeding habitat requirements of migratory birds in North and South America. The body of the book consists of natural history accounts of the more than 350 species of Neotropical migrants, including a brief description of each bird's range, status, habitats on breeding grounds, nest site, and wintering areas. The authors provide a complete range map of each species' distribution in the Western Hemisphere as well as notes on the distribution - basic data that until recently have largely been unavailable in usable form to ornithologists and land and resource managers. An appendix lists species that are increasing or decreasing at significant rates in various physiographic regions of North America.

Centuries of human use and natural processes have shaped forest habitats and their wildlife populations in New England. Conditions are never static. Forest and nonforest habitats for a shifting mosaic of New England fauna were once continuously provided by wind, fire, blowdowns, forest regrowth, and other disturbances. This is no longer the case: development of historically open habitats, fire control, and the decline of agriculture have transformed the landscape. Wildlife associated with forests and woodlots--fisher and pileated woodpecker, for example--have become common. Species associated with old fields, brushlands, and young forests--field sparrows, eastern towhees, and New England cottontails, among many others--have declined precipitously as their habitats have been developed or have reverted to forest. Today in much of the region, forests are mature and largely unmanaged, and most are privately owned. This volume is the essential compilation of forest management practices now crucial for creating a range of forest habitat conditions to maintain or enhance forest wildlife diversity in New England.
Inspired by the ground-breaking earlier works of these four distinguished biologists, foresters, and their colleagues, Forest Wildlife Habitat Management in New England presents silvicultural options for aspen-birch, northern hardwoods, swamp hardwoods, spruce-fir, hemlock, and oak-pine forests, and a wealth of information on both upland and wetland nonforested habitats. Implementing the prescribed practices will create forest conditions that will enhance wildlife diversity by providing habitats for amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. In conjunction with the authors'companion books, New England Wildlife and Landowner's Guide to Wildlife Habitat, this comprehensive new professional guide will encourage and facilitate cooperative active land management by landowners and professionals united in their mission to preserve New England's precious wildlife heritage. This indispensable volume is written for professional foresters, wildlife biologists, and other natural resource managers.