In this newest and up-to-date book in a long line of respected works, Paul A. Johnsgard provides a comprehensive review of all thirty-one species of diurnal raptors that breed in the United States and Canada. In his thorough style, Johnsgard presents the evolutionary history and the morphological features of this diverse group. He gives a detailed account of each of the thirty-one included species, including identifying characteristics to aid birders with field study, a survey of habitats, food and foraging ecology, social behavior, and breeding biology. He also discusses the conservation of these magnificent predators, since hawks, eagles, and falcons are among the wildlife that suffered most from use of DDT and other pesticides in the decades after WWII. In addition to range maps, full-page figures, and numerous sketches, the book is handsomely illustrated and includes appendices, a glossary of technical terms, and a bibliography of more than 1,200 sources. Comparable to Johnsgard's highly prisedNorth American Owls, this book will be a keystone in the library of every ornithologist, raptor buff, and birder, and a welcome new source for the ecologist and naturalist as well.

Paul A. Johnsgard is Foundation Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He is the author of The Pheasants of the World: Biology and Natural History, Second Edition (Smithsonian, 1999) and North American Owls: Biology and Natural History, Second Edition (Smithsonian, 2002).