Vanishing songbirds

Combining a naturalist's eye for detail with a consummate artistic sensibility, Eliot Porter's portraits of birds are among the most accurate and aesthetically satisfying since Audubon's celebrated paintings. His great passion was songbirds - passerine, or perching, birds such as warblers, thrushes, flycatchers, vireos, meadowlarks, tanagers, sparrows, finches, grosbeaks, and orioles - many of which are endangered or threatened today. Prior to his death in 1990, Porter had planned to publish his lifelong study of these tiny songsters. Now, this landmark project is realized. Vanishing Songbirds showcases the 126 images that Porter personally selected and printed for the work - beautifully composed stop-action photographs that capture these shy birds in their natural habitats. The book opens with a preface by Porter in which he describes the pioneering techniques he used to take these splendid photographs. With an introduction by noted bird expert Kenn Kaufman and detailed ornithological notes on each species pictured, including identifying field marks, habitats, songs, nesting characteristics, and range, Vanishing Songbirds is a treasure for nature lovers and dedicated birders - and an utterly persuasive argument against the continuing destruction of the local habitats of the songbird.