"Alexander Skutch is unmatched as a careful observer of bird behavior... He also has a gifted command and control of the English language...delightful entertainment for anyone with curiosity about nature." -- William Belton, author of Birds of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Alexander Skutch (1904–2004) was a naturalist and birder who wrote over forty books about natural history.
Little has been written about the ovenbird family, although its members are numerous and widespread south of our borders. Hence, Antbirds and Ovenbirds should prove enormously popular with birders. . . . Few authors write more movingly or eloquently about their subjects [than Alexander Skutch]. (Houston Chronicle) Skutch is a most notable researcher of these birds, with more than 50 years of resident fieldwork in the neotropics. Here he presents a first-time synthesis of virtually all that is known about the behavior and ecology of these two major bird groups. Particular attention is given to the nesting biology, parental devotion, and care of the young. Comparisons of courtship displays and vocalizations are also rich in detail, and often presented in an evolutionary context. Skutch's botanical background enhances his discussions of foraging habitats and bird diets. Conservationists will appreciate the two chapters devoted to the human impacts on these families of neotropical specialists. Throughout, the book is generously enhanced by nest photographs and evocative drawings of representative species. (Choice) Forget tanagers and toucans; it is the suboscines, the antbirds (Formicariidae, in the broad sense) and ovenbirds (Furnariidae) and the like, dull in plumage but of fascinating biology, that captivate many a field ornithologist with experience in the Neotropics. Yet most of what is known about these birds, what little there is, has remained scattered in the primary literature. The renowned naturalist Alexander F. Skutch has written a book, full of fascianting information, that goes a long way towards filling this void. . . . Skutch has read widely about each family and effectively integrates what others have learned with his own original observations. . . . Antbirds and Ovenbirds served as an excellent introduction to the natural history of two major radiations of bird species that dominate the New World tropics and should spur ever more studies of these poorly known families. (Ibis) His text is full of anecdotes and details from his vast experience in the field and contains abundant citations to others' work. For the reader who is stimulated by authoritative descriptions of the breeding, feeding habits, social life of birds, and their habitats, [this book is] all one might hope for. (Aububon Naturalist News)
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