Sturkie's Avian Physiology

This is a 6th edition reprint. This undergraduate level text, now in its sixth edition, covers just about everything that is known about avian physiology. The book covers not only domestic birds (there is much research into exactly how best to nurture poultry) but also wild birds, which are harder to study, but also have much more varied adaptations. The 41 chapters occupy over 1000 pages and are arranged into seven 'themes': the first covering genes, proteins, and how one translates into the other (lots of new '-omics' research here); the second, senses and the nervous system (including a chapter on the controversial topic of whether and how birds can sense magnetic fields); then come sections looking at different organs, metabolic pathways (how food is converted into energy), the action of hormones, and reproductive biology; and finally some cross-cutting topics like stress, moult, flight, the challenges of migration and the impact of toxic chemicals. This is a textbook, so not an easy read in places, but if you want to know the detail of how birds 'work' - this should probably be your first port of call.

Book reviewed by Rob Robinson