Hardcover with dust jacket

Illustrations: colour plates

More than 700 bird species breed in southern Africa. Most are resident in the region, but some come from other parts of Africa to lay their eggs, raise their offspring and then depart again until the next season. Resident or migrant, these birds enliven a wide variety of habitats forest and bushveld, arid plains and mountain fynbos, wetland and shore. Some compete with man for living and breeding space, but others have adapted to man-made environments, extending their ranges as they find suitable nesting sites in plantations or on buildings, or follow the march of power lines across the landscape.

Well-known ornithologist Peter Steyn has devoted a lifetime to studying birds in all parts of the subcontinent, spending many hours observing and photographing them in the field, meticulously noting their habits and idiosyncrasies, and consolidating his own research by collecting the published records of other ornithologists. Over the years he has built up a vast store of knowledge that now forms the basis of this book. Yet many observations still await explanation: why, for example, do Gabar Goshawks incorporate certain spiders in their nests? Our understanding of the biology of our birds is undoubtedly extensive, but there is always more to discover. In NESTING BIRDS Peter explores the private lives of our birds. In liberally illustrated accounts of more than 90 groups of species -- from Ostriches to Canaries and Buntings -- he gives details of courtship and pairing, nest construction, and eggs, chicks and their care. Not only an ornithologist, he is a highly respected wildlife photographer and his visual record of many fascinating aspects of bird

THE CONSULTANT

DR MORNE A. DU PLESSIS is an Assistant Director and Biodiversity Research Co-ordinator at the Natal Parks Board. He gained his doctorate in 1989 for his research into the behavioural ecology of the Red-billed Woodhoopoe, and since then has worked as a research associate in the USA and as Chief Scientific Officer at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute at the University of Cape Town.

THE AUTHOR

PETER STEYN has been observing and photographing birds since he was 13, and nests and breeding behaviour have always had particular appeal for him. Over a period of 45 years he has assembled a large selection of nest photographs, and has travelled extensively throughout southern Africa to do so. Also in the pursuit of birds, his travels have taken him to the Galapagos Islands and South America, Marion and Gough islands, the Arctic and Antarctic, Israel and the Indian Ocean islands. A popular speaker and author, Peter has written Eagle Days (1973), Wankie (now Hwange) Birds (1974), Birds of Prey of Southern Africa (1982), A Delight of Owls (1984), Hunters of the African Sky (1990) and Birds of Southern Africa (1991).

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