WildNet Africa Wildlife Book

Hard cover

Illustrations: 36 Full-colour plates, more than 50 pencil sketches by Graeme Arnott, 33 distribution maps, several graphs and tables.

THE AUTHOR
When Terry Oatley arrived in South Africa from England at the age of fourteen, he had already developed a passionate interest in birds, in particular robins, which culminated in his being invited to write on the robins in the major work The Birds of Africa. Alter completing his schooling in Durban, he worked for the Wattle Research Institute for a few years before joining the Natal Parks Board as a Learner Ranger. Over the following twenty-two years he rose to the rank of Conservator and, after the award of an M.Sc. degree from the University of Natal in 1979, to Senior Professional Officer and Ornithologist.

In 1959 he spent several weeks in the Belgian Congo studying robins, and subsequently undertook similar trips to Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia. At the end of 1980 he moved to the University of Cape Town to take charge of SAFRING, the Unit which administers the South African Bird Ringing Scheme. In 1993 he was awarded a Ph.D. by the University of the Witwatersrand for his studies on the ground woodpecker. Dr Oatley has authored or co-authored 46 contributions to the scientific literature and has written a score of popular articles. He was editor of the Natal Bird Club News Sheet from 1969 to 1974 and of Safring News from 1981 until his retirement in 1997. He is now editor of Ostrich, the journal of African ornithology. In 1998 he was honoured by BirdLife South Africa with the award of the Leonard Gill Memorial Medal for services to ornithology.

THE ARTIST
Born in Zimbabwe, Graeme Arnott's interest in drawing and wildlife began during a boyhood spent on a farm on the border of Hwange reserve. After graduating from Rhodes University in 1965, he worked as a schoolmaster for ten years before becoming a full-time wildlife artist specialising in birds. Among the books he has illustrated are Birds of Prey of Southern Africa, by Peter Steyn, The Doves, Parrots, Louries and Cuckoos of Southern Africa by M. K. Rowan, and Shrikes of Southern Africa by Tony Harris. He has also contributed illustrations towards The Complete Book of Southern African Birds and Valerie Gargett's The Black Eagle. His work hangs in many private and corporate collections and has featured in several exhibitions, including major international wildlife exhibitions at the Everard Read Gallery, as well as at the Grahamstown Festival and Kirstenbosch in Cape Town, and at Christie's in London in 1995 in association with the World Wide Fund for Nature.

ROBINS OF AFRICA
Known as "Robin Redbreast" since the fifteenth century, the much-loved British robin, a member of the thrush family, has given its name to a whole genre of small songbirds in different parts of the world. Africa is the heartland of the thrush family and home to many robins and robin-like birds. In this monograph on African robins, Dr Terry Oatley presents a comprehensive account of the details known, from personal experience and the literature, of thirty-three species that are endemic to Africa, including information on distribution, habitat requirements, vocalizations and breeding biology. Each species' text is accompanied by a full-colour plate of one of renowned bird artist Graeme Arnott's exquisite watercolour paintings, and many are enlivened by behavioural sketches.

This book is, however, much more than just another series of species' texts: it is a celebration of the African robin in all its variety. The introduction investigates the history of the robin name and gives a definition of robin character, while seven chapters are devoted to in-depth discussion of different aspects of robin behaviour. From songs and singing and how robin-chats use vocal mimicry to promote the survival of their young, Terry Oatley moves on to deal with diet and the range of animals with which robins enjoy foraging associations. The fourth chapter is devoted to the different kinds of migration that robins undertake; while the fifth discusses the mysteries of brood parasitism by cuckoos and the many enigmas that have still to be solved in this field of research.

Chapter Six reveals the remarkable life-spans of African robins (up to twenty-five years), and the many consequences of long life. Chapter Seven looks at the confusions of taxonomy, past and present, and the important role of evolution. The final chapter provides comment on the place of robins in African ecosystems and the dilemmas inherent in the conservation of African plant and animal life. Robins of Africa embodies a master ornithologist's enjoyment and experience of the doings of robins in many of the magical-sounding places of Africa, recorded for his readers' pleasurable information. The anecdotal style conveys the excitement of ornithological discoveries and of coincidental encounters with other forms of wildlife. It makes for riveting reading that will not only delight the amateur bird-watcher, but also inspire and provide food for thought for professional biologists.

Beautifully illustrated with thirty-six colour plates and numerous pencil sketches, this authoritative account will give the reader a fresh and fascinating insight into the world of the African robin.

CONTENTS

List of Subscribers

PUBLICATION DETAILS
Publication date: The Standard Edition will be ready for publication in August 1998. Copies of the Sponsors' and Collectors' Editions will follow at the rate of some 40 copies a month. We ask for your patience in this matter as hand binding is an exacting and lengthy process.

THE EDITIONS

Sponsors' Edition
This will comprise 26 copies, lettered A to Z. Each copy will be three-quarterbound in goatskin and hand-marbled paper by Peter Carstens of Johannesburg, with silk head and tail bands and gold tooling on the spine, in a matching, leather-trimmed slipcase with a plate-sunk print of one of Graeme Arnott's pencil sketches. Each volume will be signed by the author and the artist. A unique feature of this sponsors' edition is the inclusion of one of the original watercolour paintings by Graeme Arnott reproduced in the book. Each sponsor's name will be hand-inscribed in the front of the volume, and names will also be included in the List of Subscribers if orders are received before 15 April 1998.

Collectors' Edition
This will comprise 100 copies, numbered 1 to 100. Each copy will be quarterbound in goatskin and hand-marbled paper by Peter Carstens of Johannesburg, with silk head and tail bands and gold tooling on the spine, in a matching, leather-trimmed slipcase. Each volume will be signed by the author and the artist and accompanied by a signed, limited-edition print of one of the pencil sketches. Each collector's name will be hand-inscribed in the front of the volume, and names will also be included in the printed alphabetical List of Subscribers if orders are received before 15 April 1998.

Standard Edition
A hardcover hook with a four-colour, laminated jacket with french folds. Each subscriber's name will be included in the printed alphabetical List of Subscribers if orders are received before 15 April 1998.

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