The Unfeathered Bird

Posted on 24 June 2017 by Katrina Van Grouw

There is to a bird than simply feathers And just because birds evolved from a single flying ancestor doesn t mean they are structurally all the same With over 385 stunning drawings depicting 200 species, The Unfeathered Bird is a richly illustrated book on bird anatomy that offers refreshingly original insights into what goes on beneath the feathered surface Each exquisite drawing is made from an actual specimen and reproduced in sumptuous large format The birds are shown in lifelike positions and engaged in behavior typical of the species an underwater view of the skeleton of a swimming loon, the musculature of a porpoising penguin, and an unfeathered sparrowhawk plucking its prey Jargon free and easily accessible to any reader, the lively text relates birds anatomy to their lifestyle and evolution, examining such questions as why penguins are bigger than auks, whether harrier hawks really have double jointed legs, and the difference between wing claws and wing spurs A landmark in popular bird books, The Unfeathered Bird is a must for anyone who appreciates birds or bird art.A unique book that bridges art, science, and historyOver 385 beautiful drawings, artistically arranged in a sumptuous large format bookAccessible, jargon free text the only book on bird anatomy aimed at the general readerDrawings and text all based on actual bird specimensIncludes most anatomically distinct bird groupsMany species never illustrated before Download The Unfeathered Bird Author Katrina Van Grouw – kino-fada.fr Happily roosting between artistic anatomy text and light scientific introduction to everything aviform, the pictures are clear, scientifically identifiable and often exquisite.A mild tendancy to slide into casual and distractingly Americanised language from mostly clean cut and acessible prose and the simple fact of there not beingof it are all that prevent this book being a five star, everyone drop your teacups go g...Amazing book, beautifully written and brilliantly illustrated Every venture into it s pages opens up magic within it s covers I then go on to discovertreasures A joy to own PJR.Heft this book, open it at random, and your first reaction might be, Ah, a coffee table book And it could well be, but this is muchthan just a coffee table book, even as birds are muchthan just their feathers.The birds in Katrina van Grouw s astonishing book have been defeathered, often skinned and disassembled right down to their musculature or their skeletons, but they are always fully recognizable as birds Their unfeathered selves are real specimens that are posed in the act o Heft this book, open it at random, and your first reaction might be, Ah, a coffee table book And it could well be, but this is muchthan just a coffee table book, even as birds are muchthan just their feathers.The birds in Katrina van Grouw s astonishing book have been defeathered, often skinned and disassembled right down to their musculature or their skeletons, but they are always fully recognizable as birds Their unfeathered selves are real specimens that are posed in the act of flying, walking, or standing, even as they would have in life Ms van Grouw has rendered them in monochromatic drawings that are rem...This is a gorgeous book They are so many different bird species illustrated that you really do see how they are so structurally different but they still tend to have many biological things in common Def f...Featured on Skeptically Speaking show 213 on May 17, 2013, during an interview with author Katrina van Grouw by Josh Witten on Science for the People show 243 on December 13, 2013.A large format collection of hundreds of drawings of bird anatomy of about 200 different bird species The author s discussion of each bird relates their anatomy to their evolution and behavior A brilliant project.The details in this book were amazing there was alot of facts that were interesting all in all this was a great book.The quality of the art is excellent, and the information that accompanies is accurate, informative, and well written.Limited range of birds but very nicely executed The accompanying text is quite weak.stunning piece of creative work that really makes you appreciate the limits of scientific inquiry where human creativity has to take over to bring you to the next level

English
24 June 2017

Katrina Van Grouw