Dr. Keith L. Bildstein, Sarkis Acopian Director of Conservation Science at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Berks County, has published a new book, Raptors: The Curious Nature of Diurnal Birds of Prey.

The book offers a comprehensive and accessible account of raptors, including their evolutionary history, their relationships to other groups of birds, their sensory abilities, their general natural history, their breeding ecology and feeding behavior, and threats to their survival in a human-dominated world.

Raptors are formally classified info five families and include eagles, ospreys, kites, true hawks, buzzards, harriers, vultures, and falcons. Because of their large size, distinctive feeding habits, and long-distance flight patterns, raptors intrigue humans and have been the subject of much general interest as well as extensive scientific research.

Keith L. Bildstein has watched and studied raptors on five continents and is well prepared to explain their critical importance, not only as ecological entities but also as inspirational tokens across natural and human-dominated landscapes.

Raptors is a biologically sound, nontechnical overview of this captivating group. It will allow naturalists, birders, hawk-watchers, science educators, schoolchildren, and the general public, along with new students in the field of raptor biology, to understand and appreciate these birds and, in so doing, to better protect them.

"From wind turbines to West Nile virus, from rat poisons to habitat loss, raptors have never been in the forefront of so much international press as they are today, and Keith L. Bildstein has done a terrific job of providing essential background information that will allow readers to put these issues in the context of what we now know about raptor biology,” said Allen Fish, Director, Golden Gate Raptor Observatory.  “Raptors is a stunning overview of its subject and will be welcomed by students, birders, and biologists."

"Keith L. Bildstein's Raptors provides one-stop shopping for anyone interested in how diurnal birds of prey go about their lives. Its global reach is impressive. This book is a tour de force that benefits from its comprehensiveness and from Bildstein's use of his personal experiences to illuminate raptor biology," said Alan Poole, Associate, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, author of Ospreys: A Natural and Unnatural History and retired editor of Birds of North America Online.

Bildstein’s 324-page book, published by Cornell University Press, is illustrated with numerous color photos, figures, and tables. The book is available for purchase at the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Visitor Center or by calling Hawk Mountain at 610-756-6961. It also is available at Amazon.com.

For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events, visit the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary website or call 610-756-6961.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates from the Sanctuary, Like them on Facebook, Follow on Twitter, visit them on Flickr, be part of their Google+ Circle and visit their YouTube Channel.

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