An approach to vertebrate natural history that emphasizes behaviour and other functional adaptations of vertebrates within an ecological and evolutionary framework.
Part I: Perspective. Introduction and Principles. Classification, Characteristics, And Relationships. Distributions: Ecology and Geography. Part II: Relations with the Physical Environment. Perception. Thermoregulation and Osmoregulation. Respiration. Locomotion. Migration. Part III: Relations with Other Species. Food and Foraging. Escape from Predation. Part IV: Social and Reproductive Patterns. Home Range, Territoriality, And Social Groups. Sex. Courtship and Mating Patterns. Life History Patterns and Reproduction. Parental Care. Index.