There are two basic strategies for coping with life in the desert. The first involves withstanding the extreme conditions using behavioural or physiological tactics. The second is to be a migrant and opportunistically or seasonally move to where the necessary resources are. This second strategy is an obvious choice for birds. This volume elucidates the relationship between climate, habitat and movements in the avifauna of arid and semi-arid regions and the advantages and disadvantages of a nomadic lifestyle.
Introduction.- Migrations and Movements of Desert Birds.- The Nomadic Avifauna.- Habitats and Densities of Nomadic Birds.- Food and Foraging.- Reproduction, Moult and Mortality.- The Conservation of Nomadic Desert Birds.
From the reviews: "This book is a very useful review of an apparantly poorly-researched topic." (Ostrich) "Writing a book on this subject would present a challenge to anyone, for desert birds are some of the least well studied ! . The main strength of this book is that it pulls together much scattered information from around the world on the movement patterns and behaviour of nomadic desert birds ! . I believe the author has done a good job. ! This book will, I hope, help to stimulate more study of bird movement patterns in arid environments." (I. Newton, ibis, Vol. 148, 2006) "In this volume Richard Dean examines how birds, as part of their survival strategies, move nomadically within or between arid and semi-arid regions to find resource-rich patches. ! Comprehensive lists of bird families occurring in the arid zones of the world ! are included as appendices to the book. A 17 page reference list provides the reader with more than enough scope to read further about this fascinating topic ! . This book is a very useful review of an apparently poorly researched topic." (Dieter Oschadleus, Ostrich - Journal of African Ornithology, Vol. 76 (1-2), 2005)