Description
The first state-wide inventory of breeding birds in Nevada Nevada’s diverse landscape, which ranges from lofty alpine peaks to marshy wetlands, saline playas, sagebrush-covered steppes, and lush agricultural valleys, is home to a surprising number and variety of bird species. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Nevada documents the results of a statewide survey of breeding birds undertaken between 1997 and 2000. The book presents 275 species of birds that breed in the state, with a description of each bird; an analysis of its breeding distribution in Nevada; discussion of its conservation status; a line drawing by artist Ray Nelson; a map illustrating its distribution throughout the state; and summary statistics on its breeding status, habitat distribution and abundance. The atlas, a project of the Great Basin Bird Observatory, has as its major objective the quantification of the diversity and grandeur of Nevada’s bird life. It also addresses questions about the management and conservation of bird populations in the state, range limits, the impact of bird population changes, and the future prospects of various species, given current and projected patterns of land use. The book reflects meticulous and lengthy research by some of the state’s most respected ornithologists and a corps of dedicated volunteers, and it is an invaluable resource for scientists, birders, conservationists, and anyone interested in the rich natural heritage of Nevada. Forewords by U.S. Senator Harry Reid and C. Richard Tracy. Illustrations by Ray Nelson.

Reviews
"Fitting a lifetime of Nevada's avian history into one book wasn't easy, but the finished product was well worth the decade-long wait...the 608-page atlas, which describes the breeding habits and habitats distribution of 275 species of Nevada birds, is the first comprehensive state-wide inventory of its kind. It has become the foremost authority of ornithological information in the state." - Henderson Home News

"This may be the ultimate coffee table book for dedicated Nevada birders...Indeed, it is the most enjoyable scholarly work I have read" - Jack Highton, Daily Sparks Tribune

Contents
“It is my belief that our rapid growth, coupled with our great plenitude of deserts, rangelands, forests, and mountains, and our scarcer, but biologically important, streams and wetlands, provide us with both an opportunity and an obligation to grow responsibly—to learn all that we can about our natural resources so we can intelligently integrate the needs of the economy and the environment. The book you now hold is an important step toward developing and promoting that understanding. It is one of the relatively few statewide breeding bird atlases in the West, and one of the first anywhere to incorporate predictive modeling or provide habitat-based inventories. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Nevada is all the more remarkable in that it was generated in large measure through the efforts of scores of dedicated volunteers, citizen-scientists following in the great tradition of America’s natural historians. The Atlas also provides a positive model for what we can accomplish when resource managers, academic researchers, private landowners, and volunteers cooperate." —from the Foreword by U.S. Senator Harry Reid