A detailed, authoritative yet highly readable monograph on one of Britain's best-loved farmland birds, the Lapwing. With its striking green-black and white plumage and distinctive pee-wit call, the Lapwing is one of Britain's best-known birds. Lapwings depend on agricultural land to breed and are considered a barometer of the health of this habitat; the population has crashed over recent decades, partly due to changes in farming practices. In winter, Lapwings switch to coastal areas and to wetlands, including those in suburban areas, where large, noisy flocks can gather. Michael Shrubb's The Lapwing is a thorough review of Lapwing biology contains sections on population dynamics, feeding ecology, habitat use, migration, and conservation; there is an impressively detailed review of our current understanding of breeding biology, plus discussion of some other species in the genus. The Lapwing is a superb addition to the Poyser list. Of interest to both amateur naturalists, who will enjoy insights into the birds' lives, and to academics, who will appreciate the broad overview of current research, this title will remain the definitive work on the species for many years to come.

With its striking green-black and white plumage and distinctive pee-witcall, the Lapwing is one of Britain's best-known birds. Lapwings depend on agricultural land to breed and are considered a barometer of the health of this habitat; the population has crashed over recent decades, partly due to changes in farming practices. In winter, Lapwings switch to coastal areas and to wetlands, including those in suburban areas, where large, noisy flocks can gather. Michael Shrubb's The Lapwingis a concise yet authoritative monograph of this popular species; a thorough review of Lapwing biology contains sections on population dynamics, feeding ecology, habitat use, migration, and conservation; there is an impressively detailed review of our current understanding of breeding biology, plus discussion of some other species in the genus. The Lapwingis a superb addition to the Poyser list. Of interest to both amateur naturalists, who will enjoy insights into the birds' lives, and to academics, who will appreciate the broad overview of current research, this title will remain the definitive work on the species for many years to come.

The Lapwing once had many regional names; the Loon has a British-American identity crisis and the respectable-sounding Apostlebird is often called a Lousy Jack. Why do bird names, both common and scientific, change over time and why do they vary so much between different parts of the English-speaking world? Wandering through the scientific and cultural history of ornithology takes us to the heart of understanding the long relationship between birds and people. Lapwings, Loons and Lousy Jacks uncovers the stories behind the incredible diversity of bird names, explains what many scientific names actually mean and takes a look at the history of the system by which we name birds. Ray Reedman explores the natural history and folklore behind bird names, in doing so unlocking the mystery of the name Scoter, the last unexplained common name of a British bird species.