Table of Contents

Part 1: What is a bird?

1 A bird is a pedestrian puppeteer

2 A bird is an animal with hollow bones

3 A bird is like a dinosaur

4 A bird is not so like a dinosaur

Part 2: What kind of bird is it?

5 A family tree for birds

6 That bird is different from the other one

Part 3: How does a bird fly?

7 Feathers and feathered dinosaurs

8 Birds with a modern shape

9 Birds on land

10 Birds at sea

Conclusion

Promotional Information

This volume stands out from the plethora of books on birds by concentrating on structural makeup and how structural modifications make one group of birds different from others. ...It is an altogether welcome offering by an eminently qualified writer. ...Summing up: Highly recommended. -- H.N. Cunningham, Jr. CHOICE, Vol. 45, No. 01 This book comprehensively covers the internal structure of birds with respect to many aspects of their life history and evolution from reptiles, with an emphasis on the skeleton. [...] Kaiser has emphasized, in the title The Inner Bird, a significant area of avian biology that has been little considered over the past decades, and one that must be given more attention if we are to fully appreciate all aspects in the life of birds. [...] I can recommend his book to ornithologists as an entrance into this fascinating area of avian biology. -- Walter J. Bock, Columbia University The Auk, No.126 (1)

About the Author

Gary W. Kaiser has worked as a biologist for Environment Canada and the Nature Conservancy of Canada, also as an independent researcher. He is a co-author of the 4-volume Birds of British Columbia.

Reviews

"This volume stands out from the plethora of books on birds by concentrating on structural makeup and how structural modifications make one group of birds different from others... It is an altogether welcome offering by an eminently qualified writer... Summing up: Highly recommended. - H.N. Cunningham Jr., Choice"