Author Description

Covering a gap in the literature, this book provides an overview of the avian fauna of Samoa. Colour photos of birds and their habitats are helpful aids to identification; please note however that this is not a field guide, and the quality of the photos varies greatly. Species accounts include Samoan names, as well as French, German and Spanish. The Birds of Samoa is meant primarily to serve as a tool for the science and conservation of Samoan birds. Scientists, teachers, students, government workers, tourists, and visitors interested in Samoan wildlife should be able to benefit from what is being provided here. Land birds of this remote chain of islands, including the rare Tooth-billed Pigeon and the Mao-Honeyeater, are listed and described. Numerous spectrograms convey an idea of how the songs of Samoan land birds can be identified. Seabirds breeding in Samoa are still a mystery, so what is known and what still needs study, has been compiled here. Migrating birds, breeding in the arctic, are also interesting because they have to reach their breeding and wintering grounds by covering thousands of kilometres across the open Pacific Ocean. The Birds of Samoa offers the chance to learn more about Samoan endemic tropical rain forest birds living next to birds from Alaska or Siberia.