Birds of the Yukon Territory

Pamela H. Sinclair, Wendy A. Nixon, Cameron D. Eckert, and Nancy L. Hughes, Eds. 2003. University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver, British Columbia. 595 pp., 400 color photographs, 223 illustrations, 225 graphs. ISBN 0-7748-1012-2. Cloth, Canadian $125.00.—At 482,000 km2, Canada's Yukon Territory is larger than all American states except Alaska and Texas. Yet, with a population of 28,500, Yukon residents could not fill a midsized college football stadium. The Ornithological Societies of North America (OSNA) membership directory includes just one entry for the Yukon, and the Yukon Bird Club has existed only since 1993. Despite those daunting statistics, the editors have created a work of exceptional value. Each is a biologist with the Yukon Department of Environment or the Canadian Wildlife Service. This book was obviously a work of passion, and its high quality suggests that it was inspired by the equally impressive four-volume Birds of British Columbia. Five of Canada's 15 ecozones are represented in the Yukon, and large areas are in a mostly undisturbed state. The Yukon represents a large portion of the North American distribution of some species, including the Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla), Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus), and Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator). Although some bird species are found in high densities, including the Roughlegged Hawk (Buteo lagopus), Black Guillemot (Cepphus grylle), and Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), the general theme of Yukon ornithology must be “nesting birds are widely scattered, and in some cases, sparsely distributed.” The introduction describes what a visitor to the Yukon can expect, including an impressive range of species and subspecies that might be commonly thought of as residents of eastern North America. That is followed by a concise and readable description of the territory's physical geography and natural history, and of the 140-year history of bird study in the Yukon. A month-by-month summary of bird highlights is provided, as is a six-page discussion of bird conservation priorities in the region. The book's greatest strength is its treatment of the 288 bird species known from the Yukon, 223 of which occur there regularly. Most species are described in two pages, though particularly common and well-studied species, such as the Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis canadensis), Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis), and Common Redpoll (Carduelis flammea), receive a third page. Each account describes distribution and seasonal abundance, textually and with illustrations, records of breeding activity, habitat use, and particularly noteworthy records. Accompanying color photographs of birds and habitat, all taken in the Yukon, are of uniformly high quality. In particular, Cameron Eckert would likely do well as a full-time nature photographer. Sidebars concerning the role of birds in Yukon First Nations culture and history are particularly engaging. The book does not borrow heavily from the Birds of North America species accounts or Godfrey's Birds of Canada, but rather summarizes material from less accessible sources, such as Wildlife Service reports, as well as introducing previously unpublished data. Appendices provide First Nations and Inuvialut bird names and results of breedingbird surveys and Christmas bird counts. Much of the Yukon is wilderness, and most bird records are from regions accessible only by the Yukon's few highways, and from the Old Crow area and the North Coast. Many readers will be surprised by the large gaps in our understanding. It is not unusual to read that breeding of a particular species was not documented until the 1940s or 1950s, or that only a handful of breeding records exists for even common and widespread species. For many readers, the description of the gaps in our knowledge of Yukon bird life will be as valuable as the presentation of material gathered to date. This book might serve as an inspiration for some ornithologists to move their research efforts north.

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