<P>This stunning collection of art and text captures the grace, beauty, and flamboyance of the world's birds. In more than 500 pages, ornithologist Les Beletsky has gathered over 1,600 original paintings that reveal the form, posture, and plumage of all the avian families, with featured illustrations of 1307 avian species. The paintings are from eleven of the world's leading bird artists, with many being published here for the first time. </P><P>Beletsky's detailed, yet eminently readable, descriptions are paired with vivid images to show the diversity of the world's approximately 200 bird families. Backyard bird-watchers, avid birders, and professional ornithologists alike will find in these pages everything from the everyday to the exotic, from diminutive hummingbirds to massive ostriches, from Antarctic penguins to tropical parrots.</P><P>Comprehensive, authoritative, and beautifully illustrated, <I>Birds of the World</I> will amaze and inspire everyone with an interest in this remarkable fauna.</P>