406 pages. 3.32 kilograms. This book is in good condition with some spotting to page ends. The dust jacket is in very good condition currently enclosed in clear protective covering. 'Rails Of The World: A Monograph of the Family Rallidae. With Forty-One Paintings by J. Fenwick Lansdowne.' "Birds of the family Rallidae, collectively known as rails, include coots, rails, and gallinules. They are among the least known and the most elusive of any bird species. This book is the deinitive study on rails, which are found in almost all parts of the world. S. Dillon Ripley, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, has been studying these birds since he came across his first forest rail in the mountains of New Guinea in 1938. This book records information he has researched and collected on this elusive but provocotive family of birds of marsh, swamp, reeds, and jungle. It is the sequel perhaps to Alfred Newton's statement, in his Dictionary of Birds, 1893: "Base on the safe grond of anatomy, but due regard being also had to the external characters, habits and other peculiarities of this multifarious group, a monograph might be produced of surpassing interest, and one that in its bearing on the doctrine of evolution would be likely to prove a telling record." The author discusses the general characteristics, distribution, and evolution of this family of birds. He then presents a comprehensive treatment of the one hundred twenty-nine known species of rails, with taxonomic keys, descriptions, life histories, courting behaviour, distribution, and status of hundreds of subspecies. Sadly, like many animal groups, the future of these birds is darkened by the shadows of extinct species and the threat of extinction of many living species. They are particularly vulnerable to predation because they do not fly well, if at all; they are fine game birds, and they are losing their habitats as marshlands are filled for development. This monumental work, then comes none too soon, for all the species, alive, endangered, and recently extinct, have been carefully studied and illustrated. The study is completed with an illustrated chaper about fossil rails by Dr. Storrs L. Olson, curator of birds at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. The book also includes an unusual section of photographs of these elusive birds in aviary and natural habitats.