Rare Air: Endangered Birds, Bats, Butterflies, & Bees

Superbly captured in pen and ink drawings by Sarah Kaiser, and expanded and explained by English teacher A. Scott Meiser, are sixty-six North American endangered flying species that illustrate the crisis of our threatened organisms. In this selection, thirty-three birds, five bats, twelve bees, and sixteen butterflies are dramatically pictured and their histories and habits explained.

Look at the Whooping Crane and the danger of power lines, check out Least Bell’s Vireo threatened by habitat reduction, or think of the ‘Aloe ‘hula or fiery marsh chickens suffering again from habitat reduction. Examine bat conservation and agave growth, or become concerned about the little brown bat and the fungal pathogen known as white-nose syndrome (WNS).

Butterflies with colorful names such as Quinn Checkerspot, San Bruno Elfin, Callippe Silverspot, Lange’s Metalmark, Lotus Blue, Palo Verdes Blue, are endangered due to loss of diet for the caterpillars. As for the range of endangered bumblebees, a variety of threats appear in the form of pathogens, habitat reduction that limits food supply, pesticides, and of course climate change.

These astonishingly attractive illustrations of selected endangered species along with their descriptive histories awaken the reader’s concern for conservation issues. The eye-catching drawings and descriptive text poignantly call for increased conservation struggles.