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Author: Rael Loon Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa ISBN: 1775843211 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 204
Book Description
At last – a book that goes beyond bird identification and delves into the fascinating and little-known world of bird behaviour and biology. Birds – The Inside Story offers an absorbing insight into the lives of southern African birds, exploring a range of interesting topics that include: • The mechanisms of flight – did you know that albatrosses can fly thousands of kilometres without flapping their wings? • Intricate courtship rituals – did you know that some males offer females ‘nuptial gifts’ of food to strengthen the pair bond? • Nests and nest building – did you know that Sociable Weavers build nest ‘mansions’ that can accommodate up to 500 birds at one time? • Ingenious strategies for survival – did you know that African Jacana chicks hide from predators by submerging themselves in water, leaving only their bills sticking out? • The mysteries of migration – find out how birds navigate using the sun, the stars and the magnetic field of the Earth. Birds – The Inside Story will tell you more about these and many other fascinating aspects of the avian world. Richly illustrated with colour photographs and finely detailed illustrations that bring the subject to life, this book is bound to captivate bird enthusiasts of all ages.
Author: Rael Loon Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa ISBN: 1775843211 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 204
Book Description
At last – a book that goes beyond bird identification and delves into the fascinating and little-known world of bird behaviour and biology. Birds – The Inside Story offers an absorbing insight into the lives of southern African birds, exploring a range of interesting topics that include: • The mechanisms of flight – did you know that albatrosses can fly thousands of kilometres without flapping their wings? • Intricate courtship rituals – did you know that some males offer females ‘nuptial gifts’ of food to strengthen the pair bond? • Nests and nest building – did you know that Sociable Weavers build nest ‘mansions’ that can accommodate up to 500 birds at one time? • Ingenious strategies for survival – did you know that African Jacana chicks hide from predators by submerging themselves in water, leaving only their bills sticking out? • The mysteries of migration – find out how birds navigate using the sun, the stars and the magnetic field of the Earth. Birds – The Inside Story will tell you more about these and many other fascinating aspects of the avian world. Richly illustrated with colour photographs and finely detailed illustrations that bring the subject to life, this book is bound to captivate bird enthusiasts of all ages.
Author: Kristina Henson Publisher: ISBN: 9780578218694 Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
One Hundred Birds Telling One Hundred Little Stories is illustrated and written by local artist and writer Kristina Henson. For each of 100 days, Kristina sketched a bird and wrote a poem or story told from the bird's unique perspective. Her feathered cast of characters takes you through joys and challenges, the changing seasons and even the occasional life-changing event, with hope, smiles and an occasional snack of seed or suet along the way.
Author: Matt Kracht Publisher: Chronicle Books ISBN: 1452177392 Category : Humor Languages : en Pages : 178
Book Description
National bestselling book: Featured on Midwest, Mountain Plains, New Atlantic, Northern, Pacific Northwest and Southern Regional Indie Bestseller Lists Perfect book for the birder and anti-birder alike A humorous look at 50 common North American dumb birds: For those who have a disdain for birds or bird lovers with a sense of humor, this snarky, illustrated handbook is equal parts profane, funny, and—let's face it—true. Featuring common North American birds, such as the White-Breasted Butt Nugget and the Goddamned Canada Goose (or White-Breasted Nuthatch and Canada Goose for the layperson), Matt Kracht identifies all the idiots in your backyard and details exactly why they suck with humorous, yet angry, ink drawings. With The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America, you won't need to wonder what all that racket is anymore! • Each entry is accompanied by facts about a bird's (annoying) call, its (dumb) migratory pattern, its (downright tacky) markings, and more. • The essential guide to all things wings with migratory maps, tips for birding, musings on the avian population, and the ethics of birdwatching. • Matt Kracht is an amateur birder, writer, and illustrator who enjoys creating books that celebrate the humor inherent in life's absurdities. Based in Seattle, he enjoys gazing out the window at the beautiful waters of Puget Sound and making fun of birds. "There are loads of books out there for bird lovers, but until now, nothing for those that love to hate birds. The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America fills the void, packed with snarky illustrations that chastise the flying animals in a funny, profane way. " – Uncrate A humorous animal book with 50 common North American birds for people who love birds and also those who love to hate birds • A perfect coffee table or bar top conversation-starting book • Makes a great Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthday, or retirement gift
Author: Pete Dunne Publisher: Houghton Mifflin ISBN: 0358164079 Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 293
Book Description
Focusing on families and their shared traits makes bird identification easier than ever. This guide takes readers beyond merely identifying birds to understanding them. Many birders can tell the difference between a White-eyed and Bell's Vireo but cannot begin to describe a vireo and what distinguishes members of this family from warblers or flycatchers. The "species by species" approach makes it difficult to appreciate birds for what they are: members of well-organized groupings united by common traits. Putting the focus on families, and their shared characteristics, makes bird identification easier and more meaningful. More than 150 color photos illustrate the 81 bird families of the United States and Canada.
Author: John Reilly Publisher: Pelagic Publishing Ltd ISBN: 1784271705 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 369
Book Description
When and where did the ancestors of modern birds evolve? What enabled them to survive the meteoric impact that wiped out the dinosaurs? How did these early birds spread across the globe and give rise to the 10,600-plus species we recognise today ― from the largest ratites to the smallest hummingbirds? Based on the latest scientific discoveries and enriched by personal observations, The Ascent of Birds sets out to answer these fundamental questions. The Ascent of Birds is divided into self-contained chapters, or stories, that collectively encompass the evolution of modern birds from their origins in Gondwana, over 100 million years ago, to the present day. The stories are arranged in chronological order, from tinamous to tanagers, and describe the many dispersal and speciation events that underpin the world's 10,600-plus species. Although each chapter is spearheaded by a named bird and focuses on a specific evolutionary mechanism, the narrative will often explore the relevance of such events and processes to evolution in general. The book starts with The Tinamou’s Story, which explains the presence of flightless birds in South America, Africa, and Australasia, and dispels the cherished role of continental drift as an explanation for their biogeography. It also introduces the concept of neoteny, an evolutionary trick that enabled dinosaurs to become birds and humans to conquer the planet. The Vegavis's Story explores the evidence for a Cretaceous origin of modern birds and why they were able to survive the asteroid collision that saw the demise not only of dinosaurs but of up to three-quarters of all species. The Duck's Story switches to sex: why have so few species retained the ancestral copulatory organ? Or, put another way, why do most birds exhibit the paradoxical phenomenon of penis loss, despite all species requiring internal fertilisation? The Hoatzin's Story reveals unexpected oceanic rafting from Africa to South America: a stranger-than-fiction means of dispersal that is now thought to account for the presence of other South American vertebrates, including geckos and monkeys. The latest theories underpinning speciation are also explored. The Manakin’s Story, for example, reveals how South America’s extraordinarily rich avifauna has been shaped by past geological, oceanographic and climatic changes, while The Storm-Petrel’s Story examines how species can evolve from an ancestral population despite inhabiting the same geographical area. The thorny issue of what constitutes a species is discussed in The Albatross's Story, while The Penguin’s Story explores the effects of environment on phenotype ― in the case of the Emperor penguin, the harshest on the planet. Recent genomic advances have given scientists novel approaches to explore the distant past and have revealed many unexpected journeys, including the unique overland dispersal of an early suboscine from Asia to South America (The Sapayoa’s Story) and the blackbird's ancestral sweepstake dispersals across the Atlantic (The Thrush’s Story). Additional vignettes update more familiar concepts that encourage speciation: sexual selection (The Bird-of-Paradise's Story); extended phenotypes (The Bowerbird's Story); hybridisation (The Sparrow's Story); and 'great speciators' (The White-eye's Story). Finally, the book explores the raft of recent publications that help explain the evolution of cognitive skills (The Crow's Story); plumage colouration (The Starling's Story); and birdsong (The Finch's Story)
Author: Tim Laman Publisher: National Geographic Books ISBN: 1426209584 Category : Birds of paradise (Birds) Languages : en Pages : 232
Book Description
In this dazzling photo essay, Laman and Scholes present gorgeous full-color photographs of all 39 species of the Birds of Paradise that highlight their unique and extraordinary plumage and mating behavior.
Author: Rael Loon Publisher: Struik Publishers ISBN: 9781770071513 Category : Birds Languages : en Pages : 204
Book Description
A title that goes beyond bird identification into bird behaviour and biology, Birds - The inside story looks at a range of interesting topics - flight; feathers and their function; bird senses.
Author: Jennifer Ackerman Publisher: Penguin ISBN: 0399563121 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 354
Book Description
“Lovely, celebratory. For all the belittling of ‘bird brains,’ [Ackerman] shows them to be uniquely impressive machines . . .” —New York Times Book Review “A lyrical testimony to the wonders of avian intelligence.” —Scientific American An award-winning science writer tours the globe to reveal what makes birds capable of such extraordinary feats of mental prowess Birds are astonishingly intelligent creatures. According to revolutionary new research, some birds rival primates and even humans in their remarkable forms of intelligence. In The Genius of Birds, acclaimed author Jennifer Ackerman explores their newly discovered brilliance and how it came about. As she travels around the world to the most cutting-edge frontiers of research, Ackerman not only tells the story of the recently uncovered genius of birds but also delves deeply into the latest findings about the bird brain itself that are shifting our view of what it means to be intelligent. At once personal yet scientific, richly informative and beautifully written, The Genius of Birds celebrates the triumphs of these surprising and fiercely intelligent creatures. Ackerman is also the author of Birds by the Shore: Observing the Natural Life of the Atlantic Coast.
Author: Rael Loon
Author: Rael Loon
Author: Kristina Henson
Author: Matt Kracht
Author: Pete Dunne
Author: John Reilly
Author: Philip C. Stead
Author: Tim Laman
Author: Rael Loon
Author: Donald W. Stokes
Author: Jennifer Ackerman