Download or read book An Ornithologist s Guide to Life Stories written by Ann Hood and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2005-07-17 with total page 151 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A collection of short stories that makes it possible to be proud to be human."—Carolyn See, Washington Post Looking at her characters as if through a pair of binoculars, Ann Hood captures the extraordinary in the ordinary. A pregnant woman left by her husband cooks obsessively to cope with her loss, but never tastes a morsel. In an attempt to stay sober, a young alcoholic seduces her priest and embarks on a tour of caverns with him. An adolescent girl picks up bird-watching as a hobby and, in her newfound habit of observing others, discovers a budding romance between her mother and her neighbor. These stories, many published in The Paris Review, Glimmer Train, Story, and The Colorado Review, are full of characters seeking an escape from their lives while uncovering small moments of understanding that often have huge implications and consequences. They discover that they can only find peace once they stop searching for a way out. Through diverse voices and lively storytelling, Hood creates authentic, personal, secret worlds full of eccentric detail.
Download or read book An Ornithologist s Guide to Life written by Ann Hood and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2004 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A collection of short stories that makes it possible to be proud to be human." Carolyn See, "Washington Post"
Download or read book What It s Like to Be a Bird written by David Allen Sibley and published by Knopf. This book was released on 2020-04-14 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The bird book for birders and nonbirders alike that will excite and inspire by providing a new and deeper understanding of what common, mostly backyard, birds are doing—and why: "Can birds smell?"; "Is this the same cardinal that was at my feeder last year?"; "Do robins 'hear' worms?" "The book's beauty mirrors the beauty of birds it describes so marvelously." —NPR In What It's Like to Be a Bird, David Sibley answers the most frequently asked questions about the birds we see most often. This special, large-format volume is geared as much to nonbirders as it is to the out-and-out obsessed, covering more than two hundred species and including more than 330 new illustrations by the author. While its focus is on familiar backyard birds—blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees—it also examines certain species that can be fairly easily observed, such as the seashore-dwelling Atlantic puffin. David Sibley's exacting artwork and wide-ranging expertise bring observed behaviors vividly to life. (For most species, the primary illustration is reproduced life-sized.) And while the text is aimed at adults—including fascinating new scientific research on the myriad ways birds have adapted to environmental changes—it is nontechnical, making it the perfect occasion for parents and grandparents to share their love of birds with young children, who will delight in the big, full-color illustrations of birds in action. Unlike any other book he has written, What It's Like to Be a Bird is poised to bring a whole new audience to David Sibley's world of birds.
Download or read book Ideas of Heaven A Ring of Stories written by Joan Silber and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2005-05-17 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shortlisted for the National Book Award: "Joan Silber writes with wisdom, humor, grace, and wry intelligence. Her characters bear welcome news of how we will survive."—Andrea Barrett Intense in subject yet restrained in tone, these stories are about longings—often held for years—and the ways in which sex and religion can become parallel forms of dedication and comfort. Though the stories stand alone, a minor element in one becomes major in the next. In "My Shape", a woman is taunted by her dance coach, who later suffers his own heartache. A Venetian poet of the 1500s, another storyteller, is introduced to a modern traveler reading Rilke. His story precedes a mesmerizing narrative of missionaries in China. In the final story, Giles, born to a priesthood family, leans toward Buddhism after a grievous loss, and in time falls in love with the dancer of the first story. So deft and subtle is Joan Silber with these various perspectives that we come full circle surprised and enchanted by her myriad worlds. National Book Award finalist. Reading group guide included.
Download or read book Charles Darwin s Life with Birds written by Clifford B. Frith and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 521 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Focuses exclusively on Darwin the ornithologist, not on biographical aspects of Darwin's life.
Download or read book Handbook of Bird Biology written by Irby J. Lovette and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-06-27 with total page 736 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Selected by Forbes.com as one of the 12 best books about birds and birding in 2016 This much-anticipated third edition of the Handbook of Bird Biology is an essential and comprehensive resource for everyone interested in learning more about birds, from casual bird watchers to formal students of ornithology. Wherever you study birds your enjoyment will be enhanced by a better understanding of the incredible diversity of avian lifestyles. Arising from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology and authored by a team of experts from around the world, the Handbook covers all aspects of avian diversity, behaviour, ecology, evolution, physiology, and conservation. Using examples drawn from birds found in every corner of the globe, it explores and distills the many scientific discoveries that have made birds one of our best known - and best loved - parts of the natural world. This edition has been completely revised and is presented with more than 800 full color images. It provides readers with a tool for life-long learning about birds and is suitable for bird watchers and ornithology students, as well as for ecologists, conservationists, and resource managers who work with birds. The Handbook of Bird Biology is the companion volume to the Cornell Lab’s renowned distance learning course, Ornithology: Comprehensive Bird Biology.
Download or read book Manual of Ornithology written by Noble S. Proctor and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1993-01-01 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Here is a volume that has no parallel. . . . A good reference book for those interested in the details of avian anatomy."--Science Books & Films "A gold mine of facts. . . . Every library and biology department, as well as every birder, should have a copy close at hand."--Roger Tory Peterson, from the foreword One of the most heavily illustrated ornithology references ever written, Manual or Ornithology is a visual guide to the structure and anatomy of birds--a basic tool for investigation for anyone curious about the fascinating world of birds. A concise atlas of anatomy, it contains more than 200 specially prepared accurate and clear drawings that include material never illustrated before. The text is as informative as the drawings; written at a level appropriate to undergraduate students and to bird lovers in general, it discusses why birds look and act the way they do. Designed to supplement a basic ornithology textbook, the Manual of Ornithology covers systematics and evolution, topography, feathers and flight, the skeleton and musculature, and the digestive, circulatory, respiratory, excretory, reproductive, sensory, and nervous systems of birds, as well as field techniques for watching and studying birds. Each chapter concludes with a list of key references for the topic covered, with a comprehensive bibliography at the end of the volume.
Download or read book Essential Ornithology written by Graham Scott and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-08-21 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Essential Ornithology provides the reader with a concise but comprehensive introduction to the biology of birds, one of the most widely studied taxonomic groups. The book begins by considering the dinosaur origins of birds and their subsequent evolution. Development, anatomy, and physiology are then discussed followed by chapters devoted to avian reproduction, migration, ecology, and conservation. Sections dealing with aspects of bird/human relationships and bird conservation give the book an applied context. This new edition has been thoroughly updated, providing new information from rapidly-developing fields including the avian fossil record, urban and agricultural ecology, responses to climate change, invasive species biology, technologies to track movement, avian disease, and the role of citizen scientists. There is also a greater focus on North American ornithology. Drawing extensively upon the wider scientific literature, this engaging text places the results of classical studies of avian biology alongside the most recent scientific breakthroughs. Useful case studies are presented in a concise and engaging style with the student reader foremost in mind. Key points are highlighted and suggestions for guided reading and key references are included throughout. Essential Ornithology is a companion textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in avian science, as well as a useful reference for professional researchers and consultants. Amateur ornithologists will also find this book offers a scientifically rigorous and accessible overview for a more general readership.
Download or read book Fidelity written by Michael Redhill and published by Anchor Canada. This book was released on 2010-05-07 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From acclaimed poet and Giller-nominated novelist Michael Redhill comes Fidelity, a subtle but searing collection of short fiction. By turns brooding, strange, and funny, Fidelity probes the blandishments of temptation, the swooning submission to concupiscence, the illusory redemption of desire, the ambivalence at the heart of the most intimate trust, and, most importantly, the irony that when we betray, we betray ourselves first. His characters are not monsters, or really even sinners. Their vulnerabilities are our own: a business-trip affair leaves a man changed in ways he cannot anticipate; a young girl’s sexuality inflicts unexpected wounds on her family; the young amanuensis of a 156-year-old Civil War veteran tries to defend his hero from accusations of desertion; a father of four, pressured by his wife to undergo a vasectomy, gradually learns that he is capable of infidelity when he contemplates the intolerable loss of his virility. Spell-binding and crackling with an unflinching attention to emotional detail, Fidelity looks boldly at the transgressions of desire that seduce, and sometimes break, body and soul.
Download or read book The Crossley ID Guide written by Richard Crossley and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2011-01-31 with total page 534 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A revolution in birding and field guides This stunningly illustrated book from acclaimed birder and photographer Richard Crossley revolutionizes field guide design by providing the first real-life approach to identification. Whether you are a beginner, expert, or anywhere in between, The Crossley ID Guide will vastly improve your ability to identify birds. Unlike other guides, which provide isolated individual photographs or illustrations, this is the first book to feature large, lifelike scenes for each species. These scenes—640 in all—are composed from more than 10,000 of the author's images showing birds in a wide range of views--near and far, from different angles, in various plumages and behaviors, including flight, and in the habitat in which they live. These beautiful compositions show how a bird's appearance changes with distance, and give equal emphasis to characteristics experts use to identify birds: size, structure and shape, behavior, probability, and color. This is the first book to convey all of these features visually--in a single image--and to reinforce them with accurate, concise text. Each scene provides a wealth of detailed visual information that invites and rewards careful study, but the most important identification features can be grasped instantly by anyone. By making identification easier, more accurate, and more fun than ever before, The Crossley ID Guide will completely redefine how its users look at birds. Essential for all birders, it also promises to make new birders of many people who have despaired of using traditional guides. Revolutionary. This book changes field guide design to make you a better birder A picture says a thousand words. The most comprehensive guide: 640 stunning scenes created from 10,000 of the author's photographs Reality birding. Lifelike in-focus scenes show birds in their habitats, from near and far, and in all plumages and behaviors Teaching and reference. The first book to accurately portray all the key identification characteristics: size, shape, behavior, probability, and color Practice makes perfect. An interactive learning experience to sharpen and test field identification skills Bird like the experts. The first book to simplify birding and help you understand how to bird like the best An interactive website—www.crossleybirds.com—includes expanded captions for the plates and species updates
Download or read book Bird of Life Bird of Death written by Jonathan Evan Maslow and published by Laurel Press. This book was released on 1987 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1983 Maslow traveled to Guatemala to locate the endangered quetzal, considered sacred and one of the most beautiful birds on earth. Following the bird's trail, he confronts the horrors of a war-torn nation, where 10,000 people disappear each year.
Download or read book Birds of Paradise written by Tim Laman and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2012 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Life List written by Olivia Gentile and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After her four kids were nearly grown and she was about to turn 50, Phoebe Snetsinger was told she had less than a year to live. Snetsinger, a St. Louis housewife and avid backyard birder, decided to spend that year traveling the world in search of birds. As it turned out, her doctors were wrong, but Phoebe's passion had been ignited and she spent the next eighteen years crisscrossing the globe recklessly staking out her quarry. En route she contracted malaria in Zambia, nearly fell to her death in Zaire, and was kidnapped and gang raped on the outskirts of Port Moresby. Yet none of this curbed her enthusiasm. By the time she died in a bus accident while birding in Madagascar in 1999, Phoebe was world renowned and had seen more species-8,500 of the roughly 10,000-than anyone in history. A fascinating portrait of a hobbiest whose obsession contributed to both her success and her demise, Life List brings Phoebe Snetsinger and the wild world of amatuer ornithology to vivid life.
Download or read book The Wall of Birds written by Jane Kim and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2018-10-23 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A celebration of the diversity and evolution of birds, as depicted in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's magnificent 2,500-square-foot Wall of Birds mural by artist Jane Kim. Part homage, part artistic and sociological journey, The Wall of Birds tells the story of birds' remarkable 375-million-year evolution. With a foreword by John W. Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and full of lush photographs of gorgeous life-size birds painted in exacting detail, The Wall of Birds lets readers explore these amazing creatures family by family and continent by continent. Throughout, beautifully crafted narratives and intimate artistic reflections tell of the evolutionary forces that created birds' dazzling variety of forms and colors, and reveal powerful lessons about birds that are surprisingly relevant to contemporary human challenges. From the tiny five-inch Marvelous Spatuletail hummingbird to the monstrous thirty-foot Yutyrannus, The Wall of Birds is a visual feast, essential for bird enthusiasts, naturalists, and art lovers alike.
Download or read book She Heard the Birds written by Andrea D'Aquino and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 2021-10-12 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet Florence Merriam Bailey, a pioneering birder and activist who changed the way we study birds forever, as told through the evocative collage style of artist Andrea D'Aquino. As a young girl, Florence Merriam Bailey fell in love with the outdoors, especially birds whose songs and flight captivated her. She listened, waited, and watched to better understand her feathered friends, and wrote many books, including one of the first field guides to American birds. Her work ultimately led to better protection for birds and to the scientific study of birds in nature instead of in a lab. She Heard the Birds, the latest book from A Life Made by Hand: The Story of Ruth Asawa author Andrea D'Aquino, brings to life the story of a woman ahead of her time. D'Aquino's striking full-page collages make each page a delight to read.
Download or read book Ten Thousand Birds written by Tim Birkhead and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2014-03-01 with total page 545 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ten Thousand Birds provides a thoroughly engaging and authoritative history of modern ornithology, tracing how the study of birds has been shaped by a succession of visionary and often-controversial personalities, and by the unique social and scientific contexts in which these extraordinary individuals worked. This beautifully illustrated book opens in the middle of the nineteenth century when ornithology was a museum-based discipline focused almost exclusively on the anatomy, taxonomy, and classification of dead birds. It describes how in the early 1900s pioneering individuals such as Erwin Stresemann, Ernst Mayr, and Julian Huxley recognized the importance of studying live birds in the field, and how this shift thrust ornithology into the mainstream of the biological sciences. The book tells the stories of eccentrics like Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, a pathological liar who stole specimens from museums and quite likely murdered his wife, and describes the breathtaking insights and discoveries of ambitious and influential figures such as David Lack, Niko Tinbergen, Robert MacArthur, and others who through their studies of birds transformed entire fields of biology. Ten Thousand Birds brings this history vividly to life through the work and achievements of those who advanced the field. Drawing on a wealth of archival material and in-depth interviews, this fascinating book reveals how research on birds has contributed more to our understanding of animal biology than the study of just about any other group of organisms.
Download or read book Bird Families of the World written by David Ward Winkler and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 599 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is a synopsis of the diversity of all birds. It distills the voluminous detail of the 17-volume Handbook of Birds of the World into a single book. Based on the latest systematic research and summarizing what is known about the life history and biology of each group, this volume is the best single-volume entry to avian diversity available.
