Download or read book Far from Land written by Michael Brooke and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-09 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seabirds evoke the spirit of the earth's wildest places. They spend large portions of their lives at sea, often far from land, and nest on remote islands that humans rarely visit. Thanks to increasingly sophisticated and miniaturized devices that can track their every movement and behavior, it is now possible to observe the mysterious lives of these remarkable creatures as never before. This book takes you on a breathtaking journey around the globe to provide an extraordinary up-close look at the activities of seabirds. Featuring stunning illustrations by renowned artist Bruce Pearson, Far from Land reveals that seabirds are not the aimless wind-tossed wanderers they may appear to be, and explains the observational innovations that are driving this exciting area of research.
Download or read book Birds of the Salton Sea written by Michael Patten and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2003-08-19 with total page 379 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Salton Sea, California’s largest inland lake, supports a spectacular bird population that is among the most concentrated and most diverse in the world. Sadly, this crucial stopover along the Pacific Flyway for migratory and wintering shorebirds, landbirds, and waterfowl is dangerously close to collapse from several environmental threats. This book is the first thoroughly detailed book to describe the birds of Salton Sea, more than 450 species and subspecies in all. A major contribution to our knowledge about the birds of western North America, it will also be an important tool in the struggle to save this highly endangered area. Synthesizing data from many sources, including observations from their long-term work in the area, the authors’ species accounts discuss each bird’s abundance, seasonal status, movement patterns, biogeographic affinities, habitat associations, and more. This valuable reference also includes general information on the region’s fascinating history and biogeography, making it an unparalleled resource for the birding community, for wildlife managers, and for conservation biologists concerned with one of the most threatened ecosystems in western North America.
Download or read book Crossing Over Sea and Land written by Michael F. Bird and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What was the extent and nature of Jewish proselytizing activity amongst non-Jews in Palestine and the Greco-Roman diaspora leading up to and during the beginnings of the Christian era? Was there a clear missional direction? How did Second-Temple Judaism recruit converts and gain sympathizers? This book strives to address these questions, representing an update of the discussion while also breaking new ground. A "source book" of key texts is provided at the end.
Download or read book Vesper Flights written by Helen Macdonald and published by Grove Press. This book was released on 2020-08-25 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times–bestselling author of H is for Hawk explores the human relationship to the natural world in this “dazzling” essay collection (Wall Street Journal). In Vesper Flights, Helen Macdonald brings together a collection of her best loved essays, along with new pieces on topics ranging from nostalgia for a vanishing countryside to the tribulations of farming ostriches to her own private vespers while trying to fall asleep. Meditating on notions of captivity and freedom, immigration and flight, Helen invites us into her most intimate experiences: observing the massive migration of songbirds from the top of the Empire State Building, watching tens of thousands of cranes in Hungary, seeking the last golden orioles in Suffolk’s poplar forests. She writes with heart-tugging clarity about wild boar, swifts, mushroom hunting, migraines, the strangeness of birds’ nests, and the unexpected guidance and comfort we find when watching wildlife.
Download or read book Flight Identification of European Passerines and Select Landbirds written by Tomasz Cofta and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A richly illustrated, state-of-the-art field guide for identifying European passerines in flight—the first of its kind Opening up new frontiers in birdwatching, this is the first field guide to focus specifically on the identification of European passerines and related landbirds in flight. Showcasing 850 stunning and remarkably lifelike colour illustrations from acclaimed bird artist Tomasz Cofta, produced using the latest digital technology, backed up with more than 2,400 photographs carefully selected to show typical flight profiles, it provides detailed and unsurpassed coverage of 205 European passerines and 32 near-passerines. This cutting-edge book brings a new dimension to birdwatching, the concise and authoritative species accounts presenting novel yet essential information on the flight manner of individual birds and the structure and behaviour of flocks—features that are key to identification. It also includes precise transliterations of flight calls, supported by sonograms, and links to a unique collection of hundreds of online audio recordings. Beautifully designed and written in an accessible style, this book will appeal to birdwatchers of all abilities. It presents the latest knowledge on flight identification of a group of birds that is poorly covered in the literature and is therefore a must-have for all professional ornithologists and scientists involved in migration studies. The first field guide to flight identification of European passerines and related landbirds Covers 205 European passerines and 32 near-passerines Features 850 stunning colour illustrations Includes more than 2,400 photos showing typical profiles of each species in flight Provides detailed information on flight calls, with links to online recordings
Download or read book The Seabird s Cry written by Adam Nicolson and published by Henry Holt and Company. This book was released on 2018-02-06 with total page 419 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life itself could never have been sustainable without seabirds. As Adam Nicolson writes: "They are bringers of fertility, the deliverers of life from ocean to land." A global tragedy is unfolding. Even as we are coming to understand them, the number of seabirds on our planet is in freefall, dropping by nearly 70% in the last sixty years, a billion fewer now than there were in 1950. Of the ten birds in this book, seven are in decline, at least in part of their range. Extinction stalks the ocean and there is a danger that the grand cry of the seabird colony, rolling around the bays and headlands of high latitudes, will this century become little but a memory. Seabirds have always entranced the human imagination and NYT best-selling author Adam Nicolson has been in love with them all his life: for their mastery of wind and ocean, their aerial beauty and the unmatched wildness of the coasts and islands where every summer they return to breed. The seabird’s cry comes from an elemental layer in the story of the world. Over the last couple of decades, modern science has begun to understand their epic voyages, their astonishing abilities to navigate for tens of thousands of miles on featureless seas, their ability to smell their way towards fish and home. Only the poets in the past would have thought of seabirds as creatures riding the ripples and currents of the entire planet, but that is what the scientists are seeing now today.
Download or read book Common Coastal Birds of Florida and the Caribbean written by David W. Nellis and published by Pineapple Press Inc. This book was released on 2001 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Helps to identify the birds seen along the coast and presents their characteristics, ecological niche, the high degree of specialization they have developed, and their demanding habitat .
Download or read book Birds by the Shore written by Jennifer Ackerman and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2019-05-07 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the bestselling author of The Genius of Birds, the revised and reissued edition of her beloved book of essays describing her forays along the Delaware shore For three years, Jennifer Ackerman lived in the small coastal town of Lewes, Delaware, in the sort of blue-water, white-sand landscape that draws summer crowds up and down the eastern seaboard. Birds by the Shore is a book about discovering the natural life at the ocean's edge: the habits of shorebirds and seabirds, the movement of sand and water, the wealth of creatures that survive amid storm and surf. Against this landscape's rhythms, Ackerman revisits her own history--her mother's death, her father's illness and her hopes to have children of her own. This portrait of life at the ocean's edge will be relished by anyone who has walked a beach at sunset, or watched a hawk hover over a winter marsh, and felt part of the natural world. With a quiet passion and friendly, generous intelligence, it explores the way that landscape shapes our thoughts and perceptions and shows that home ground is often where we feel the deepest response to the planet.
Download or read book Land of Birds written by Niels Meyer-Westfeld and published by . This book was released on 2014-10-20 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Oceanic Birds of the World written by Steve N. G. Howell and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-08-20 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A state-of-the-art photographic field guide to the world's oceanic birds Oceanic birds are among the most remarkable but least known of all birds, living at sea, far from the sight of most people. They offer unusual identification challenges—many species look similar and it can be difficult to get good views of fast-flying birds from a moving boat. The first field guide to the world's oceanic birds in more than two decades, this exciting and authoritative book draws on decades of firsthand experience on the open seas. It features clear text filled with original insights and new information and more than 2,200 carefully chosen color images that bring the ocean and its remarkable winged inhabitants to life. Never before have oceanic birds been presented in such an accessible and comprehensive way. The introduction discusses the many recent developments in seabird taxonomy, which are incorporated into the species accounts, and these accounts are arranged into groups that aid field identification. Each group and species complex has an introductory overview of its identification challenges, illustrated with clear comparative photos. The text describes flight manner, plumage variation related to age and molt, seasonal occurrence patterns, migration routes, and many other features. The result is an indispensable guide for exploring birding's last great frontier. A comprehensive, authoritative, and accessible guide to oceanic birds Covers more than 270 species Includes more than 2,200 color photos with concise captions noting key features Features careful species comparisons, overviews of the latest taxonomy, tips on how to observe and ID birds at sea, and much more
Download or read book Creative Haven Exotic Birds Coloring Book written by Ruth Soffer and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2015-01-14 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thirty-one realistic portraits of extraordinarily beautiful birds offer close-ups of exotic species from around the world. Birds of land and sea include the purple heron, palm cockatoo, scarlet macaw, flamingo, toucan, crowned crane, roseate spoonbill, kingfisher, and many others. Pages are perforated and printed on one side only for easy removal and display. Specially designed for experienced colorists, Exotic Birds and other Creative Haven® adult coloring books offer an escape to a world of inspiration and artistic fulfillment. Each title is also an effective and fun-filled way to relax and reduce stress.
Download or read book Seeking Refuge written by Robert M Wilson and published by University of Washington Press. This book was released on 2011-07-01 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Each fall and spring, millions of birds travel the Pacific Flyway, the westernmost of the four major North American bird migration routes. The landscapes they cross vary from wetlands to farmland to concrete, inhabited not only by wildlife but also by farmers, suburban families, and major cities. In the twentieth century, farmers used the wetlands to irrigate their crops, transforming the landscape and putting migratory birds at risk. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service responded by establishing a series of refuges that stretched from northern Washington to southern California. What emerged from these efforts was a hybrid environment, where the distinctions between irrigated farms and wildlife refuges blurred. Management of the refuges was fraught with conflicting priorities and practices. Farmers and refuge managers harassed birds with shotguns and flares to keep them off private lands, and government pilots took to the air, dropping hand grenades among flocks of geese and herding the startled birds into nearby refuges. Such actions masked the growing connections between refuges and the land around them. Seeking Refuge examines the development and management of refuges in the wintering range of migratory birds along the Pacific Flyway. Although this is a history of efforts to conserve migratory birds, the story Robert Wilson tells has considerable salience today. Many of the key places migratory birds use — the Klamath Basin, California’s Central Valley, the Salton Sea — are sites of recent contentious debates over water use. Migratory birds connect and depend on these landscapes, and farmers face pressure as water is reallocated from irrigation to other purposes. In a time when global warming promises to compound the stresses on water and migratory species, Seeking Refuge demonstrates the need to foster landscapes where both wildlife and people can thrive.
Download or read book Remarkable Birds written by Mark Avery and published by Thames & Hudson. This book was released on 2016-09-13 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Everything you didn’t know about the avian world: a fascinating compendium showcasing the extraordinary wonders of birds, illuminated with exquisite ornithological illustrations, prints, and drawings Humans share the Earth with more than 10,000 species of birds and have always been enchanted by them. Birds can be a sign of the changing seasons, a symbol of freedom, or simply a breathtaking vision of beauty. Remarkable Birds approaches these fascinating creatures thematically across eight sections covering all aspects of humans’ relationship with birds. “Songbirds” celebrates the greatest bird virtuosi, such as the nightingale, while “Birds of Prey” includes majestic hunters such as the harpy eagle. “Feathered Travelers” describes astounding journeys made by birds including tiny hummingbirds that migrate huge distances. “The Love Life of Birds” illuminates the most brilliant displays upon which different species rely to find a mate—notably the extravagant plumage and dances of birds of paradise. “Avian Cities” explores the spectacular, large colonies of species such as the flamingo, while “Useful to Us” examines the diverse ways we find birds valuable, such as the turkey or the canary. “Threatened & Extinct” describes some species that have been lost forever, and others on the brink. Birds have also had great mystical significance and “Revered & Adored” considers such species as the sacred ibis, believed by the ancient Egyptians to represent the god Thoth.
Download or read book Between Land and Sea written by Christopher L. Pastore and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2014-10-13 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christopher Pastore traces how Narragansett Bay’s ecology shaped the contours of European habitation, trade, and resource use, and how littoral settlers in turn, over two centuries, transformed a marshy fractal of water and earth into a clearly defined coastline, which proved less able to absorb the blows of human initiative and natural variation.
Download or read book On Land and Sea written by Lee A. Newsom and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2004-05-03 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the vast stretches of early geologic time, the islands of the Caribbean archipelago separated from continental land masses, rose and sank many times, merged with and broke from other land masses, and then by the mid-Cenozoic period settled into the current pattern known today. By the time Native Americans arrived, the islands had developed complex, stable ecosystems. The actions these first colonists took on the landscape—timber clearing, cultivation, animal hunting and domestication, fishing and exploitation of reef species—affected fragile land and sea biotic communities in both beneficial and harmful ways. On Land and Sea examines the condition of biosystems on Caribbean islands at the time of colonization, human interactions with those systems through time, and the current state of biological resources in the West Indies. Drawing on a massive data set collected from long-term archaeological research, the study reconstructs past lifeways on these small tropical islands. The work presents a wide range of information, including types of fuel and construction timber used by inhabitants, cooking techniques for various shellfish, availability and use of medicinal and ritual plants, the effects on native plants and animals of cultivation and domestication, and diet and nutrition of native populations. The islands of the Caribbean basin continue to be actively excavated and studied in the quest to understand the earliest human inhabitants of the New World. This comprehensive work will ground current and future studies and will be valuable to archaeologists, anthropologists, botanists, ecologists, Caribbeanists, Latin American historians, and anyone studying similar island environments.
Download or read book Engineering Animals written by Mark Denny and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2011-05-16 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The alarm calls of birds make them difficult for predators to locate, while the howl of wolves and the croak of bullfrogs are designed to carry across long distances. From an engineer's perspective, how do such specialized adaptations among living things really work? And how does physics constrain evolution, channeling it in particular directions? Writing with wit and a richly informed sense of wonder, Denny and McFadzean offer an expert look at animals as works of engineering, each exquisitely adapted to a specific manner of survival, whether that means spinning webs or flying across continents or hunting in the dark-or writing books. This particular book, containing more than a hundred illustrations, conveys clearly, for engineers and nonengineers alike, the physical principles underlying animal structure and behavior. Pigeons, for instance-when understood as marvels of engineering-are flying remote sensors: they have wideband acoustical receivers, hi-res optics, magnetic sensing, and celestial navigation. Albatrosses expend little energy while traveling across vast southern oceans, by exploiting a technique known to glider pilots as dynamic soaring. Among insects, one species of fly can locate the source of a sound precisely, even though the fly itself is much smaller than the wavelength of the sound it hears. And that big-brained, upright Great Ape? Evolution has equipped us to figure out an important fact about the natural world: that there is more to life than engineering, but no life at all without it.
Download or read book The Birds of Heaven written by Peter Matthiessen and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2001-12-20 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In addition, the enormous spans of cranes' migrations have encouraged international conservation efforts.".
