Download or read book Fragile Birds Eggs and Habitats written by Colin Prior and published by Merrell. This book was released on 2020-09-29 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Birds' eggs are true wonders of the natural world: they are strong enough to protect the embryo as it grows and to withstand incubation by the parent, yet sufficiently fragile to allow the chick to hatch. Little wonder that the enormous diversity of avian eggs - the amazing range of shapes, sizes, colours, textures and patterns - has long fascinated us. Since boyhood, the renowned landscape photographer Colin Prior has had a passion for wild birds. For him, birds are the embodiment of nature, and fundamentally enrich the experience of being outdoors. This stunning new book presents Prior's remarkable images of birds' eggs side by side with his dramatic photographs of the birds' natural habitats. At a time when many human influences are having an adverse impact on the environment, these habitats are equally fragile and vulnerable to change. Loss of habitat is, in turn, a major factor in the decline of wild bird populations. It has been illegal to take any birds' eggs from the wild in Great Britain since 1954, and since 1982 it has been against the law to possess the egg of any wild bird. The eggs featured in this book belong to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, which holds one of the world's largest collections of birds' eggs. The eggs were collected legally during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and bequeathed to the museum by private collectors. Prior set up a studio at the museum and spent five weeks photographing more than 300 eggs using the latest digital technology. Each photograph is a compilation of between 40 and 80 separate exposures that were then blended into a single image using specialist software. The final image is an exquisite, almost three-dimensional rendition of the egg, pin-sharp from the front to the back. The eggs vary in size from that of the tiny goldcrest, the UK's smallest bird, to that of the mute swan. In his introduction, Prior describes how his love of the natural world was nurtured by the endless hours he spent in the countryside around the Glasgow suburb where he grew up; how he overcame the technical challenges of photographing the eggs; how the featured eggs were selected from the museum's collection; and how the photography of each bird's habitat was completed. In his essay, the Scottish environmentalist Professor Des Thompson reflects on the state of nature and the relationship between nesting and habitats. In the main part of the book, the birds' eggs are arranged into chapters according to the species found in a particular habitat, such as 'Mountain and Moorland' and 'Seashore and Estuary'. The caption beneath each egg details the common and scientific name of the bird, the date the egg was collected, the size of the clutch, and the egg's dimensions. Each egg is presented in a diptych with a photograph of the bird's habitat, painstakingly captured at a time of year when the dominant colours of the landscape most closely resemble those of the egg. Fragile - the culmination of ten years' work - not only showcases the inherent beauty of birds' eggs, but also serves as a powerful reminder to protect the birds' natural habitats and thereby the birds themselves.
Download or read book The Pocket Encyclopaedia of Birds Eggs and Nesting Habitats written by Winwood Reade and published by Blandford. This book was released on 1974-01-01 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Birds Eggs and Nesting Habitats written by Siegfried Hoeher and published by . This book was released on 1977 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Book of Eggs written by Mark E. Hauber and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2014-08-01 with total page 657 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the brilliantly green and glossy eggs of the Elegant Crested Tinamou—said to be among the most beautiful in the world—to the small brown eggs of the house sparrow that makes its nest in a lamppost and the uniformly brown or white chickens’ eggs found by the dozen in any corner grocery, birds’ eggs have inspired countless biologists, ecologists, and ornithologists, as well as artists, from John James Audubon to the contemporary photographer Rosamond Purcell. For scientists, these vibrant vessels are the source of an array of interesting topics, from the factors responsible for egg coloration to the curious practice of “brood parasitism,” in which the eggs of cuckoos mimic those of other bird species in order to be cunningly concealed among the clutches of unsuspecting foster parents. The Book of Eggs introduces readers to eggs from six hundred species—some endangered or extinct—from around the world and housed mostly at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History. Organized by habitat and taxonomy, the entries include newly commissioned photographs that reproduce each egg in full color and at actual size, as well as distribution maps and drawings and descriptions of the birds and their nests where the eggs are kept warm. Birds’ eggs are some of the most colorful and variable natural products in the wild, and each entry is also accompanied by a brief description that includes evolutionary explanations for the wide variety of colors and patterns, from camouflage designed to protect against predation, to thermoregulatory adaptations, to adjustments for the circumstances of a particular habitat or season. Throughout the book are fascinating facts to pique the curiosity of binocular-toting birdwatchers and budding amateurs alike. Female mallards, for instance, invest more energy to produce larger eggs when faced with the genetic windfall of an attractive mate. Some seabirds, like the cliff-dwelling guillemot, have adapted to produce long, pointed eggs, whose uneven weight distribution prevents them from rolling off rocky ledges into the sea. A visually stunning and scientifically engaging guide to six hundred of the most intriguing eggs, from the pea-sized progeny of the smallest of hummingbirds to the eggs of the largest living bird, the ostrich, which can weigh up to five pounds, The Book of Eggs offers readers a rare, up-close look at these remarkable forms of animal life.
Download or read book Birds eggs and Nesting Habitats written by Winwood Reade and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bird from Hell written by Gerald McIsaac and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2012-08-08 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As children, we are captivated by stories of huge fantastical creatures, such as the wooly mammoth and the pterodactyl. The prevailing wisdom is these species are long extinct, but new evidence uncovered by author Gerald McIsaac casts doubt on these widely held assumptions. McIsaac gathered stories from the elders of the First Nationthose who were formerly referred to as Indians, Native Americans, or Aboriginals. First Nation elders provided McIsaac with detailed descriptions of six species long thought to be extinct. These species include the Devil Bird, the Hairy Elephant, the Wilderness Wolf, the Rubber-Faced Bear, the Lake Monster, and Sasquatch. In Bird from Hell, McIsaac separates fact from fiction by comparing eyewitness accounts of these species with scientific opinion concerning their identity. His conclusion is that these huge species are not extinct, but he needs assistance in gathering evidence to substantiate this claim. By following the simple directions provided in Bird from Hell, you can help prove these various species still exist.
Download or read book Birds Eggs and Nesting Habitats written by S. Hoeher and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Environment Problems and Solutions written by D K Asthana and published by S. Chand Publishing. This book was released on 2001 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For Degree and Post Graduate Students.
Download or read book The Most Perfect Thing written by Tim Birkhead and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2016-04-12 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A bird's egg is a nearly perfect survival capsule--an external womb--and one of natural selection's most wonderful creations. Shortlisted for the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize 2016.One of Forbes' Best Books About Birds and Birding in 2016. Renowned ornithologist Tim Birkhead opens this gripping story as a female guillemot chick hatches, already carrying her full quota of tiny eggs within her undeveloped ovary. As she grows into adulthood, only a few of her eggs mature, are released into the oviduct, and are fertilized by sperm stored from copulation that took place days or weeks earlier. Within a matter of hours, the fragile yolk is surrounded by albumen and the whole is gradually encased within a turquoise jewel of a shell. Soon the fully formed egg is expelled onto a rocky ledge, where it will be incubated for four weeks before a chick emerges and the life cycle begins again. THE MOST PERFECT THING is about how eggs in general are made, fertilized, developed, and hatched. Birkhead uses birds' eggs as wondrous portals into natural history, enlivened by the stories of naturalists and scientists, including Birkhead and his students, whose discoveries have advanced current scientific knowledge of reproduction.
Download or read book Birds Eggs Nesting Habitats in Colour written by Siegfried Hoeher and published by . This book was released on 1972 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Disappearance of Butterflies written by Josef H. Reichholf and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-10-22 with total page 221 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last fifty years our butterfly populations have declined by more than eighty per cent and butterflies are now facing the very real prospect of extinction. It is hard to remember the time when fields and meadows were full of these beautiful, delicate creatures – today we rarely catch a glimpse of the Wild Cherry Sphinx moths, Duke of Burgundy or the even once common Small Tortoiseshell butterflies. The High Brown Fritillary butterfly and the Stout Dart Moth have virtually disappeared. The eminent entomologist and award-winning author Josef H. Reichholf began studying butterflies in the late 1950s. He brings a lifetime of scientific experience and expertise to bear on one of the great environmental catastrophes of our time. He takes us on a journey into the wonderful world of butterflies - from the small nymphs that emerge from lakes in air bubbles to the trusting purple emperors drunk on toad poison - and immerses us in a world that we are in danger of losing forever. Step by step he explains the science behind this impending ecological disaster, and shows how it is linked to pesticides, over-fertilization and the intensive farming practices of the agribusiness. His book is a passionate plea for biodiversity and the protection of butterflies.
Download or read book Meat written by Salim M. Ali and published by BoD – Books on Demand. This book was released on 2015-04-16 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meat consumption is keeping pace with the worldwide rise in the standard of living. Slowly but surely meat is becoming the staple food of the whole population of the world and agriculture is focusing more and more on food of animal origin. Forests and wild animals are gradually disappearing, while animal husbandry and fodder production are becoming the focus of agriculture. Nutritional diseases and environmental disasters will remain as the legacy of mankind if nothing is done to halt this in time.
Download or read book The Pocket Encyclopedia of Birds Eggs and Nesting Habitats written by Siegfried Hoeher and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Egg Nest written by Rosamond Wolff Purcell and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Purcell captures the diverse beauty, quirkiness and allure of eggs and the remarkable resourcefulness of birds, focusing on the intricacy of nests and the aesthetic perfection of bird eggs.--Kurt Shaw, "Pittsburgh Tribune Review."
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 416 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 Keeping All the Pieces written by Whit Gibbons and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2010 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With scholarly expertise and infectious enthusiasm, Whit Gibbons explores the many pieces that support our natural environment. Whether describing caterpillar disguises, fish that produce antifreeze, the mutual reliance of rhinoceroses and Trewia trees, or the origins of tumbleweed, he affirms the delicate and intricate biological relationships between species and encourages a deeper knowledge of our natural world. In these essays Gibbons celebrates the beauty of biodiversity and laments the tragedy of “ecovoids,” a term he coined to describe missing components of our environment that we wish were still present but can never be replaced.
Download or read book Atmospheric Science and Environment written by and published by Allied Publishers. This book was released on with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
