Download or read book RSPB Spotlight Hedgehogs written by James Lowen and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-07-12 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: RSPB Spotlight: Hedgehogs is packed with eye-catching, informative colour photos, and features succinct and detailed text written by a knowledgeable naturalist. Much loved - but about to be lost? The Hedgehog regularly tops polls of the UK's favourite animal, yet numbers in our countryside have halved this century. Generations of children have been captivated by Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, though our complex and contradictory relationship with the Hedgehog is also characterised by persecution and death. This unmistakable, spiny mammal is a 'gardener's best friend', but one that we rarely see alive and in our midst. In Spotlight: Hedgehogs, James Lowen reveals what a Hedgehog is and how it lives, unveiling the secrets of its lifestyle, such as foraging and hibernating, rolling into a ball and building a nest. He also investigates the relationship between Hedgehogs and people – from film and fun to conservation and crisps – and offers practical advice on how to find, watch and help these charming animals in the wild.
Download or read book RSPB Spotlight Hedgehogs written by James Lowen and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-07-12 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: RSPB Spotlight: Hedgehogs is packed with eye-catching, informative colour photos, and features succinct and detailed text written by a knowledgeable naturalist. Much loved - but about to be lost? The Hedgehog regularly tops polls of the UK's favourite animal, yet numbers in our countryside have halved this century. Generations of children have been captivated by Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, though our complex and contradictory relationship with the Hedgehog is also characterised by persecution and death. This unmistakable, spiny mammal is a 'gardener's best friend', but one that we rarely see alive and in our midst. In Spotlight: Hedgehogs, James Lowen reveals what a Hedgehog is and how it lives, unveiling the secrets of its lifestyle, such as foraging and hibernating, rolling into a ball and building a nest. He also investigates the relationship between Hedgehogs and people – from film and fun to conservation and crisps – and offers practical advice on how to find, watch and help these charming animals in the wild.
Download or read book Hedgehog Book written by Hugh Warwick and published by eBook Partnership. This book was released on 2020-08-11 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A welcome visitor heard rustling through our hedges or spotted shuffling across our lawns, hedgehogs are a celebrated addition to every garden and their proper care and conservation valuable to numerous other species. Through informative chapters ranging from the physiological and environmental to the inclusion of the hedgehog in myth, legend, art and literature, The Hedgehog Book is an ideal guide to its subject for all nature lovers, beautifully illustrated throughout with new photography and artwork. Chapters include: Hedgehog Life Threats to Hedgehogs The Hedgehog in Myth and Legend The Hedgehog in Art and Literature
Download or read book RSPB Spotlight Bats written by Nancy Jennings and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-10-04 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: RSPB Spotlight: Bats is packed with eye-catching, informative colour photographs and features succinct, detailed text written by a knowledgeable naturalist Thanks to their speed, size and nocturnal habitats, bats are among the most interesting, and least understood, mammals that frequent our homes and gardens. From their ability to make sounds that are above the range of human hearing, to their reliance on echolocation to navigate objects and find prey, their unique behaviour means that bats are seldom seen or heard. With nearly 1,400 species worldwide, bats make up around 25 per cent of all mammal species. Spotlight Bats features all 17 species that live and breed in the British Isles, as well as an array of the most fascinating bats from around the world, including some of the more charismatic species such as vampire bats and fishing bats. Nancy Jennings uses up-to-date research to provide insights intothe lives of these elusive mammals, covering the biology, diversity, evolution and ecology of bats, as well as their interactions with humans and folklore. The Spotlight series introduces readers to the lives and behaviours of our favourite animals with eye-catching colour photography and informative expert text.
Download or read book RSPB Spotlight Robins written by Marianne Taylor and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-06-18 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Robins is packed with eye-catching, informative colour photos and succinct, detailed text written by a knowledgeable expert. Our most iconic bird, the Robin, is one of the most characterful and familiar of all our garden visitors. Their melodious voices, bright red breasts and cheeky attitudes always endear them to us, but how much do we really know about them? Despite their cute appearance, Robins are aggressively territorial and hold their territories all year. Their year-round presence has helped them become a beloved and instantly recognisable species. In this delightful book, Marianne Taylor provides a revealing account of their life cycle, behaviour and breeding, what they eat and how they hold their territories, and she looks into the many cultural representations of these much-loved little birds. The Spotlight series introduces readers to the lives and behaviour of our favourite animals.
Download or read book RSPB Spotlight Badgers written by James Lowen and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-06-16 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Badgers are elusive wanderers of the night and few mammals are as mysterious. Their nocturnal lifestyle meansnot many of us have ever glimpsed their monochrome form as they sniff and bustle their way through woodland or across pasture – yet most of us live far closer to a Badger group than we might think. In Spotlight: Badgers James Lowen explores all aspects of their lives including their communal living, feeding habits, as well as the major threats to and conservation support for Badgers. These iconic omnivores are widely represented in folklore and have permeated our popular culture. Generations of children have been entranced by Badger in Kenneth Grahame's book Wind in the Willows, however these determined yet mostly peaceful animals have also been loathed and persecuted for centuries. Badger baiting is thankfully now illegal, but the legal badger cull introduced in 2011 in parts of Gloucestershire and Somerset remains in place following the 2015 general election. With so much politics surrounding Badgers in the UK, it's not easy to get unbiassed information. In RSPB Spotlight: Badgers James Lowen keeps a neutral tone on the debate about Badger culling. He describes the history, from the first Badger found to be infected with bTB in 1972 and the subsequent gassing of setts from 1975 to 1982. He also outlines the RSPB's stance on the Badger cull. As one of the UK's largest landowners, the RSPB oppose Badger culling on their land, in favour of vaccination, cattle testing, bio-security and movement controls. The Spotlight series introduces readers to the lives and behaviours of our favourite animals with eye-catching, colour photography and informative expert text.
Download or read book RSPB Spotlight Foxes written by Mike Unwin and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-06-18 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The new Spotlight series introduces readers to the lives and behaviours of our favourite animals with eye-catching, colour photography and informative expert text. Hero or villain? Few animals divide opinion like the Red Fox. This most successful of the world's wild canids has lived alongside people from time immemorial. Celebrated by some for its resourcefulness and lush pelt, reviled by others for plundering chicken runs and overturning bins, it has worked its way deep into Western. Behind the folklore and tabloid headlines, however, lies a remarkable natural history success story. In Spotlight: Foxes Mike Unwin explores how the Red Fox's versatility has allowed it to thrive across the northern hemisphere, from desert and mountain to farmland and urban jungle. This informative ebook covers all aspects of the Red Fox biology and lifestyle, including hunting and caching food, defending a territory, raising a litter and understanding the secrets of its complex vocalisations and body language. Finally, he examines the complex, often troubled relationship that the Fox has enjoyed and both endured with humankind, and suggests what the future might hold.
Download or read book RSPB Spotlight Ducks and Geese written by Marianne Taylor and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-05-28 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: RSPB Spotlight: Ducks and Geese is packed with eye-catching, informative colour photos and features succinct, detailed text written by a knowledgeable naturalist. This will be a detailed 'biography' of ducks and geese that breed in or regularly visit the UK – covering 30 species in all. It will include chapters on the evolution of ducks and geese, their place in the natural world, their anatomy and physiology, various feeding methods, spectacular courtship displays and diverse breeding behaviour. Marianne Taylor will reveal their often epic migrations and examine their social interactions with their own and other species, including their unusual readiness to hybridise. She will also detail their relationships with humankind over the centuries, including their presence in folklore and literature and their role in our lives as both prey and pets. She will also explore their presence as feral and sometimes invasive species outside their natural ranges, and their current status within their native wild ranges as the group includes several species recently recognised as being of global conservation concern.
Download or read book RSPB ID Spotlight Coastal Birds written by Marianne Taylor and published by Bloomsbury Wildlife. This book was released on 2020-09-08 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A reliable, attractive fold-out identification chart illustrating 50 of Britain's coastal bird species. This RSPB-licensed ID guide features 100 artworks illustrating 50 of Britain's best known coastal birds, including summer and wintering species. Artworks are printed on one side of the fold-out chart with species grouped taxonomically and helpfully labelled to assist with species identification. On the reverse of the artworks, informative and engaging text is provided on the featured species, as well as tips on the best reserves and pelagic trips for watching seabirds. Threats facing our coastal bird species are outlined with advice on what we can do to help to reduce plastic waste or overfishing in our seas. Breeding numbers are also detailed highlighting the UK's largest breeding colonies where we can see spectacular views of seabirds in summer.
Download or read book A Prickly Affair written by Hugh Warwick and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2008-10-30 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ode to the humble hedgehog from a lifelong obsessive. Exploring what hedgehogs actually do and what they tell us about our need for wildlife and the changes in the British countryside, The Hedgehog's Dilemma travels from the Outer Hebridees via the American Hedgehog Festival, Sonic the Hedgeghog and Mrs Tiggywinkle, to a field in Shropshire, where Hugh Warwick's love of hedgehogs began.
Download or read book Hedgehogs written by Pat Morris and published by . This book was released on 2014-05-31 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The New Hedgehog Book written by Pat Morris and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first 'Hedgehogs' book was published in 1983, and was a bestseller. However, much has happened in the last 20 years, which is included here: a worrying decline in hedgehog numbers, the North Ronaldsay saga and the Uist problem. The book also critically evaluates designer hedgehog homes.
Download or read book RSPB Spotlight Snakes written by Jules Howard and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2020-05-28 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Snakes are superbly secretive reptiles, celebrated by many for their highly tuned senses and their complex and mysterious seasonal behaviours. Though some people may be fearful of them, these important reptiles play a crucial role in many habitats. And an encounter with any one of our native snake species is an experience worth cherishing. In Spotlight Snakes, Jules Howard takes readers on a journey through the ecology and lifestyle of Britain's three native snake species: the Barred Grass Snake, the Smooth Snake and our only venomous snake species, the Adder. As well as uncovering their unique hunting styles and courtship rituals, he delves into the myths and legends at the heart of humankind's widespread and sometimes troublesome fascination with these animals. He also charts the conservation challenges our native snakes face in the modern age and explores the solutions conservationists are employing to help these extraordinary predators remain a vital part of British ecosystems for generations to come. The Spotlight series introduces readers to the lives and behaviour of our favourite animals with eye-catching colour photographs and informative expert text.
Download or read book RSPB Spotlight Bumblebees written by Richard Comont and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-03-23 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bumblebees are some of our most familiar insects, and are among the few that are almost universally viewed as 'friendly' – their low buzzing is the quintessential sound of our gardens in the summertime. Spotlight Bumblebees considers all 24 UK bumblebee species, examining what made the group so successful and how circumstances have led to the survival of some species but the precipitous decline of the majority, highlighting the dangers we all face if populations continue to plummet. Separate chapters cover all aspects of bumblebees' biology and lifestyles, from spring queens emerging from dark overwintering chambers to establish their nests, to the drone swarms that herald the end of the bumblebee season. Bumblebees around the world are studied, including in the southern hemisphere where Europe's declining species can become harmful invaders. While the influence of bumblebees throughout our history and their place in our culture, from Shakespeare to Transformers, is also examined.
Download or read book RSPB Spotlight Badgers written by James Lowen and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-06-16 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Badgers are elusive wanderers of the night and few mammals are as mysterious. Their nocturnal lifestyle meansnot many of us have ever glimpsed their monochrome form as they sniff and bustle their way through woodland or across pasture – yet most of us live far closer to a Badger group than we might think. In Spotlight: Badgers James Lowen explores all aspects of their lives including their communal living, feeding habits, as well as the major threats to and conservation support for Badgers. These iconic omnivores are widely represented in folklore and have permeated our popular culture. Generations of children have been entranced by Badger in Kenneth Grahame's book Wind in the Willows, however these determined yet mostly peaceful animals have also been loathed and persecuted for centuries. Badger baiting is thankfully now illegal, but the legal badger cull introduced in 2011 in parts of Gloucestershire and Somerset remains in place following the 2015 general election. With so much politics surrounding Badgers in the UK, it's not easy to get unbiassed information. In RSPB Spotlight: Badgers James Lowen keeps a neutral tone on the debate about Badger culling. He describes the history, from the first Badger found to be infected with bTB in 1972 and the subsequent gassing of setts from 1975 to 1982. He also outlines the RSPB's stance on the Badger cull. As one of the UK's largest landowners, the RSPB oppose Badger culling on their land, in favour of vaccination, cattle testing, bio-security and movement controls. The Spotlight series introduces readers to the lives and behaviours of our favourite animals with eye-catching, colour photography and informative expert text.
Download or read book The Nine Banded Armadillo written by Colleen M. McDonough and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2013-03-18 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The word armadillo is Spanish for “little armored one.” This midsize mammal that looks like a walking tank is a source of fascination for many people but a mystery to almost all. Dating back at least eleven million years, the nocturnal, burrowing insectivore was for centuries mistaken for a cross between a hedgehog and a turtle, but it actually belongs to the mammalian superorder Xenarthra that includes sloths and anteaters. Biologists W. J. Loughry and Colleen M. McDonough have studied the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) for more than twenty years. Their richly illustrated book offers the first comprehensive review of everything scientists know about this unique animal. Engaging both scientists and a broader public, Loughry and McDonough describe the armadillo’s anatomy and physiology and all aspects of its ecology, behavior, and evolution. They also compare the nine-banded armadillo with twenty or so other, related species. The authors pay special attention to three key features of armadillo biology—reproduction, disease, and habitat expansion—and why they matter. Armadillos reproduce in a unique and puzzling manner: females always give birth to litters of genetically identical quadruplets, a strategy not found in any other vertebrates. Nine-banded armadillos are also the only vertebrates except for humans known to contract leprosy naturally. And what about habitat expansion? The authors suggest that the armadillo’s remarkable spread across the southeastern United States may be the consequence of its most notable feature: a tough, protective carapace. Biologists, evolutionists, students, and all those interested in this curious creature will find The Nine-Banded Armadillo rich in information and insight. This comprehensive analysis will stand as the definitive scientific reference for years to come and a source of pleasure for the general public.
Download or read book Birds of France written by James Lowen and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-09-20 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An authoritative pocket guide on the birds of France. With 85 million tourists in 2015, France is the largest tourist destination in the world. This new photographic guide for general wildlife-watchers by naturalist James Lowen and French photographer Aurélien Audevard covers the 300 birds most likely to be seen on any visit to the country. Full-colour photographs and concise text, covering essential information on identification, songs and calls, behaviour, distribution and habitat, guides accurate bird identification. Pocket-sized and portable, Birds of France is the perfect companion for any wildlife-watching tourist or traveller keen to recognise the birds that they see.
