One of South Africa's authors and photographers, Peter Steyn has been travelling to the Antarctic and the islands of the Southern Ocean for many years. Antarctic impressions is a record in words and pictures of these journeys, spanning the period from his first trip to Marion Island in 1979 to a 1997 visit to the Emperor Penguin colonies on the Antarctic coast. The title covers visits to the Antarctic Peninsula, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island and other outposts of this remote region. The author's particular interest is the magnificent and prolific bird life of the Antarctic region, and this title will be certain to attract birding enthusiasts. However, there is much to offer readers interested in the exploration of the region and in the ecology of these fragile environments.

This book is a compilation of bird stories written by our mother, Martha Ramseur Gillham. They were first published in the Arkansas Wildlife Federation newspaper Arkansas Out-of-Doors from 1972 until 1985. She was a longtime member of the federation which was instrumental in passing Amendment 35 to the Arkansas constitution which established the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission as an independent body. All the illustrations were drawn by another member and close friend, Joe Gray, a commercial and wildlife artist, and political cartoonist in Dardanelle Arkansas. The book has been assembled and published at the insistence and funding of our father Ralph Gillham. All proceeds from sales will go to the Yell County Wildlife Federation. Lucien and Richard Gillham, Joanna Gray Lange and Bob Gray

Birds at their Best - Birds and Man - Daws in the West Country - Early Spring in Savernake Forest - A Wood Wren at Wells - Secret of the Charm of Flowers - Ravens in Somerset - Owls in a Village - The Strange and Beautiful Sheldrake - Geese: An Appeciation and a Memory - The Dartford Warbler - Vert-Vert Or Perrot Gossip - Something Pretty in a Glass Case - Selborne

From a life-long interest in nature, the author shares her love of nature and her understanding of the intricacies of the natural world through her observations of the plants and animals in three familiar settings. A formal training in Biology has given her a rare insight into the important vital processes that influence the actions and interactions of birds, mammals, insects, and plants as the seasons change. She tries in her own mind to come to grips with the predator- prey relationship and to explain to the reader the importance of this vital process that makes life on earth possible.Part one is especially rich in bird lore as she observes the birds at her feeder while watching her young children grow in their understanding and knowledge of the natural world surrounding their home in a small town in east central Wisconsin. The middle section takes place in the north woods where she spends time trying to blend into the wildness of the national forest setting at a rustic hunting cabin and observe birds and other wild animals without intruding on their lives. The last part contains selected observations at a small lake in the sand country near Shawano, Wisconsin. The book concludes with short anecdotes about nature originally printed in the 'Lake Flyer" the newsletter of the Winnebago Audobon Society.Written by one of the states leading naturalist, and environmentalist, this book is the rare culmination of years of observations and reflections going back to the 50s.

THE COCKER; Containing Every Information to the Breeders and Amateurs Of that Noble Bird, THE GAME COCK. By W. Sketchley. Originally published in 1814, this rare early work on the Game Cock is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. READ COUNTRY BOOKS have republished it, using the original text and engravings. The author was born and bred in Staffordshire, a part of the country high in repute for its love of the Game Cock and Cocking. This important historical work contains a wealth of knowledge and experience gained over a period of fifty years as a top breeder of fighting cocks. The book's one hundred and fifty four pages are divided into two sections. The first contains detailed chapters on: Breeding. - Trials. - Remarks on the Change in Constitution. - Remarks on Steady Breeding. - The Necessity of Making Trials. - Bad Constitution in Cocks. - Some Favourite Breeds of Cocks. - Cockfeeders. - Cock Match Articles and Rules. - More Remarks on Breeding. - Matching etc. The second section consists of specially designed pages for keeping records: Pedigrees of Brood Cocks, Hens, or Pullets. - Names and Characters of Cocks. - Accounts of Cocks. - Bags in stock. - Memorandums. - Accounts. Having reproduced this book from an original first edition, the publishers decided to retain a small number of interesting hand written notes in the records section. These were made in 1825 by the original owner. This is a fascinating read for any Game Fowl enthusiast or historian, and also contains much information that is still useful and practical today. Many of the earliest poultry books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasinglyexpensive. Read Country Books are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The Birder's Guide to Africa presents the first comprehensive and detailed summary of bird watching in the African region, covering all mainland territories and associated islands.

It gives an overview of the birding in the region in the introduction, highlighting key destinations for different kinds of travellers. This is followed by country accounts for all 68 territories that comprise the region, in which details on travel and birding are provided for each territory, including a comprehensive list of important bird taxa to be targeted on a visit. In the family accounts, 142 bird families are recorded from the region, described briefly, and illustrated with spectacular photographs. Finally, the species accounts for all 2,792 bird species detail information on ease of seeing, distribution, status, habitat, subspecies, taxonomic issues and best places to see.

Any serious world lister or keen African eco-traveller will find an abundance of relevant and interesting information.

Flying imprint sparrowhawks is often unfairly portrayed as being overly complex and highly technical. Sparrowhawks - A Falconer's Guide aims to paint a far more informed picture, and to perhaps dispel some of the myths. Written with the beginner in mind, it is based on considerable first-hand experience of the author and a number of other respected falconers from the United Kingdom, Croatia, Ireland and Turkey who have specialized in flying sparrowhawks. By drawing comparisons with some of the most ancient trapping and training techniques of the East, and by making a connection with modern Western falconry practices, this remarkable book encapsulates the timeless beauty and joy of sparrowhawking, which crosses all cultures. Topics covered include: equipment, preparing to receive your sparrowhawk chick and imprinting; training, behaviour, quarry, entering, field craft and hawking in many different types of terrain; methodologies of captive breeding in the West; problems associated with the rehabilitation and release of wild sparrowhawks in the United Kingdom and finally, the vitally important subject of sparrowhawk health and welfare.

Wildfowling is the most romantic, exciting and challenging of all the field sports. All wildfowlers have a little poetry in their souls. The majority of fowlers are thoroughgoing individualists. A typical wildfowler is a true hunter, bred and born - a lone wolf pitting his wits and knowledge against the wiles of some of the wariest and fastest birds on earth. Taking all this into account it is no surprise that wildfowling has fascinated a great many well known writers as well as inspiring many lesser known and even amateur writers to write with brilliance and passion about their sport. In this book I have attempted to select a number of gems and rarities of fowling literature from famous writers as well as including notes, articles and snippets from less well known, but nevertheless, enthusiastic scribes. This anthology will, I hope, help preserve some of the more obscure wildfowling tales for gunners of the future. Several of the post war wildfowling stories include those of writers who contributed to now defunct sporting periodicals of that era. Their stories I consider masterpieces of the genre and have been included for the benefit of future generations. In some cases it has been impossible to communicate with them or their relatives, who may contact the publishers if they so wish.

Remarkable birds of South Africa is not meant to be a field guide, but rather gives the reader an overview of the huge variety of birds right on our doorstep. Arranged in taxonomic order, it provides the reader with fascinating notes about the weird and wonderful lives and habits of many bird families or species. There is information on their appearance, voice, preferred habitat, distribution, feeding behaviour, breeding method and much more. Each family is illustrated with carefully chosen full colour photographs. This title is a celebration of our great avian diversity. But sadly, many of South Africa's bird species are endangered and even face extinction due to habitat modification and human disturbance. Remarkable Birds offers a glimpse into the fascinating world of birds and hopefully this title will contribute to knowledge and interest in the remarkable diversity of birds with which South Africa has been blessed.

The Roberts Bird Guide (2nd Edition) has gone to great trouble to concentrate on, and illustrate, difficult-to-identify species and family groups such as raptors, warblers, cisticolas and waders. Special attention has been given to make sure there is far greater coverage of male-female differences and there are also many more juvenile illustrations. Unlike all previously published southern African bird guides, this new edition will be scattered with informative photographs that are incorporated in the text pages and each plate illustration is augmented with an introduction. Apart from the approximately 240 plate spreads, the guide also has 12 photographic and illustrated double spreads that show head enlargements and other details. Plates are annotated far more definitively than other guides – highlighting key identification features, especially for difficult-to-identify species.

Originally published in the early 1900's, this book is now rare and much sought after in its first edition. READ COUNTRY BOOKS have republished it using the original text with its numerous vintage black and white photos. Four hundred and fifteen pages contain twenty eight detailed articles by well known Cockers and Game Fowl breeders of that era, most notably C.A. Finsterbusch, G.W. Means and D.H. Pierce. Contents Include: - Wisconsins Red Shufflers. - Blue Boones. - Grey Tormentors. - The Miner Blues. - Clairbornes. - Sid Taylors. - Black Roundheads. - Rhett Morgan Fowl. - Walker Mugwumps. - Gregory Tassels. - Red Cubans. - French and Belgian Cocks. - The Asil. - Mahoney Gulls. - Volunteers. - Malay Fowl. - Fardowns. - Grimme Fowl. - Hammond Gordons. - John Stone Fowl. - Cocks and Cockers in South America. - Secret Ways of Nature. - Steel Fighters. - English Game Fowl. - Alabama Roundheads. - Methods of Conditioning Cocks. - Experience in Breeding. Nursing Cocks. Assembled in these chapters is much comprehensive information on Game Fowl Strains, History, Records, Breeding and Fighting Tips, and many Rare Vintage Photos. This is a fascinating read for all Game Fowl enthusiasts and historians, but also contains much information that is still useful and practical today. Many of the earliest sporting books, particularly those dating back to the 1800s, are now extremely scarce and very expensive. READ COUNTRY BOOKS are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Do you have a large 'Wader'-sized gap in your bird knowledge? Roy Cowgill and Stephen Davis will help you fill in those gaps and will soon have you identifying South Africa's shorebirds with confidence and ease. This unique new guide will help identify the more common waders (shorebirds) in South Africa and will appeal to both experienced birders and novices. Using classification, characteristics and behaviour, and based on an 8-point identification framework, the reader is guided through the stages of identification of shorebirds. The book gives visual clues to both plovers and sandpipers through silhouettes and plumage patterns showing their relative size as a key to identification, as well as photos with key species characteristics. Also included are descriptions of habitats, tables showing seasonality, abundance and distribution.

Accompanied by superb photographs, this ground-breaking book is the first practical field guide to record the Zulu names of bird species commonly found in KwaZulu-Natal. Where one name was previously used to describe a number of birds belonging to the same genus (i.e. ukhozi for most eagles), the need existed to give species specific names.

The authors hope this book will be used to inspire a greater interest, awareness and protection of the avifaunal heritage of KwaZulu-Natal. It is vital for the heritage of all South Africans that these names are recorded and made widely available. Noleen Turner, a passionate birder and honorary research professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, in collaboration with Prof Adrian Koopman and Roger Porter, led this seven-year project, together with 18 expert Zulu bird guides from various parts of KwaZulu-Natal.

The recording, derivation and crafting of these names has been a lengthy but fascinating process. Turner notes that the project has included not only the consideration of biodiversity management, but also the pursuit of social ecology, the long neglected but crucial ‘people’s’ aspect of conservation. She said when it came to Zulu names for birds, they had to fill in the gaps, and of the 550 species analysed, some were confirmation of well-known names, such as inkazwi for the fish eagle; some were selected from the most commonly known names such as inkankane for the hadeda ibis. Some names were redirected: for example, the name for the Brown-headed Kingfisher indwazela became the generic name for all kingfishers (ndwaza referring to the motionless position while waiting for prey).

Other new names were coined based on appearance, calls, behaviour and distribution such as isankawu (the bird whose call sounds like a vervet monkey) for the Southern Pochard, or umacutha derived from the Zulu word cutha (meaning to draw the body tense) as the generic name for herons, which perfectly describes the bird’s behaviour before it lunges at its prey.

For better adventures, use the best map. Mallorca Super-Durable Map and Bird Watching Guide combines the latest island map with a full colour Bird Watching Guide. Navigate to your destination then turn over your map to identify the birds you see there.Mallorca Super-Durable Map is a large (125k) scale topographical map of the island detailing all the major, secondary and minor tarmacked roads plus walking trails suitable for bird watching. Printed on a 840mm by 640mm Super-Durable map sheet which folds to a pocketable 220mm by 120mm using a specialist 'concertina map' fold which ensures easy opening, and more importantly easy refolding. Super-Durable Maps come with a 2 year adventurous use wear and tear guarantee, see Discovery Walking Guides website for details. Altitude background colouring clearly shows the altitude range when travelling around the island. 100 metre contours compliment the altitude colouring along with a large number of individual height points. Our useful symbol range includes miradors, picnic areas, petrol stations, bar/restaurants and parking areas where you can pull off the road safely; plus all of Mallorca's golf courses.All of the suggested Bird Watching Sites are clearly highlighted along with the top beaches from Tripadvisor. Mallorca Bird Watching Guide is on the reverse of the map sheet detailing 51 bird species complete with full colour picture, ID Guide, characteristics and location, for all of the species featured. Suggested Bird Watching Sites are detailed and these are highlighted on the map sheet. Simply use the map to arrive at your bird watching site of choice, then turn the map over to start identifying the birds you see at that location. Mallorca Bird Watching Records Sheets are available as a free pdf download from the Discovery Walking Guides website along with gps waypoint files for all of the Suggested Bird Watching Sites in a range of file formats including Points of Interest (POIs) for SatNav users. In use maps have a very tough life so you will appreciate our specialist concertina map fold that allows you to quickly open the map, and more importantly fold it back up to its pocket size after use.Our Super-Durable Maps are printed with 100% oxygenation inks on Polyart by the UK's leading map printer, which produces a map that feels like silk but will stand up to the roughest treatment of outdoor adventuring and yet fold up like new at the end of your adventure.Polyart is made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and is therefore 100% recyclable in category 2 HDPE. For more information see the Polyart website. A digital Custom Map edition of Mallorca Super-Durable Map is available as a free download from the Discovery Walking Guides website. This is a medium resolution (200dpi) kmz file of the printed map for use on Garmin gps units and in Garmin Basecamp and Google Earth software.

To both the beginner and the experienced birdwatcher, this compact guide will prove as indispensable as binoculars.

Special features:

• Updated with new bird names
• Fits your pocket
• Practical and user-friendly
• Over 400 bird species
• Excellent colour photographs
• Logical grouping of birds
• Concise biological information
• English & Afrikaans names
• Southern African bird numbers
• Distribution maps according to the new bird atlas
• Index

Over 90 000 copies of this book have been sold to avid birders from South Africa and across the world.

Ideal for outdoor and nature enthusiasts, these pocket-sized, folding guides feature wildlife from a variety of places in the United States and abroad. Inside, more than 140 familiar species of flora and fauna are highlighted, and maps of prominent state-wide botanical sanctuaries are included. Filled with valuable information, these portable handbooks are presented in a simplified format that will interest beginners and experts alike.