During the last decade, the osprey has risen, phoenix-like, from the ashes - once extinct in Britain, now returned as a powerful symbol of hope. The opreys' story is a moving tale of triumph over adversity. Their slow but sure resurgence has attracted huge public interest and support; that of one bird in particular, Lady, at 25, Britain's oldest breeding osprey, has tugged at the world's heartstrings. For the past twenty years, Lady has made the 3000-mile journey from Africa back to Scotland, her nest and her mate. In March 2010, she produced an egg for a record-breaking 20th year; despite her weakened state throughout that summer, and with the stalwart assistance of her youthful mate, the chicks fledged successfully. But how many more times can Lady defy the odds; will the spring see her return, as, happily, it will so many other ospreys?

Everything you need to transform your garden into a haven for birds. Packed full of expert birding advice and practical ideas, this compact, easy-to-use bird-watching book will help you create an environment that will invite a rich diversity of birdlife to your garden. It's time to get out into your garden and get bird spotting with this indispensable field guide. Here's what you'll discover: - Profiles of 40 of the most common British garden birds - In-situ photography shows birds as you will see them in your garden or local park, for more accurate identification - Explains the benefits of different bird foods, and gives practical advice on types of feeders and how to site them - Each season is outlined with the major bird activities and feeding requirements - Produced in association with the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch Birdwatching can be done in the comfort of your own garden thanks to this revised and updated bird guide. It contains expert advice on how to provide water, food, and nesting sites to create a bird-friendly environment. It also reveals essential tips on observing birds, including the basic equipment needed. Find profiles of 40 of the most common British garden birds, each illustrated with in-situ photography, you'll be identifying all kinds of bird species in no time. Practical projects include making and siting a nest box, and how to design a bird-friendly garden, including choosing plants to attract particular species. With information about seasonal changes in bird behaviour and a helpful size-comparison gallery for the species profiled in the book Look out for more RSPB books from DK. Discover the simplest, clearest guide to identifying common European birds ever in RSPB Birds of Britain and Europe or learn how to easily spot the difference between similar birds in RSPB What's the Bird?

This book outlines four different categories of co-operation -- reciprocal altruism, kinship, group-selected co-operation, and by-product mutualism -- and ties them together in a single framework called the Co-operator's Dilemma. Hundreds of studies on cooperation in insects, fish, birds, and mammals are then reviewed, each example being tied back to the theoretical framework developed early on when the data allows. Future experiments designed to further elucidate a particular type of co-operation are provided throughout the book.

In his new book, acclaimed science writer Matt Ridley looks to the peculiar mating rituals of birds to better understand the rich origins and ongoing significance of Darwin's sexual selection theory.

Animals rarely treat sex as a simple or mutually beneficial transaction. Choosing a mate is often a transcendent event to be approached with reverence, suspicion, angst and quite a bit of violence. For Matt Ridley, nowhere is this more acute than in birds.

From a freezing hide on the Pennine moors at dawn, Ridley closely studies the rare Black Grouse. He is there for the lek – an elaborate courtship ritual of squabbling and strutting males. They dance and sing for hours each day to attract a mate over several months. With most males leaving exhausted and unsuccessful, Ridley looks at how females make their choice to cast fresh light on how such rituals have evolved and why.

His pursuit follows five generations of biologists from Darwin and Wallace to the present day, uncovering how they have grappled with the implications of sexual selection as an eccentric, gonzo form of evolution. While most Victorian scientists found it impossible to believe female birds could select mates, Darwin was obsessed with the idea of sexual as well as natural selection.

Drawing on his own lifelong passion, Ridley eavesdrops on the elaborate displays of bird species around the world, from the complex art installations made by Bowerbirds in Australia to the bubbling calls of Curlews in the UK’s declining moorlands. In a wonderful blend of nature writing and elegant exploration of recent evolutionary theory, Birds, Sex and Beauty shows not only how mate choice has shaped the natural world, including humans, but how the song and plumage of birds can be thrillingly, breathtakingly beautiful.

The culmination of many years of research, observation, and study, the THE NEW STOKES FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS: Eastern Region is factually, visually, and organizationally superior to any other photographic field guide available.
This easy-to-use guide features 545 North American bird species and more than 2,000 stunning color photographs. And yet it's portable enough to fit in your pocket The photographs cover all significant plumages, including male, female, summer, winter, immature, morphs, important subspecies, and birds in flight. The guide includes:
* the newest scientific and common names and phylogenetic order
* special help for identifying birds in flight through important clues of behavior, plumage, and shape
* detailed descriptions of songs and calls
* important behavioral information and key habitat preferences
* the newest range maps, detailing species' winter, summer, year-round ranges, and migration routes
Whether you are a novice or experienced birder, this new Stokes guide will take your birding to the next level.

On Valentine's Day 1985, biologist Stacey O'Brien met a four-day-old baby barn owl - a fateful encounter that would turn into an astonishing 19-year saga. With nerve damage in one wing, the owlet had no hope of surviving on his own in the wild. O'Brien, then a young assistant in the owl laboratory at Caltech, was immediately smitten, promising to care for the helpless owlet and give him a permanent home. Wesley is the funny, poignant story of their dramatic two decades together. As Wesley grew, O'Brien snapped photos of him at every stage, recording his life from a helpless ball of fuzz to a playful, clumsy adolescent to a gorgeous, gold-and-white, adult owl with a heart-shaped face and an outsize personality that belied his 18-inch stature. When O'Brien develops her own life-threatening illness, the biologist who saved the life of a helpless baby bird is herself rescued from death by the insistent love and courage of this wild animal. Wesley is a thoroughly engaging, heart-warming, often funny story of a complex, emotional, non-human being capable of reason, play, and, most important, love and loyalty.

The Nighthawk's Evening: Notes of a Field Biologist is a work of science writing that will appeal to traditional birders, students, the new "punk birder" movement, and anyone who is fascinated by urban wildlife. It is the story of a woman who leaves her office job in Portland, Oregon, in her late-30s to become a wildlife biologist studying nighthawks. Birders have long puzzled over this acrobatic night-flying bird that nests on rooftops and flocks in the thousands as it treks from Alaska to Argentina and back every year. But what is like to hold a wild bird that few have seen up close? Nighthawks are strange animals, reptiles with feathers, sleepy if you stumble across them during the day, but quick, agile, and especially adept at survival. They have the ability to withstand extreme temperatures and adapt to many habitats, but, nonetheless, they are struggling in the Anthropocene. Gretchen Newberry investigates the hidden world of wildlife around us through this mysterious species. Her search for these illusive birds was an improvised and quixotic adventure. The book takes the reader along her journey, from beaches to forests, grasslands, and urban rooftops across North America. Along the way, she explores what nighthawks have meant to the peoples of North America, their uncertain future, and how their survival and role as bug eaters might address ongoing environmental issues at our farms and in our cities in an age of insect-borne diseases and agricultural pests.

Learn to attract and feed Eastern, Western, and Mountain Bluebirds with this pocket-sized guide. The Eastern Bluebird's blend of sky blue and rusty orange is a happy sprinkle of color in any backyard or garden. Easily tamed and full of personality, bluebirds are like welcomed friends. You love these beloved birds, and you want to see them visiting your yard or garden. Professional naturalist and award-winning author Stan Tekiela teaches you all that you need to know about bluebirds. The handy book is divided into three main sections. First, you'll learn all about bluebirds: facts, range, habitat, songs, nests, and more. Up next, you'll be introduced to the mealworms and other foods-such as fruits, seeds, and legumes-that keep bluebirds coming back. In the third section, Stan tells you which feeders bluebirds prefer and why. You'll also be given information on placing feeders, cleaning feeders, and protecting bluebirds. Find out how to make your yard into a habitat that bluebirds will love. Then enjoy Stan's bluebird photography, trivia, and quick tips. This is truly your guide to attracting and feeding bluebirds!

Eastern Africa is becoming an increasingly popular destination for people who want to see first-hand the abundant widlife of this vast continent. 'Birds of Eastern Africa' is the only field guide to feature over 450 species found in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Somalia (including Socotra Island). Including full colour illustrations of each bird, key features on habitat, songs and calls, and distribution maps for each species, this guide contains all the information needed to quickly identify the birds found in this vast region. Comprehensive and easy-to-use, this book is a must for all those visiting the region.

For thirty years, Brian Brett shared his office and his life with Tuco, a remarkable parrot given to asking such questions as "Whaddya know?" and announcing "Party time!" when guests showed up at Brett's farm. Although Brett bought Tuco on a whim as a pet, he gradually realizes the enormous obligation he has to the bird and learns that the parrot is a lot more complex than he thought. Simultaneously a biography of this singular bird and a history of bird/dinosaurs and the human relationship with birds, Tuco also explores how we "other" the world abusing birds, landscapes, and each other including Brett's own experience with a rare genetic condition that turned his early years into an obstacle course of bullying and nurtured his affinity for winged creatures. The book also provides an in-depth examination of our ideas about knowledge, language, and intelligence (including commentary from Tuco himself) and how as we learn more about animal languages and intelligence we continually shift our definitions of them in order to retain our "superiority." As Brett says, "Whaddya know? Not much. I don't even know what knowledge is. I know only the magic . . . and the mysteries." By turns provocative, profound, hilarious, and deeply moving, this fascinating memoir will remain with the reader long after the last page has been turned.

Elusive study organisms for ornithologists and highly prized additions to the birder's life-list, the antpittas (Grallariidae) and gnateaters (Conopophagidae) are among the most poorly known Neotropical bird groups. This authoritative handbook is the first book dedicated solely to these two families, combining an exhaustive review of more than two centuries of literature with original observations by the author and many knowledgeable contributors. Antpittas and Gnateaters provides a thorough guide to the identification and ecology of these birds, with detailed maps accompanying the text. A series of superb plates illustrate most of the 156 recognized taxa; supplemented by more than 250 colour photographs, the immature plumages and natural history of many species are depicted for the first time. This book is the ultimate reference on these remarkable and beautiful birds, and an indispensible addition to the libraries of researchers and birders for many years to come.