For many hundreds of years Kazakh nomads have been grazing their livestock near the Altai Mountains in western Mongolia. The Altai Kazakhs are unique in their tradition of using golden eagles to hunt on horseback. The lifestyle of these hunters, known in Kazakh as burtkitshis, is changing rapidly, and over the last few years the award-winning photographer Palani Mohan has spent time with these men and their families, documenting a culture under threat. The special bond between a hunter and his eagle begins when the hunter takes an eagle pup from a nest high on the rock face. The pups are usually about four years old (a golden eagle can live to 30 years of age). It's important that the pup has learned to hunt and is not still dependent on her mother; but neither can she be too old nor experienced, or she will not learn to live with humans. The hunters take only female pups from the nest, as females are larger and more powerful and aggressive than the males. Adult female golden eagles can have a wingspan of up to 9 feet, and weigh over 15 pounds. The eagle pup gradually learns to accept food from the hunter, and once trust has been established, the hunter begins to train the bird. The hunters describe the eagle as part of their family. The eagle takes pride of place in the home most of the time except during the day in the summer months or the warmest part of the day in the winter months. While all the men in the family handle the eagle, only the man who took her from the nest hunts with her. Hunting takes place in winter, when temperatures can plummet to minus 40 degrees Farenheit. The birds are carried in swaddling, which the hunters claim keeps them both warm and calm. The strong bond between hunter and eagle is strengthened by the amount of time they spend together. Hunting trips can last many days, as the hunter and eagle trek up to a mountain ridge to obtain a good view across the landscape. Once the prey - usually a fox - is spotted, the hunter charges towards it to flush it into the open, then releases the eagle to make the kill. Hunters traditionally wear fur coats made from the skins of the prey their eagle has caught. The relationship between hunter and eagle typically lasts six to eight years, then the eagle is released back into the wild to breed. One hunter tells Mohan: 'You love them as your own, even when you set them free at the end.' In his book, which comprises an introductory essay and 90 dramatic duotone images, Mohan explains how the burkitshis are slowing dying out. Rather than endure the brutal winters, their children choose to move to the capital, Ulan Bator, for a better way of life. There are also fewer golden eagles in the Altai Mountains. Although the 'Golden Eagle Festival' takes place every October to showcase the ancient art of hunting with eagles, attracting tourists from across the world, there are only between 50 and 60 'true' hunters left. This book is therefore a timely, important record of these proud men and their magnificent eagles in a remote, unforgiving part of the planet.

A jam-packed puzzle and trivia book about the birds in Britain, in collaboration with the RSPB. Can you tell your rook from your crow? Do you know the collective noun for a group of goldfinches? Or where a willow warbler goes when it migrates? A must-buy for any bird enthusiast or bird-watching novice, this puzzle book is filled with questions, word games and brainteasers that will test your ornithological knowledge and reveal a treasure trove of incredible facts about our feathered friends - covering topics such as garden birds, coastal and country birds, behaviour, biology, culture, rare birds and bird migration. Featuring over 150 puzzles, from quiz questions to illustrations of birds to test your identification knowledge, wordsearches and crosswords, as well as maps to explore flight patterns, the RSPB Great British Birdwatcher's Puzzle Book will put your friends and family through their paces, and on the path to becoming an ornithological expert.

This well-illustrated volume covers the birds of Singapore, peninsular Malaysia, southern Thailand and the tip of Tenasserim (Burma) with their associated island archipelagos. David Wells' historically complete accounts draw on a full range of recent field and museum research. Over 380 species are described, including topics such as systematics, distribution, plumage, biometrics, status, habitat, food and foraging, voice, behaviour, breeding biology, moult and conservation. Along with an accompanying volume, on passerine species, it brings together the most complete modern summery of field survey work and other research on all the birds found in the peninsula. Volume 1 and Volume 2 available as a shrinkwrapped set: 0 7136 7483 0 GBP99

These handmade birdhouses and feeders, bee hotels, and butterfly and ladybird homes will bring welcome visitors to your garden. Handmade Houses and Feeders for Birds, Bees, and Butterflies features 35 beautiful havens to build to attract more wildlife into your garden. Each house is beautifully designed, with colourful details, but is also perfectly adapted for its intended inhabitants. There are birdhouses you can hang up or place on stands, and a bee house you can 'plant' in your flowerbed. There are also feeders for birds, and homes for butterflies and ladybirds. With her trademark attention to detail, Michele McKee-Orsini has designed a gorgeous collection of miniature palaces for the wildlife that we should all be encouraging into our gardens. Michele takes you through the basic woodworking and decorating skills you will need, and the step-by-step project instructions, clear artwork, and stunning photography will all inspire you to build your own havens for our flying friends.

'The best piece of nature writing since H is for Hawk, and the most powerful work of biography I have read in years' Neil Gaiman 'Wonderful - I can't recommend it too highly' Helen Macdonald 'One of those rare, enchanted books' Isabella Tree 'Beautiful - it made me cry' Simon Amstell 'I was entranced' Cathy Rentzenbrink This is a story about birds and fathers. About the young magpie that fell from its nest in a Bermondsey junkyard into Charlie Gilmour's life - and swiftly changed it. Demanding worms around the clock, riffling through his wallet, sharing his baths and roosting in his hair... About the jackdaw kept at a Cornish stately home by Heathcote Williams, anarchist, poet, magician, stealer of Christmas, and Charlie's biological father who vanished from his life in the dead of night. It is a story about repetition across generations and birds that run in the blood; about a terror of repeating the sins of the father and a desire to build a nest of one's own. It is a story about change - from wild to tame; from sanity to madness; from life to death to birth; from freedom to captivity and back again, via an insane asylum, a prison and a magpie's nest. And ultimately, it is the story of a love affair between a man and a magpie.

A comprehensive photographic guide to the world's gull species

With more than 50 gull species in the world, this family of seabirds poses some of the greatest field identification challenges of any bird group: age-related plumage changes, extensive variations within species, frequent hybridization, and complex distribution.

Gulls of the World takes on these challenges and is the first book to provide a comprehensive look at these birds. Concise text emphasizes field identification, with in-depth discussion of variations as well as coverage of habitat, status, and distribution. Abundant photographs highlight identification criteria and, crucially, factor in age and subspecific field separation. Informative species accounts are accompanied by detailed color range maps.

Gulls of the World is the most authoritative photographic guide to this remarkable bird family.

- The first book to provide in-depth coverage of all the world's gull species

- More than 600 stunning color photographs

- Concise text looks at variations, habitat, status, and distribution

- Informative species accounts and color range maps

Identify bird calls with this handy guide and CD, which together feature 500 distinctive southern African species. The CD gives the best-known song or call of each species; the book provides clear and accessible text, with a brief account for each species, including a description of the song, associated behaviour, similar-sounding species, the bird’s favoured habitat type, and a distribution map.

The introduction describes interesting aspects of bird vocalisations, the differences between true songbirds and non-songbirds and why calls often change with the seasons and time of day. Delve into the endlessly fascinating language of birds with this concise guide and CD.

'The most glorious cornucopia celebrating our enduring love affair with birds - an uplifting and eye opening tribute to the way they enrich our lives.' - Alan Titchmarsh MBE, British TV presenter, broadcaster, and gardener 'Wonderfully illustrated.' - Wall Street Journal Let your imagination take flight and celebrate the beauty and diversity of birds throughout art, science, history, and culture This visually stunning survey of birds, chronicling their scientific and popular appeal throughout the ages and around the world, showcases the remarkable diversity of species in the avian kingdom, from tiny hummingbirds to ostriches taller than humans, and icebound penguins to tropical macaws. With its content curated alongside an international panel of ornithologists, art historians, wildlife photographers, conservationists, and curators, this extraordinary book includes illustrations and artwork of all styles, with works by a diverse and often surprising range of creators from many different backgrounds, including: John James Audubon; Robert Clark; Mark Dion; Charley Harper; Barbara Kruger; Edward Lear; Ustad Mansur; John Ruskin; Joel Sartore; Sarah Stone; and Charles Frederick Tunnicliffe. Arranged in thoughtfully paired juxtapositions, it reveals how artists, illustrators, ornithologists, and photographers - from ancient Egypt to the present - have captured the spirit, likeness, character, and symbolism of birds. Including Tweety pie paired with the Twitter bird; birds as 300-foot desert carvings or 2-inch-tall ivory statuettes; bird bones, bird bank notes, sculptures and birds shaped as beds, the book's three hundred visually stunning entries span four thousand years of fine art, photography, ornithological drawings, popular culture, and scientific discovery from all corners of the globe to create the ultimate celebration of the winged world. Advisory panel: Dawn Balmer, Tim Birkhead FRS, Dr Alexander Bond, Gordon Campbell, Dr Sylke Frahnert, Joelle Garcia, Elizabeth Hammer, David Lindo aka The Urban Birder, Jen Lobo, Fred G. Meijer, Sabine Meyer, Penny Olsen, Oliver Rampley, Katrina van Grouw and Dr Lisanne Wepler Additional texts: Giovanni Aloi, Sara Bader, Dr Alex Bond, Dr Michael Brooke, Tim Cooke, Clare Coulson, Nick Crumpton, Louisa Elderton, Diane Fortenberry, Carolyn Fry, Elizabeth Hammer, David Lindo, Fred G. Meijer, David B Miller, Rebecca Morrill, Penny Olsen, Michele Robecchi, Gill Saunders, James Smith, David Trigg, Katrina van Grouw, Martin Walters, Isabella Wing-Davey and Dr Lisanne Wepler

Few ecosystem destinations are as abundant in their biodiversity as Costa Rica. Having the right field guides in hand can make all the difference when you're enjoying the country’s birdlife. Photo Guide to Birds of Costa Rica, which features 549 excellent photographs, is designed to be equally useful for two distinct sets of readers. First are birders new to birding—or new to birding in Costa Rica—who want a guide to the birds that one is most likely to see, as well as to a few of the rarer species that one would hope to encounter. It treats more than 40 percent (365) of the species known from Costa Rica but is a guide to at least 75 percent of the birds commonly seen in a week or so of birding. The book will also be welcomed by experienced birders in search of a companion volume to The Birds of Costa Rica, second edition, an illustrated guide to all the birds of Costa Rica. The photographs in the species accounts in Photo Guide to Birds of Costa Rica are accompanied by names, measurements, field marks, habitat and behavior, voice, status and distribution, and range maps.

The definitive photographic guide to the fantastic avifauna of Colombia. With a spectacular range of habitats and one of the richest avifaunas of any country on earth, Colombia is home to an extraordinary total of almost 2,000 species of birds. It is quickly becoming one of South America's most popular wildlife and birding destinations, boasting more than 70 endemic species. The perfect companion for any wildlife-friendly visitor, Birds of Colombia provides photographic coverage of more than 320 species that are regularly seen in the region. Concise text for each species includes information on identification, songs and calls, behaviour, distribution and habitat, with each photo having been carefully selected to guide identification. A guide to the best birdwatching sites in Colombia is also included. Portable yet authoritative, this is the perfect guide for travellers and birdwatchers visiting this spectacular and bird-rich country.

This is a guide to all British birds whose sounds are likely to be encountered by the average birdwatcher. A total of 175 species are heard ranging from the familiar tawny owl to the very rare call of the bittern. This is an authorititive guide and an ideal gift for anyone wishing to learn the sounds of the great variety of birds that can be seen and heard throughout the season. A perennial bestseller. Includes an introductory booklet.

Based on phylogenetic research, this complete study of the genus Sylvia describes two new species and establishes identification criteria for all members of the family. A lengthy introduction explains the background to the research and outlines the main features of the genus. The 25 species are then treated in detail, including the African parisomas, which are here included in the Sylva group. The species accounts include sections on every aspect of identification, with colour illustrations showing age, sex and racial differences, distribution maps, sonograms, moult and wing diagrams and tables."

Are you curious about the remains of an animal you have found? This compilation of the most likely found body parts of animals eaten by raptors will help you identify your discovery. Including over 100 species of bird and mammal prey of raptors such as sparrowhawks, peregrines and hen harriers, this photographic guide highlights the common feathers, fur and other body parts found at raptor nests, roosts, plucking posts and other opportunistic spots. Discovering what raptors eat is an important part of confirming their feeding ecology and how this might change over time, vary on a local level or in response to changing prey populations, as well as dispelling myths and assumptions about what certain raptor species eat. Diet studies are vital for the conservation of raptor species; the more we know about what they need for survival the more we can predict and plan long-term for the protection and survival of raptors that may be vulnerable and in decline. This is the first book to show in detail the actual parts of a bird, mammal or other animal that you are likely to find in a garden, woodland or beneath a raptor roost. As more people take an interest in raptors and watch species such as peregrines via webcams and through watch groups, there is greater opportunity for finding prey remains. This book provides the first and most important step in identifying a prey species.

In a remarkably fresh, sometimes humorous style, wildlife artist Catherine Clark captures the birds around us in her art. These are the avian creatures that populate our backyards, forests, and seashores, from coast to coast, bringing color and beauty into our lives. The artwork, reproduced in full color, shows her keen eye, skilled hand, and deep love of the natural world. Over 200 drawings and paintings are accompanied by observations about the birds and their habits, as well as reflections on the process of creating the paintings. The images represent the artist's choice of her favorites among the hundreds she has created to illustrate articles on birds and wildlife. They demonstrate not only her unique artistic viewpoint, but commitment to the care and preservation of the world around her. They will bring enjoyment to the reader while inspiring them to take a look out their windows, to stroll in a field, wander in the woods, and, perhaps, to take some small action to save what they see.

Jim Emerton bred and raced birds for 40 years and had birds return to the loft from as far as 879 miles away. Now in retirement from active racing, he devotes his time and energies to sharing his experiences, his observations and his expertise with the rest of the fancy. Here in one volume is a comprehensive collection of his thoughts about pigeons and pigeon racing, ranging from short pieces originally written for the leading fanciers' magazines to full-length articles and interviews. "What unites us in principle is the common good of the sport, and with this in mind I do what I can for others - it all oils the cogs of the sport. Some will see me as a know-all, yet I am a quiet little man making my mark, that's all. What is true is that I have made a life study of pigeons, and as a teacher I like to impart knowledge and experience...My aim is purely to tell it as it is to me, and if this is illuminating to others, then so be it."

The first comprehensive coverage of a subject that has fascinated natural historians for centuries. Avian vagrancy is a phenomenon that has fascinated natural historians for centuries. From Victorian collectors willing to spend fortunes on a rare specimen, to today's high-octane bird-chasing 'twitchers', the enigma of vagrancy has become a source of obsession for countless birders worldwide. Vagrancy in Birds explores both pattern and process in avian vagrancy, drawing on recent research to answer a suite of fundamental questions concerning the occurrence of rare birds. For each avian family, the book provides an in-depth analysis of recent and historical vagrancy patterns, representing the first comprehensive assessment of vagrancy at a global scale. The accounts are accompanied by hundreds of previously unpublished images featuring many of the most exceptional vagrants on record. The book synthesises for the first time everything we know about the subject, making the case for vagrancy as a biological phenomenon with far-reaching implications for avian ecology and evolution.

'I think that, if required on pain of death to name instantly the most perfect thing in the universe, I should risk my fate on a bird's egg' Thomas Wentworth Higginson, 1862 How are eggs of different shapes made, and why are they the shape they are? When does the shell of an egg harden? Why do some eggs contain two yolks? How are the colours and patterns of an eggshell created, and why do they vary? And which end of an egg is laid first - the blunt end or the pointy end? These are just some of the questions A Bird's Egg answers, as the journey of a bird's egg from creation and fertilisation to its eventual hatching is examined, with current scientific knowledge placed within an historical context. Beginning with an examination of the stunning eggs of the guillemot, each of which is so variable in pattern and colour that no two are ever the same, acclaimed ornithologist Tim Birkhead then looks at the eggs of hens, cuckoos and many other birds, revealing weird and wonderful facts about these miracles of nature. Woven around and supporting these facts are extraordinary stories of the individuals who from as far back as Ancient Egypt have been fixated on the study and collection of eggs, not always to the benefit of their conservation. Firmly grounded in science and enriched by a wealth of observation drawn from a lifetime spent studying birds,A Bird's Egg is an illuminating and engaging exploration of the science behind eggs and the history of man's obsession with them.

Vir sowel die beginner as die meer ervare voelkyker is die kompakte klein gids die antwoord. Die volgende aspekte maak hierdie boekie onontbeerlik: Pas in jou hempsak; Prakties en gebruikersvriendelik; Meer as 400 voelsoorte; Uitstekende kleurfoto’s; Kleurvariasies aangedui; Logiese indeling van voelgroepe; Bondige biologiese inligting; Afrikaanse en Engelse name; Suider-Afrikaanse voelnommers; Verspreidingskaarte volgens die nuwe voelatlas; Indeks. Die boekie sal beslis sy man staan teenoor die grotes en is vir die natuurliefhebber so noodsaaklik soos ‘n verkyker!

Get the New Edition of Alabama's Best-Selling Bird Guide Learn to identify birds in Alabama, and make bird-watching even more enjoyable. With Stan Tekiela's famous field guide, bird identification is simple and informative. There's no need to look through dozens of photos of birds that don't live in your area. This book features 146 species of Alabama birds organized by color for ease of use. Do you see a yellow bird and don't know what it is? Go to the yellow section to find out. Book Features: 146 species: Only Alabama birds Simple color guide: See a yellow bird? Go to the yellow section Compare feature: Decide between look-alikes Stan's Notes: Naturalist tidbits and facts Professional photos: Crisp, stunning full-page images This new edition includes more species, updated photographs and range maps, revised information, and even more of Stan's expert insights. So grab Birds of Alabama Field Guide for your next birding adventure-to help ensure that you positively identify the birds that you see.

As the first stop in the continental U.S. for birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway, Washington offers a wide range of birding opportunities and species, from the typical fall migrations of ducks and geese to the convergence of millions of shore birds in Grays Harbor each spring.

Get the New Edition of Virginia's Best-Selling Bird Guide Learn to identify birds in Virginia, and make bird-watching even more enjoyable. With Stan Tekiela's famous field guide, bird identification is simple and informative. There's no need to look through dozens of photos of birds that don't live in your area. This book features 146 species of Virginia birds organized by color for ease of use. Do you see a yellow bird and don't know what it is? Go to the yellow section to find out. Book Features: 146 species: Only Virginia birds Simple color guide: See a yellow bird? Go to the yellow section Compare feature: Decide between look-alikes Stan's Notes: Naturalist tidbits and facts Professional photos: Crisp, stunning full-page images This new edition includes more species, updated photographs and range maps, revised information, and even more of Stan's expert insights. So grab Birds of Virginia Field Guide for your next birding adventure-to help ensure that you positively identify the birds that you see.