This fully illustrated guide describes over 60 of the best sites for viewing both common and rare species. Organised by state, detailed descriptions of each site cover the type of terrain and specific spots at which certain species are likely to be encountered. A fact file for each site details how to get there; facilities; nearby services and accommodation. Key species for each site are also listed.

Amazing as it might sound, ornithologists are still discovering an average of five or six bird species each year that are completely new to science. These aren't all obscure brown birds on tiny islands - witness the bizarre Bare-faced Bulbul from Laos (2009), spectacular Araripe Manakin from Brazil (1998), or gaudy Bugun Liocichla from north-east India (2006). Birds New to Science documents over half a century of these remarkable discoveries, covering round 300 species. Each account includes the story of discovery, a brief description of the bird (many with accompanying photographs), and details of what is known about its biology, range and conservation status. Written in an engaging style, this is a rich reference to an incredible era of adventure in ornithology.

Most bird books are designed to help you identify the birds that you've seen. This book is different. It is a species-by-species guide that shows you how to find and watch more than 250 species of birds that can be seen in Britain. Some are common; others are rare migrants or scarce breeding birds, but this book will tell you the best places to see and watch all of them. Readers will be able to see their most coveted species but also enjoy rewarding watching experiences that will enhance their understanding of the species, of bird behaviour and of key fieldcraft techniques. Sections include: - How to find including the best time of day, how to search the habitat and behavioural signs - Watching tips including ways to get close to the bird without disturbing it and how to attract it to your garden. - Super sites includes a short list of some of the best places to see the species.

Peregrine falcons have their share of claims to fame. With a diving speed of over two hundred miles per hour, these birds of prey are the fastest animals on earth or in the sky, and they are now well known for adapting from life on rocky cliffs to a different kind of mountain: modern skyscrapers. But adaptability only helps so much. In 1951, there were no peregrines left in Illinois, and it looked as if the species would be wiped out entirely in North America. Today, however, peregrines are flourishing. In The Peregrine Returns, Mary Hennen gives wings to this extraordinary conservation success story. Drawing on the beautiful watercolors of Field Museum artist-in-residence Peggy Macnamara and photos by Field Museum research assistant Stephanie Ware, as well as her own decades of work with peregrines, Hennen focuses her tale on Illinois's Chicago Peregrine Program, a collaboration between researchers and citizen scientists. She follows the journey of Illinois's peregrines from their devastating decline to the discovery of its cause (a thinning of eggshells caused by a byproduct of DDT), through to recovery, revealing how the urban landscape has played an essential role in enabling falcons to return to the wild and how people are now learning to live in close proximity to these captivating raptors. Both a model for conservation programs across the country and an eye-opening look at the many creatures with which we share our homes, this richly illustrated story of the Chicago Peregrine Program is an inspiring example of how urban architecture can serve not only our cities' human inhabitants, but also their wild ones.

You thought he was retired, even dead? No, he is back! At the age of 86, Mike Tomkies is back doing what he does best - observing our rarest and most dramatic wildlife, unsuspected and from close quarters, and writing about it with the kind of intimate detail that has earned high acclaim from critics and conservationists. Within days of arriving back from five years of studying bears, wolves and lynxes in Spain, he is up a wild cliff in Cornwall watching three peregrine falcon chicks from hatching to flying stage. We can follow his astounding adventures over the next ten years as he obsessively searches all through Britain for that elusive 'small wild paradise' so many of us would also like to find. He lives in, but finally loses, no less than six new homes in that time and the complications and reasons why are both hilarious and sad. Even more fascinating is his continual obsessive quest to get up close and personal with nesting goshawks, buzzards and ospreys, as well as mammals like fishing otters, a fox family and he even feeds wild badgers by hand. At one remote farmhouse in the Borders, he learns how to handle a bulldozer, digs out his own 70-yard lake and stocks it with trout. Over three years there he raises ten barn owl chicks and establishes three breeding pairs in areas where they had long been absent. It was the most successful barn owl release at the time. There are many amusing anecdotes such as when he dreaded taking some of Prince Harry's classmates to 'otter bay' and then saw far more otters than when he had gone there on his own! Transcending all are his new studies and descriptions of hunting and nesting golden eagles, during which he passed his 3,050th hour in one of his home-made 'invisible' hides, and a huge female allowed him to bring much-needed meat to her chicks in their eyrie. The book ends with triumphant filming of the magnificent white-tailed sea eagles on Mull, hunting and sailing into their high nest with prey and feeding their chicks. Mike also achieved valuable publicity for the pioneering public sea eagle hide project on Mull.

The perfect guide to the birds of California, from the #1 birding website AllAboutBirds.org The All About Birds Regional Field-Guide Series brings birding enthusiasts the best information from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology's website, AllAboutBirds.org, used by more than 21 million people each year. These definitive books provide the most up-to-date resources and expert coverage on bird species throughout North America. This dynamic guide is the perfect companion for anyone interested in the birds of California. The guide features fascinating details about the birds around you, useful bird ID tips, and handy bird-watching information. It presents full accounts of 218 species commonly seen in this popular state; beautiful photographs of male, female, and immature birds, as well as morphs, and breeding and nonbreeding plumage (so you can ID birds all year long); current range maps; and so much more. The California edition of All About Birds is easy to use and easy to share. Descriptions of 218 bird species, including four photos for each bird chosen specifically for better ID and sourced from the Macaulay Library (a collection of bird photos from citizen scientists) Quick and easy index with illustrations on cover flaps, with complete index at the back Information on Cornell Lab citizen-science programs and how to participate Bonus content includes identification best practices and tips on bird photography, birdscaping, food and feeding, and more Free MERLIN Bird ID app (downloaded more than 5 million times) for quick ID in the wild using photos and birdsong

With delightful photographs, Jenna Woginrich chronicles the life journey of three chickens (Amelia, Honey, and Tilda) from fluffy, newly hatched bundles to grown hens laying eggs of their own. Following their progress from day to day and week to week, you'll learn everything you need to know to be successful in raising and keeping a happy, healthy flock. Topics covered include understanding chicken behavior; housing and feeding requirements; hygiene and basic health care. Both entertaining and educational, this highly accessible book provides just the right amount of information to get started and enjoy the pleasures of keeping backyard chickens.

This book covers difficult identification issues by looking at tricky species pairs or groups of birds, and comparing and contrasting their respective features. Designed as a field companion, it supplements the standard field guides and provides much additional information. As well as detailed texts, the books include extensive illustrations of all relevant ages and plummages of the species concerned.

Get the New Edition of Oregon's Best-Selling Bird Guide Learn to identify birds in Oregon, 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 137 species of Oregon 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: 137 species: Only Oregon 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 Oregon Field Guide for your next birding adventure-to help ensure that you positively identify the birds that you see.

Get the New Edition of Missouri's Best-Selling Bird Guide Learn to identify birds in Missouri, 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 121 species of Missouri 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: 121 species: Only Missouri 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 Missouri Field Guide for your next birding adventure-to help ensure that you positively identify the birds that you see.

Appreciate the Elaborate Creations of BirdsNests--among the most amazing dwelling places in the entire animal kingdom. Few creatures craft such brilliant and involved homes as birds do. From holes drilled into trees to intricately woven cups, these magnificent structures are worthy of our admiration. This book by Stan Tekiela is filled with unparalleled photography, and it promises to delight as it walks you through the world of bird nests. Book Features One-of-a-kind images of birds and nests from across the United States Many fascinating facts, including how birds choose where to build and what materials they use Information that will season your understanding of nests and enhance your enjoyment of birds This beautiful, thorough look at bird nests is perfect for anyone who treasures nature.

In The Eye of the Sandpiper, Brandon Keim pairs cutting-edge science with a deep love of nature, conveying his insights in prose that is both accessible and beautiful. In an elegant, thoughtful tour of nature in the twenty-first century, Keim continues in the tradition of Lewis Thomas, Stephen Jay Gould, and David Quammen, reporting from the frontiers of science while celebrating the natural world's wonders and posing new questions about our relationship to the rest of life on Earth. The stories in The Eye of the Sandpiper are arranged in four thematic sections. Each addresses nature through a different lens. The first is evolutionary and ecological dynamics, from how patterns form on butterfly wings to the ecological importance of oft-reviled lampreys. The second section explores the inner lives of animals, which science has only recently embraced: empathy in rats, emotions in honeybees, spirituality in chimpanzees. The third section contains stories of people acting on insights both ecological and ethological: nourishing blighted rivers, but also caring for injured pigeons at a hospital for wild birds and demanding legal rights for primates. The fourth section unites ecology and ethology in discussions of ethics: how we should think about and behave toward nature, and the place of wildness in a world in which space for wilderness is shrinking. By appreciating the nonhuman world more fully, Keim writes, "I hope people will also act in ways that nourish rather than impoverish its life-which is, ultimately, the problem that needs to be solved at this Anthropocene moment, with a sixth mass extinction looming, once-common animals becoming rare, and Earth straining to support 7.5 billion people. The solution will come from a love of nature rather than chastisement or lamentation."

A fully updated second edition of this introductory identification guide to the 279 bird species most likely to be seen in Hong Kong, including every species classified as Abundant, Common or Uncommon in the Hong Kong Bird Report. High quality photographs from the region's top photographers are accompanied by detailed species descriptions, which include nomenclature, size, distribution, habits and habitat. The user-friendly introduction covers geography and climate, vegetation, opportunities for naturalists and the main sites for viewing the listed species. Also included is an all-important checklist of all of the birds of Hong Kong, encompassing, for each species, its common, Chinese and scientific name, and its current IUCN status.

In this beautiful follow-up to 2012's hit, Our Garden Birds, street artist Matt Sewell offers more watercolours and quirky descriptions of British songbirds. In Matt's world, the peewit sings the blues, and the bittern fills his neck 'like a tweed pair of bellows'. Distinctive and enchanting, with a songbird for each week of the year, this delightful gift book will appeal to birders, children and adults, and art and design fans alike.

From the renowned naturalist Stephen Moss comes the must-have gift for bird lovers this Christmas. 'Wherever there is a stretch of water for them to find food and make their nest, you will come across swans' With beautiful illustrations throughout, this eye-opening biography reveals the hidden secrets of one of Britain's best-known birds. The Mute Swan is not so much a bird, as a national treasure: the avian equivalent of Sir David Attenborough or the Queen. These huge and stately creatures are part of our urban and rural landscapes, a constant presence on lakes, rivers and ponds throughout Britain. Yet despite their familiarity, they are often misunderstood; and while many people love swans, others fear them. Swans also feature in myths and legends, art and literature, dance and music, not just in Britain but all around the world. Stephen Moss delves into the facts and fiction about these charismatic birds, describes their seasonal life cycle and examines their central role in our history and culture. He also includes stories about 'wild swans' - Whooper and Bewicks - that visit us in winter; and the Black Swan of Australia. 'A superb naturalist and writer' Chris Packham 'Moss has carved out an enviable niche as a chronicler of the natural world' Daily Mail

China covers about 7% of the earth's land surface and encompasses a hugely diverse range of habitats. As a result, it boasts a rich and diverse avifauna, including some of the most spectacular and fascinating birds to be found anywhere in the world. Building on the enormous popularity and reputation of the original A Field Guide to the Birds of China (2000), John MacKinnon's fully updated and refreshed work remains a truly comprehensive, taxonomically modern, fully illustrated, and authoritative field guide. 1484 bird species are richly illustrated in 164 annotated colour plates, which are closely integrated with up-to-date colour distribution maps, QR codes providing easy access to birdcalls, IUCN Red List status indicators and new, concise descriptions. These descriptions feature key observations as well as conveying crucial changes to species distributions resulting from climate change and landscape transformation. Guide to the Birds of China will appeal to an international and growing audience of professional and amateur ornithologists and birding enthusiasts, academic researchers and students, wildlife photographers, and conservationists.

Covering 300 of the most common birds in all of the United States and Canada, "The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of North America" is loaded with color photographs, drawings showing typical behaviors, range maps, an easy-to-use checklist, fun facts, and authoritative information about each bird, its vocalizations, and its habitat.
While other field guides might overwhelm kids who are new to birding, "The Young Birder's Guide to Birds of North America" was created with help from kids. Bill Thompson's own son and daughter and their elementary school classes helped select the content. Kid tested, kid approved

Join birdsong expert Donald Kroodsma on a ten-week, ten-state bicycle journey as he travels with his son from the Atlantic to the Pacific, lingering and listening to our continent sing as no one has before. On remote country roads, over terrain vast and spectacular, from dawn to dusk and sometimes through the night, you will gain a deep appreciation for the natural symphony of birdsong many of us take for granted. Come along and marvel at how expressive these creatures are as Kroodsma leads you west across nearly five thousand miles--at a leisurely pace that enables a deep listen. Listening to a Continent Sing is also a guided tour through the history of a young nation and the geology of an ancient landscape, and an invitation to set aside the bustle of everyday life to follow one's dreams. It is a celebration of flowers and trees, rocks and rivers, mountains and prairies, clouds and sky, headwinds and calm, and of local voices and the people you will meet along the way. It is also the story of a father and son deepening their bond as they travel the slow road together from coast to coast. Beautifully illustrated throughout with drawings of birds and scenes and featuring QR codes that link to audio birdsong, this poignant and insightful book takes you on a travel adventure unlike any other--accompanied on every leg of your journey by birdsong.

Foreword by Chris Packham This beautiful book accompanies the photographic competition celebrating some of the best bird photography of the year. The Bird Photographer of the Year competition celebrates the artistry of bird photography, and this large-format book is lavishly illustrated to reflect this. A celebration of avian beauty and diversity, it is a tribute to both the dedication and passion of the photographers as well as a reflection of the quality of today's modern digital imaging systems. The book includes the winning and short-listed images from the competition, now in its third year, showcasing some of the finest bird photography, with a foreword by BTO President and head judge, Chris Packham. A proportion of the profits from the book goes directly to the BTO to support their conservation work. The advent of digital technology has revolutionised photography in recent years, and the book brings to life some of the most stunning bird photography currently on offer. It features a vast variety of photographs by hardened pros, keen amateurs and hobbyists alike, reflecting the huge diversity of bird enthusiasts and nature lovers which is so important in ensuring their conservation and survival.

Published in association with America's preeminent authority, the Smithsonian Institution, this comprehensive handbook to the birds of North America: Eastern Region includes 706 species -- all birds known to breed east of the 100th meridian on the United States and Canada, as well as regular visitors and vagrants to this region. The Smithsonian Handbook is the first identification guide that includes details of the bird's life history in a concise and user-friendly format. Each full-page profile combines a precise description, annotated photographs, and artworks to highlight the key field marks of the species in each plumage. Similar species are shown and distinguishing characteristics are noted. Further information on the bird's habits describes the typical song and other vocalizations, behavior, breeding, nesting, population, and conservation concerns. Typical flight patterns and nest locations and shapes are described with clear icons, and amplified in the text. Each bird's range during summer, winter, and on migration is clearly shown on a map.

A fully revised edition of this bestselling, easy-to-use identification guide to 278 bird species covering the most commonly seen in Sri Lanka. Written by an experienced birder with a track record for writing to a popular audience, this is an ideal, portable guide for residents and visitors alike. The author's top quality photographs are accompanied by detailed species descriptions, which include nomenclature, plumage, distribution, habits and habitat. The species accounts cover 75 of the 82 families of birds recorded in Sri Lanka and distinguish between highly scarce migrants and vagrants to explain what a realistic and good 'country list' and 'trip list' would be for residents and visitors respectively. The user-friendly introduction covers bird topography, bird orders, a novel photographic summary in taxonomic order of all 34 endemic birds that are key target species, and the main sites for viewing the listed species. Also included is a checklist of all of the birds of Sri Lanka encompassing, for each species, its common and scientific names as well as its national status.

Get the New Edition of California's Best-Selling Bird Guide Learn to identify birds in California, 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 176 species of California 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: 176 species: Only California 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 California Field Guide for your next birding adventure-to help ensure that you positively identify the birds that you see.

On May 27th, 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met a flirtatious little starling who sang (an improved version of!) the theme from his Piano Concerto Number 17 in G to him. Knowing a kindred spirit when he met one, Mozart wrote "That was wonderful" in his journal and took the bird home to be his pet. For three years Mozart and his family enjoyed the uniquely delightful company of the starling until one April morning when the bird passed away. In 2013, Lyanda Lynn Haupt, author of Crow Planet, rescued her own starling, Carmen, who has become a part of her family. In Mozart's Starling, Haupt explores the unlikely bond between one of history's most controversial characters and one of history's most notoriously disliked birds. Part natural history, part story, Mozart's Starling will delight readers as they learn about language, music, and the secret world of starlings.

In 1894, a lighthouse keeper named David Lyall arrived on Stephens Island off New Zealand with a cat named Tibbles. In just over a year, the Stephens Island Wren, a rare bird endemic to the island, was rendered extinct. Mounting scientific evidence confirms what many conservationists have suspected for some time--that in the United States alone, free-ranging cats are killing birds and other animals by the billions. Equally alarming are the little-known but potentially devastating public health consequences of rabies and parasitic Toxoplasma passing from cats to humans at rising rates. Cat Wars tells the story of the threats free-ranging cats pose to biodiversity and public health throughout the world, and sheds new light on the controversies surrounding the management of the explosion of these cat populations. This compelling book traces the historical and cultural ties between humans and cats from early domestication to the current boom in pet ownership, along the way accessibly explaining the science of extinction, population modeling, and feline diseases. It charts the developments that have led to our present impasse--from Stan Temple's breakthrough studies on cat predation in Wisconsin to cat-eradication programs underway in Australia today. It describes how a small but vocal minority of cat advocates has campaigned successfully for no action in much the same way that special interest groups have stymied attempts to curtail smoking and climate change. Cat Wars paints a revealing picture of a complex global problem--and proposes solutions that foresee a time when wildlife and humans are no longer vulnerable to the impacts of free-ranging cats.