Experience the excitement of the holidays and the joy of the seasons with the colorful characters of Tubblewood. Miss Duck would prefer to stay in the warmth of her cozy home sipping a cup of hot apricot tea. However, her life always turns into an adventure when she is called upon to help a friend or a neighbor. Throughout the year, you can join Miss Duck and her woodland friends in their escapades. They may be assisting the groundhog with a mystery guest on his big day, correcting a problem after an April Fool's Day prank goes too far, learning the meaning of Independence Day and how to celebrate the holiday in a safe manner, or working together to save Tubblewood Forest. Holiday traditions for St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Arbor Day, and Thanksgiving also are included. There is a tale to be savored for every season in this collection of stories. Intertwined throughout each story are valuable life messages. Miss Duck and her charming entourage teach these lessons through their words and actions and demonstrate them in a positive manner. The Tubblewood tales have universal appeal. They can be comprehended by young children and still hold the interest and imagination of older children and adults. The quality of the content spans all ages and any generation. Additionally, special scenes are artistically depicted in beautifully designed illustrations. Don't miss the opportunity to create memories by sharing this enchanting group of holiday stories with your loved ones. It's certain to be a time-treasured addition to any household library. Be sure to add to your collection another captivating book, Tales From Tubblewood: A Duck For All Seasons, which contains stories in the settings of Valentine's Day, Easter, summer vacation, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

In the sixteenth century, Dutch traveller Jan Linschoten noted the absence of lions throughout the Indian subcontinent. Two hundred years later, echoing similar comments made by various hunters and observers of Indian wildlife, the British shikari and writer, Captain Thomas Williamson, emphatically declared: 'There are no lions in Hindustan.' Much the same was said about the cheetah in the region. These observations piqued the interest of well-known naturalist Valmik Thapar. After an enormous amount of research and study he now believes that, contrary to existing scientific theory, neither of these animals were indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. Remarking on the lack of accounts of encounters with these animals - as opposed to the tiger and the leopard which are extensively documented - as well as inconclusive genetic studies, he argues that, over the centuries, the lion and cheetah were brought into the country from Persia and Africa by royalty, either as tributes or to populate their hunting parks and menageries. Enlisting the help of renowned historian, Romila Thapar - who analyzes historical accounts and representations of the lion in early India - and scholar, Yusuf Ansari - who looks back at the lives of the Mughals and their famed hunts - to further validate his theory, Valmik Thapar concludes at the end of this thought-provoking book that the Indian lion and the Indian cheetah were, in fact, exotic imports, and not indigenous subspecies. Tracing the history of the lion and the cheetah for over 5,000 years, and substantiated with pictorial evidence, Exotic Aliens is a pioneering work that could turn field biology on its head.

Written with the non-specialist in mind, this guide is a must-have for flower lovers, hikers, tour guides and tourists – anyone interested in identifying the wild flowers that grace the Cape Peninsula.

Wild Flowers of the Cape Peninsula covers the most remarkable and commonly seen wild flowers of Table Mountain, Silvermine and Cape Point. The book was originally published as Common Wild Flowers of Table Mountain in 2007, then revised in 2013 to include the flowers of Silvermine.

This new edition offers:

• 360 (previously 208) of the region’s most remarkable and commonly seen wild flowers
• Clear photographs of all featured flowers and concise, informative text
• Flowers grouped according to colour, to help with quick ID
• Walking routes in the Peninsula’s famed reserves, plotted on 3 clear maps
• Illustrated glossary of terms

It was most fortuitous that on his first visit to Charleston, John James Audubon would meet John Bachman, a Lutheran clergyman and naturalist. Their chance encounter in 1831 and immediate friendship profoundly affected the careers and social ties of these two men. In this elegantly written book, Jay Shuler offers the first in-depth portrayal of the Bachman-Audubon relationship and its significance in the creation of Audubon's works. In the numerous writings celebrating Audubon, Bachman has been largely ignored, writes Shuler, ""though Bachman made substantive contributions to Audubon's Ornithological Biographies, was his partner in The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America, and gave pivotal advice and assistance to Audubon during the troubled last decade of his career."" Drawing on their voluminous correspondence, replete with accounts of their ornithological adventures and details of their personal and professional lives, Had I the Wings provides new insights into Audubon's life and work and rescues from obscurity John Bachman's contributions to American ornithology and mammalogy. Audubon's career can be divided into phases. From 1820 to 1831 he painted and published the first hundred prints of The Birds of America. The second phase began when he met John Bachman and they worked to complete The Birds of America and launch The Quadrupeds. Over the next decade Bachman's home became, in effect, Audubon's home in America. Early on the Bachman-Audubon friendship was enriched and complicated by an intricate social web. Both men were fond of Bachman's sister-in-law and competed for her attention. Audubon's sons, John and Victor, married Bachman's older daughters, Maria and Eliza. Through the fifteen years of their relationship the friends exchanged long letters when separated and jointly wrote to their colleagues when together. In the early 1840s they collaborated on the first volume of The Quadrupeds. Volumes two and three were published after Audubon's death in 1851. Filled with exciting birding adventures and hunting expeditions, Had I the Wings illuminates the fascinating relationship between two major nineteenth-century naturalists.

Originally published in the early 1900s. The illustrated contents include: Description - Capture and Importation - Breeding Developments - Buying - Cages and Their Construction - Birdrooms and Aviaries - Foods and Feeding - Care - As a Talker and Pet - Breeding Difficulties - In-Breeding - Colour Varieties - Ailments and Treatment. Etc. Many of the earliest cage bird books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Home Farm Books are republishing many of these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.