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Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets
Besides being a world-famous game-viewing destination, the Kruger
National Park also boasts a remarkable diversity of reptiles. This
beginner-friendly guide features over 60 species of snake, lizard,
terrapin, tortoise and crocodile, with basic identification pointers,
interesting facts and notes on best viewing.
Learn more about the black mamba, puff adder, boomslang and other
dangerously venomous snakes, as well as harmless creatures such as
egg-eaters and blind snakes. Find out how to the identify the geckos,
agamas and skinks that dart around camp, and discover the habits of the
Nile crocodiles and water monitors, which bask along the waterways.
A richly illustrated, beginner-friendly guide – ideal for visitors keen
to identify and learn more about the park’s reptiles.
The second book by this author. The first was a true life,
historical story of a families tragedies and triumphs. This is a
romp through Rural England, a land of allotmenteers and would be
naughty councillors. Of good triumphing over not so good.
Whether you are watching small birds at your garden bird feeder or
a raptor soaring overhead, birds are everywhere. But could you
recognise a Marsh Tit from a Coal Tit? Or distinguish between a
Song Thrush and a Redwing? These are just a handful of the array of
birds that are attracted to the UK's gardens to nest and feed. RSPB
ID Spotlight Garden Birds is a reliable fold-out chart that
presents illustrations of 39 of our most widespread and familiar
garden birds by renowned artist Stephen Message. - Species are
grouped by family and helpfully labelled to assist with
identification - Artworks are shown side by side for quick
comparison and easy reference at home or in the field - The reverse
of the chart provides information on the habitats, behaviour, life
cycles and diets of our garden birds, as well as the conservation
issues they are facing and how the RSPB is working to support them
- Practical tips on how to make your own 'bird pastry' and put up
nest boxes are also included The ID Spotlight charts help wildlife
enthusiasts identify and learn more about our most common species
using accurate colour illustrations and informative, accessible
text.
Norfolk's Fragile Coast is a photographic journey from the unstable
and spectacular cliffs of Sidestrand to the fossil rich beaches of
East and West Runton, to bird reserves, marshes, expanses of sand,
through the sailing and vacation areas of the Burnhams to the
bleakness of Snettisham on the Wash. Claire Davies has captured
this diversity, zooming in on the tiniest bird and out to the wild
and spectacular expanses of coastline. This photographic project -
mostly carried out through the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 - not only
captures a constantly changing landscape with beautiful imagery -
spectacular cliffs, fossil rich beaches, marshes, seascapes, birds,
flora and fauna, parkland and countryside - but along with the
accompanying narrative and diary notes, establishes an important
record of a coast in all its variety at a moment of exceptional and
unique timing.
The third and final updated edition of David Attenborough’s
classic Life trilogy. Life on Earth covered evolution, Living
Planet , ecology, and now The Trials of Life tackles ethology, the
study of how animals behave. ‘This is, quite simply, the best
thing I’ve ever done.’ Sir David Attenborough on the TV series,
The Trials of Life, upon which this book is based. This is the
third and last of Sir David’s great natural history books based
on his TV series and competes his survey of the animal world that
began with Life on Earth and continues with Living Planet. In Life
on Earth, Sir David showed how each group of animals evolved. In
Living Planet he looked at the way they have adapted to the whole
range of habitats in which they live. Now, in Trials of Life, he
completes the story by revealing how animals behave – and why.
Scardio The Seahorse is a non-fiction childrena s book, telling the
story of a beautiful racehorse from Indonesia who left his home to
become a champion, but unfortunately, over the years fell on hard
times. The true story, through its wonderful illustrations tells of
Scardioa s fall from grace, but, also how he was then rescued by a
local boy. a Scardio the Seahorsea is often referred to as a a 21st
century version of Black Beautya for younger children wanting a
very happy ending.
"Evocative, muscular." - Kathleen Jamie. Karen Lloyd takes us on a
deeply personal journey around the 60 miles of coastline that make
up 'nature's amphitheatre'. Embarking on a series of walks that
take in beguiling landscapes and ever-changing seascapes, Karen
tells the stories of the places, people, wildlife and history of
Morecambe Bay. So we meet the King's Guide to the Sands, discover
forgotten caves and islands that don't exist, and delight in the
simple beauty of an oystercatcher winging its way across the ebbing
tide. As we walk with Karen, she explores her own memories of the
bay, making an unwitting pilgrimage through her own past and
present, as well as that of the bay. The result is a singular and
moving account of one of Britain's most alluring coastal areas.
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 RATHBONES FOLIO PRIZE. In Strangers,
Rebecca Tamas explores where the human and nonhuman meet, and why
this delicate connection just might be the most important
relationship of our times. From 'On Watermelon' to 'On Grief',
Tamas's essays are exhilarating to read in their radical and
original exploration of the links between the environmental, the
political, the folkloric and the historical. From thinking stones,
to fairgrounds, from colliding planets to transformative
cockroaches, Tamas's lyrical perspective takes the reader on a
journey between body, land and spirit-exploring a new ecological
vision for our fractured, fragile world.
Species evolve over time to become perfectly adapted to their
environments, right?Well, sometimes. Consider that an elephant will
not grow a seventh set of teeth, even though wearing down the sixth
will condemn it to starvation; that hosts of the European cuckoo
seem unable to tell that the overgrown monster in their nest is not
their own chick; and that whales are fully aquatic mammals who,
millions of years after first abandoning the land, still cannot
breathe underwater. This book is about evolution, but not its
greatest hits. Instead, it explores everything in the animal
kingdom that is self-defeating, ill-made, uneconomical, or
downright weird – and explains how natural selection has favoured
it. In the grand struggle for survival, some surprising patterns
emerge: animals are always slightly out-of-date; inefficiency tends
to increase over time; predators usually lose, and parasites
usually win. With equal parts humour and scientific insight, Andy
Dobson is here to explain the how and why of evolution’s limits
and liabilities.
Of course, we are entirely dependent on plants for our food and the
air we breathe, but did you know that 5,000 mature English oak
trees were used in the construction of Admiral Nelson's flagship
HMS Victory, or that sweet peas were involved in the birth of the
science of genetics? King Cotton was the driver of the slave trade,
which was the first domino to fall in the American Revolution, and
cotton was also the catalyst for the Industrial Revolution. These,
and many other extraordinary facts in Fifty Plants that Changed the
Course of History, highlight the dynamic ways in which plants have
influenced human history. This beautifully designed and illustrated
volume provides an engaging guide to the fifty key plants that have
had the most impact on human history. Packed full of information,
the book includes details about the habitat and characteristics of
each plant, fact boxes, full colour photographs and lovely
botanical illustrations. Weaving together strands of economic,
political and agricultural history, each entry is a fascinating
look at the most influential plants known to mankind.
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