From the New York Times bestselling author of The Genius of Birds, a radical investigation into the bird way of being, and the recent scientific research that is dramatically shifting our understanding of birds -- how they live and how they think. "There is the mammal way and there is the bird way." But the bird way is much more than a unique pattern of brain wiring, and lately, scientists have taken a new look at bird behaviors they have, for years, dismissed as anomalies or mysteries -- What they are finding is upending the traditional view of how birds conduct their lives, how they communicate, forage, court, breed, survive. They are also revealing the remarkable intelligence underlying these activities, abilities we once considered uniquely our own: deception, manipulation, cheating, kidnapping, infanticide, but also ingenious communication between species, cooperation, collaboration, altruism, culture, and play. Some of these extraordinary behaviors are biological conundrums that seem to push the edges of, well, birdness: a mother bird that kills her own infant sons, and another that selflessly tends to the young of other birds as if they were her own; a bird that collaborates in an extraordinary way with one species-ours-but parasitizes another in gruesome fashion; birds that give gifts and birds that steal; birds that dance or drum, that paint their creations or paint themselves; birds that build walls of sound to keep out intruders and birds that summon playmates with a special call-and may hold the secret to our own penchant for playfulness and the evolution of laughter. Drawing on personal observations, the latest science, and her bird-related travel around the world, from the tropical rainforests of eastern Australia and the remote woodlands of northern Japan, to the rolling hills of lower Austria and the islands of Alaska's Kachemak Bay, Jennifer Ackerman shows there is clearly no single bird way of being. In every respect, in plumage, form, song, flight, lifestyle, niche, and behavior, birds vary. It is what we love about them. As E.O Wilson once said, when you have seen one bird, you have not seen them all.

'This is an epic journey by a man who’s not only obsessed with birds but who has a deep spiritual connection with the planet as he observes the environments and habitats he encounters.' David Lindo, author of How to be an Urban Birder The (Big) Year Flew By is the tale of one avid birder’s epic, record-breaking adventure through 40 countries over 6 continents – in just one year – to see 6,852 bird species, many on the precipice of extinction. When Arjan Dwarshuis first heard of the ‘Big Year’ – the legendary record for birdwatching – he was just twenty years old. It was midnight, and he was sitting on the roof of a truck high up in the Andean Mountains. In that moment, Arjan made a promise to himself that someday, somehow, he would become a world-record-holding birder. Ten years later, he embarked on an incredible, arduous and perilous journey that took him around the globe; over uninhabited islands, through dense unforgiving rainforests, across snowy mountain peaks and unrelenting deserts – in just a single year. Would he survive? Would he be able to break the ‘Big Year’ record, navigating through a world filled with shifting climate and geopolitical challenges? The (Big) Year that Flew By is an unforgettable, personal exploration of the limits of human potential when engaging with the natural world. It is a book about birds and birding and Arjan’s attempts to raise awareness for critically endangered species, but it is also a book about overcoming mental challenges, extreme physical danger and human competition and fully realizing your passions through nature, adventure and conservation.

We all suffer loss in life, be it the loss of a person we love, a pet, health, fortune, identity or fame. In order to assuage the pain of such losses we need to regain balance in our lives. This remarkable man, Poet Tristan, through humor, storytelling, heartbreak, self-deprecation and whimsy, in this, perhaps his first volume of work, helps us to replace that balance through his songs of love and life.

- Remembering Leopards is the stunning eighth book in the Remembering Wildlife charity series
- The aim of the creators is to make the most beautiful photographic book ever seen on a species and to use that to raise awareness of the plight facing that animal and also funds to protect it
- Remembering Leopards is full of images generously donated by many of the world's top wildlife photographers
- All profits from the sale of this book will be donated to projects working to protect leopards

Remembering Leopards is the eighth book in the Remembering Wildlife fundraising series, which has so far raised more than USD $1.3 million for conservation. The aim of the creators is to make the most beautiful book ever seen on a species and use that to raise awareness of the plight facing that animal and funds to protect it. Each book is full of images generously donated by many of the world's top wildlife photographers. All profits from the sale of this book will be donated to projects working to protect leopards.

THE SUBTITLE OF THIS BOOK OUGHT TO BE 'THE LEGACY OF BUP and Thane' because, quite simply, if it hadn't been for those two German Shepherd dogs, this book would never, could never, have been written. First, because Bup pulled my adoptive mother out of deep, cold, fast moving irrigation water in the canal when she was three, thus saving her from drowning, and second because Thane, at the age of seven months, fought a house-breaker down a flight of stairs and drove him away one bitter January day when I was living far out and away from town, all alone on a large cattle ranch with no other help within call. Without that big pup, I seriously doubt I would have survived that attack intact, if I had survived it at all. In the first case, I would have been adopted by someone else and might never have grown up with German Shepherd dogs, and in the second case I probably wouldn't have survived at all. _______________ REFLECTIONS FROM THE DOG HOUSE HAS been in the works for over 100 years. The German shepherd dog sprang on to the scene in the late 1890s and early 1900s when a retired German Army Calvery General made the development of national dog breed his mission. This book traces the development, and what many have lamented to be, the decline of this noble breed we call the German shepherd. The book is divided into six parts containing seventeen (17) chapters.

Lizards of the World is ultimate book on these fascinating creatures, featuring the all the different types of lizard worldwide. As survivors from the time of the dinosaurs, lizards are scaly, cold-blooded, living fossils - relics from a prehistoric world that remain alive and well in ours. Lizards exert a morbid fascination, in many mythologies they are dark creatures, symbolizing death and misfortune. From chameleons and skinks to geckos and iguanas, Lizards of the World brings these creatures firmly into the light, to reveal their extraordinary diversity Found in almost every type of terrain globally, there are almost 6,500 species of lizard, including lizards with frills, horns or wings, those that drop their tails, and others that squirt blood from their eyes. Here, the lizard family and subfamily profiles, organized phylogenetically, are illustrated with stunning photography. Each profile includes a population distribution map, a table of essential information and a fascinating commentary revealing notable characteristics, fresh scientific understanding and the diversity of species. Written by world-renowned herpetologist Mark O'Shea, Lizards of the World is a magnificent showcase of the natural history and beauty of these remarkable reptiles.

Salmon are one of the most popular and commonly eaten fish and are among the most important fishery resources in the world. They are born and die in fresh water but can live in both fresh water and seawater where they migrate between rivers and oceans, showing amazing abilities to home to their natal stream precisely. However, their dynamic life cycles and mysterious abilities of natal stream imprinting and homing migration are not well understood. Physiological Aspects of Imprinting and Homing Migration in Salmon: Emerging Researches and Opportunities is a pivotal reference source that introduces the dynamic and complicated life cycle of salmon connected with fish migration and climate changes and presents physiological mechanisms of natal stream imprinting and homing in salmon with special references to hormone, olfaction, memory, and behavior. Additionally, salmon resources concerning salmon commercial fisheries, aquaculture, and global propagation systems are discussed. This book is ideally designed for ichthyologists, environmentalists, pisciculture professionals, fisheries, marine biologists, scientists, researchers, academicians, and students seeking coverage on one of the most integral species of fish in the world.

The ideal portable companion, the world-renowned Collins Gem series returns with a fresh new look and updated material. This is the perfect pocket guide for keen birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts to identify the diverse range of birds that inhabit their gardens. Authoritative text and beautiful photographs show the distinguishing features of each bird, including information on each species' feeding, behavioural habits, breeding, voice and population. An extensive introduction provides information on nesting sites, water, pests and predators. This new edition builds on the strengths of the unrivalled original, covering all birds most likely to be found in our gardens.