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.

The Penobscot, Penns Creek, the Little River, Guadalupe, Firehole, Copper River--these streams and ninety-four others like them provide the best trout fishing in America say members of Trout Unlimited (TU). With a dozen or more streams in each of eight regions, one of America's one hundred best trout streams flows within a few hours' drive of most of the nation's anglers. These are the rivers that anglers dream of visiting. Describing species, hatches, the flies and lures, and when to fish, each profile contains information and maps that boosts angler success. Profiles present, as well, the environmental challenges facing each stream and the role that TU and others play in protecting the fishery. Extensive interviews with anglers for whom each stream is "home water," add depth to personal observations formed when award-winning writer and angler, John Ross, fished many of these streams himself.
Many who buy the book set out to fish all the streams. For others, the guide is an essential ingredient in the planning of fishing and family vacations. It's a book that's as at home next to a fly tyer's bench as it is tucked in the console between the seats of a pickup truck. A portion of the sale of each book goes to Trout Unlimited to help protect and sustain coldwater fisheries.

The field guide to Mana Pools National Park is compiled from the work of a wide range of specialists in each field. It encompasses all groups of animals and plants found in the area; mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, arthropods, and botany.

The idea of the guide is to reduce the size of the library visitors might otherwise need on a visit to Mana Pools National Park, and as a field companion for guides and National Parks rangers. With a few minor variants it is a handy tool for anywhere in the Zambezi valley.

This edition replaces and updates Jan Teede’s previous volume published in 1988.

'Gow reinvents what it means to be a guardian of the countryside.'-Guardian 'This authentic, impassioned manifesto-cum-memoir will hopefully have a major impact on what is likely to be a long-running controversy.'-The Spectator 'Gow has a fire in his belly. We need more like him.'-BBC Wildlife Magazine A Waterstones Best Nature Writing Book of 2020 'Bringing Back the Beaver is a hilarious, eccentric and magnificent account of a struggle . . . to reintroduce a species crucial to the health of our ecosystems.'-George Monbiot Bringing Back the Beaver is farmer-turned-ecologist Derek Gow's inspirational and often riotously funny first-hand account of how the movement to rewild beavers into the British landscape became the single most dramatic and subversive nature conservation act of the modern era. Since the early 1990s - in the face of outright opposition from government, landowning elites and even some conservation professionals - Gow has imported, quarantined and assisted the reestablishment of beavers in waterways across England and Scotland. With a foreword by bestselling author of Wilding, Isabella Tree, Bringing Back the Beaver makes a passionate case as to why the return of one of nature's great problem solvers will be critical as part of a sustainable fix for the UK's growing flooding problems, whilst ensuring the creation of essential landscapes that enable the broadest spectrum of Britain's wildlife to thrive. 'It is wonderful to see that beavers are now officially back on the list of native species, having been absent for so long . . . far too long!'-Dame Judi Dench

Reaumur (Rene Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur (1683-1757), inventor of the Reaumur thermometer and author of "Memoires pour servir a l'histoire naturelle des insectes." - Translator's Note.) devoted one of his papers to the story of the Chalicodoma of the Walls, whom he calls the Mason-bee. I propose to go on with the story, to complete it and especially to consider it from a point of view wholly neglected by that eminent observer. And, first of all, I am tempted to tell how I made this Bee's acquaintance. It was when I first began to teach, about 1843. I had left the normal school at Vaucluse some months before, with my diploma and all the simple enthusiasm of my eighteen years, and had been sent to Carpentras, there to manage the primary school attached to the college.

The ultimate reference book for bird enthusiasts – now in its third edition. With expanded text and additional colour illustrations, the third edition of the hugely successful Collins Bird Guide is a must for every birdwatcher. The new edition has an extra 32 pages allowing several groups more space and completely or partly new plates with more detailed text: grouse, loons, several groups of raptors, terns, owls, swifts, woodpeckers, swallows, redstarts and some other relatives to the flycatchers (formerly often called ‘small thrushes’), tits and a few finches and buntings are some of these. More than 50 plates are either new or have been repainted, completely or partly. Apart from this, a few new vignettes have been added. The section with vagrants has been expanded to accommodate more images and longer texts for several species. The entire text and all maps have of course also been revised. The book provides all the information needed to identify any species at any time of the year, covering size, habitat, range, identification and voice. Accompanying every species entry is a distribution map and illustrations showing the species in all the major plumages (male, female, immature, in flight, at rest, feeding: whatever is important). In addition, each group of birds includes an introduction which covers the major problems involved in identifying or observing them: how to organise a sea watching trip, how to separate birds of prey in flight, which duck hybrids can be confused with which main species. These and many other common birdwatching questions are answered. The combination of definitive text, up-to-date distribution maps and superb illustrations, all in a single volume, makes this book the ultimate field guide, essential on every bookshelf and birdwatching trip.

'He is delight and joy personified' - MARIAN KEYES 'Set to become BBC's next David Attenborough' - DAILY MAIL 'Brings a little bit of joy to us all' - GUARDIAN Discover the wonderful world of birdwatching with wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin - winner of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing 2022. 'Birds have been with me my entire life - from the colourful weaver birds on the banks of the Nile in Sudan to the magpies of Newcastle, from the roosting peregrine falcons near my parents' house in Northampton to the white-tailed eagles on the west coast of Scotland. I love them. If you take the time to stop and listen, you'll see the world through different eyes. It's all out there, waiting for you to find it. And it might just bring you as much joy as it's brought me.' Journey along with Hamza in Be a Birder as he recounts stories of his birding adventures, and shares tips and tricks to help you get started in birdwatching. In this beautifully illustrated guide, featuring fifty of Hamza's favourite birds, you will learn how to start identifying birds, understand their behaviour and movements, and find even more exciting birds, wherever you are. Starting with the goldfinch in your garden, to tawny owls in woodlands, to the elusive kingfisher near rivers and marshes, you will build your birdwatching confidence and push yourself further afield to find new feathered wonders. Encouraging us all to stop, step outside and listen, Be a Birder is both a practical guide and a joyous celebration of these incredible creatures. Once you start looking for them, and with Hamza as your guide, your world will be forever changed.

The new edition of this popular field guide has been fully updated and revised, making it one of the most comprehensive guides to the mammals of the southern African sub-region: Expanded number of smaller mammal species as well as eight of the more abundant sea mammals. An easy-to-use key to identify the mammals. A sketch indicating the size of the mammal in relation to a human profile. Detailed species description, including information on the conservation status, food, sexual dimorphism, life expectancy, enemies, habitat, habits and breeding of 137 of the region's mammal species. More than 200 excellent colour photographs illustrating sexual dimorphism and different subspecies where applicable. For the first time the mammal "calls" can be heard from the pages of this field guide when using the Callfinder (an optional extra). Colour photographs and illustrations of field signs such as droppings and spoors. Updated distribution maps of all the species. Mammal Guide of Southern Africa is a must for every tourist, hiker and nature lover to enjoy at home and when visiting our National Parks and game reserves.

Butterflies are among the most familiar and popular of all the insects, and butterfly watching makes an absorbing hobby. This handy, compact guide serves as an introduction to the amazing butterfly diversity of East Africa. It introduces 246 of the more common, spectacular and interesting species found in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.

Each species account features:

- concise text describing key identification features, habits,habitat and larval food plants;

- full-colour photographs;

- distribution maps showing the butterfly’s range.

This handy guide should prove invaluable to beginners andmore experienced butterfly enthusiasts alike.

In the endless struggle between man and nature, Bridget and Don MacCaskill's Highland home has always been a haven for injured and orphaned wildlife, from red deer to wildcats. The story begins with the rescue of two near-starved fox cubs called Rufus and Rusty, victims of their species' vicious reputation, and charts their often amusing journey into adulthood under the watchful eye of their new human 'parents'. Along the way, they are regularly joined by other wild creatures in need of the MacCaskills' help - badgers, birds of prey and a majestic golden eagle a mong them. The Blood is Wild is a touching account of the precarious existence of wildlife in the Highlands.

Tigers is an outstanding collection of photographs showing these fearsome yet magnificent animals in action. Tigers are the largest big cats in the world and because of this, many cultures consider the tiger to be a symbol of strength, courage and dignity. They are featured in ancient mythology and folklore and continue to be depicted in modern films and literature. You’ll discover how tigers are adapted for hunting: A tiger’s paws and claws are one of its greatest weapons during the hunt. Strong, and powerful enough to kill prey with a swipe, the bones in their paws also have cord-like ligaments to buffer them from the impact of hitting prey at a full run. You’ll also learn many other fascinating facts, such as how each tiger is unique – did you know that no two tigers have the same pattern of stripes? Or that you can tell a tiger’s age by its nose? Young tigers have a pink nose which gradually darkens, turning orange, then a blackish-brown as it reaches maturity. With full captions explaining how these incredible animals hunt and feed, rear their young and survive in the wild, Tigers is a brilliant examination in 150 outstanding colour photographs of this beautiful animal.

Venture into an animal's life story through its tracks and signs. More than simply determining where an animal crossed the road, tracking can lead to a study of how the animal uses its habitat, how it travels, where it feeds or hunts, how it breeds and raises its young, and how it survives. In this book, leading tracking expert Jim Lowery distills his remarkable expertise, gained over decades of intensive research and practical field experience, into a comprehensive field guide to tracking North American mammals. Fully illustrated with hundreds of drawings and high-resolution photographs, The Tracker's Field Guide sets a new standard for books on tracking. This easy-to-use guide features: Clearly written descriptions plus photos and illustrations of scats, tracks, and gait patterns Easy-to-use track measurements for each animal Tips on proper track interpretation technique Notes on the behavior and habitat of each mammal A glossary of tracking terms Quick-reference summary pages at the back of the book

Falcon Field Guides are full-color, visually appealing, easily packable guides for identifying animals and learning about nature.

Although the animal may be, as Nietzsche argued, ahistorical, living completely in the present, it nonetheless plays a crucial role in human history. The fascination with animals that leads not only to a desire to observe and even live alongside them, but to capture or kill them, is found in all civilizations. The essays collected in "Beastly Natures" show how animals have been brought into human culture, literally helping to build our societies (as domesticated animals have done) or contributing, often in problematic ways, to our concept of the wild.

The book begins with a group of essays that approach the historical relevance of human-animal relations seen from the perspectives of various disciplines and suggest ways in which animals might be brought into formal studies of history. Differences in species and location can greatly affect the shape of human-animal interaction, and so the essays that follow address a wide spectrum of topics, including the demanding fate of the working horse, the complex image of the American alligator (at turns a dangerous predator and a tourist attraction), the zoo gardens of Victorian England, the iconography of the rhinoceros and the preference it reveals in society for myth over science, relations between humans and wolves in Europe, and what we can learn from society's enthusiasm for "political" animals, such as the pets of the American presidents and the Soviet Union's "space dogs." Taken together, these essays suggest new ways of looking not only at animals but at human history.

Contributors

Mark V. Barrow Jr., Virginia Tech * Peter Edwards, Roehampton University * Kelly Enright, Rutgers University * Oliver Hochadel, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona * Uwe Lubken, Rachel Carson Center, Munich * Garry Marvin, Roehampton University * Clay McShane, Northeastern University * Amy Nelson, Virginia Tech * Susan Pearson, Northwestern University * Helena Pycior, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee * Harriet Ritvo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology * Nigel Rothfels, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee * Joel A. Tarr, Carnegie Mellon University * Mary Weismantel, Northwestern University