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Birder's Conservation Handbook: 100 North American Birds at Risk
by Jeffrey V. WellsUntil now there has been no single, comprehensive resource on the status of North America's most threatened birds and what people can do to help protect them. Birder's Conservation Handbook is the only book of its kind, written specifically to help birders and researchers understand the threats while providing actions to protect birds and their habitats. Jeffrey Wells has distilled vast amounts of essential information into a single easy-to-use volume-required reading for anyone who loves birds and wants to ensure they are protected. At-a-glance species accounts cover in detail North America's one hundred most at-risk birds; each account is beautifully illustrated by today's top bird artists. The text includes status, distribution, ecology, threats, conservation actions and needs, and references. A distribution map accompanies each entry. Chapters discuss birds as indicators of environmental health, the state of North American bird populations, major conservation issues, and initiatives now underway to improve the health of North America's birds. Birder's Conservation Handbook is an indispensable resource for birdwatchers, researchers, naturalists, and conservationists. Reading it will inspire you to become an active steward of our birds and the habitats we share. A comprehensive guide to North America's one hundred most at-risk birds and how to protect them Compact and easy to use, with beautiful illustrations and data organized for convenient, at-a-glance reference Detailed species accounts, including distribution maps Practical advice on conservation Information on leading conservation agencies and resources
Birding for Babies: An Opposites Book
by Chloe GoodhartDiscover new feathery friends in this book series filled with fun facts that invites young readers into the exciting world of bird-watching.From the slow woodcock to the fast roadrunner, kids will explore some of the most popular birds around the world while learning about opposites, too! The whole family can bring these books outdoors and bird together!
Birds (A Whole World of... #4)
by Anna ClaybourneGet lost in the diverse and bustling world of birds - with more to explore than you ever imagined!A Whole World of Birds presents the stunning breadth of bird varieties that fill the Earth. Who is related to whom? Which type fly at night, fly the fastest ... or can't fly at all? Where do the most colourful birds call home, and which live at sea? This book has the answers and so many more facts filling the beautifully illustrated pages.A Whole World of is a book series looking at the extraordinary diversity of life on Earth - the defining features and evolutionary branches - and encourages readers age 7 and up to consider why it is important to maintain biodiversity. Written by award-winning author, Anna Claybourne, with artwork by award-winning illustrator, Yekyung Kwon.Books in the series:A Whole World of Mammals/A Whole World of Prehistoric Life/A Whole World of Minibeasts/A Whole World of Birds/A Whole World of Rocks and Minerals/A Whole World of Plants and Fungi
The Birds and the Beasts Were There: The Joys of Birdwatching and Wildlife Observation in California's Richest Habitat
by Margaret MillarSanta Barbara in the 1960s was home to two of the 20th century’s most important mystery writers, Margaret Millar and her husband, Ken (Ross Macdonald). It was also home to nearly 400 species of bird. This is the charming story of Ken and Maggie’s quest to see them all. The addiction that is birdwatching comes to vivid life in Margaret Millar’s delightful memoir of her early days as a naturalist. Part autobiography and part birdwatcher’s journal, it is a moving elegy to a bygone place and time. Millar brings her meticulous plotting and no small amount of suspense to these charming stories of a belligerent brown towhee named Houdunit, a larcenous raven called Melanie, and a rat who carefully ferments his grapes before eating them, to name only a few. Ornithology was a passion for both Ken and Maggie and they devoted their lives to it with the same keen sense of detail and, in the case of Margaret, storytelling vigor as they brought to their writing. In this book, the only memoir she wrote, Millar takes us on her journey from curious amateur to obsessive completionist. It is a phenomenon nearly any birding enthusiast will recognize. Ken and Margaret Millar were founding members of the Santa Barbara Audubon Society.
Birds and Us: A 12,000-Year History from Cave Art to Conservation
by Tim BirkheadFrom award-winning author and ornithologist Tim Birkhead, a sweeping history of the long and close relationship between birds and humansSince the dawn of human history, birds have stirred our imagination, inspiring and challenging our ideas about science, faith, art, and philosophy. We have worshipped birds as gods, hunted them for sustenance, adorned ourselves with their feathers, studied their wings to engineer flight, and, more recently, attempted to protect them. In Birds and Us, award-winning writer and ornithologist Tim Birkhead takes us on a dazzling epic journey through our mutual history with birds, from the ibises mummified and deified by Ancient Egyptians to the Renaissance fascination with woodpecker anatomy—and from the Victorian obsession with egg collecting to today’s fight to save endangered species and restore their habitats.Spanning continents and millennia, Birds and Us chronicles the beginnings of a written history of birds in ancient Greece and Rome, the obsession with falconry in the Middle Ages, and the development of ornithological science. Moving to the twentieth century, the book tells the story of the emergence of birdwatching and the field study of birds, and how they triggered an extraordinary flowering of knowledge and empathy for birds, eventually leading to today’s massive worldwide interest in birds—and the realization of the urgent need to save them.Weaving in stories from Birkhead’s life as scientist, including far-flung expeditions to wondrous Neolithic caves in Spain and the bustling guillemot colonies of the Faroe Islands, this rich and fascinating book is an unforgettable account of how birds have shaped us, and how we have shaped them.
Birds as Useful Indicators of High Nature Value Farmlands: Using Species Distribution Models as a Tool for Monitoring the Health of Agro-ecosystems
by Federico Morelli Piotr TryjanowskiThis book helps to establish a simple framework to identify and use bird species as a bioindicator for high nature value (HNV) farmlands. This book focuses on suitable methods for monitoring the HNV areas, and presents the results of several case studies. The chapters put forward ways to integrate ecosystems assessment, geographical information systems (GIS) and strategies for conservation of local biodiversity. An innovative framework focuses on the use of species distribution models (SDMs) in order to explore the importance of each characteristic of HNV farmlands. Furthermore, the book examines the relationships among bird species richness, land use diversity and landscape metrics at a local scale in the farmlands.
Birds, Beasts and Bedlam: Turning My Farm into an Ark for Lost Species
by Derek Gow"Gow has a fire in his belly. We need more like him."—BBC Wildlife magazine "[Gow is] a wonderful storyteller, wisely allowing his animals (and considerable bedlam) to take center stage. His stories can be bawdy, laugh-out-loud funny, poignant, or even depressing, but they're never dull."—Booklist Birds, Beasts and Bedlam recounts the adventures of farmer-turned-rewilder Derek Gow, who is saving Britain’s much-loved but dangerously threatened species, from the water vole to beaver, wildcat to white stork, and tree frog to glow worm. Derek tells us all about the realities of rewilding; how he reared delicate roe deer and a sofa-loving wild boar piglet, moved a raging bison bull across the country, got bitten by a Scottish wildcat, returned honking skeins of graylag geese to the land and water that was once theirs, and restored the white stork to the Knepp Estate with Charlie Burrell and Isabella Tree. Derek’s first book, Bringing Back the Beaver, was a riotously funny and subversive account of his single-handed reintroduction of the beaver in Britain. Birds, Beasts and Bedlam, a natural successor to Gerald Durrell’s A Zoo in My Luggage, tells the story of Derek’s rewilding journey and his work to save many more species by transforming his Devon farm into a wildlife breeding center. He now houses beavers, white storks, water voles, lynx, wildcats, and harvest mice, with the aim of releasing them into the wild one day. Tearing down fences literally and metaphorically, Derek Gow is the one person with the character and strength of will to defy authority, bend the rules—and save our wildlife. "Gow reinvents what it means to be a guardian of the countryside."—The Guardian "The radical rewilder."—The Times "Derek Gow wants his farm to be a breeding colony, a seedbed for a denuded island."—The New Yorker
Birds, Beasts and Bedlam: Turning My Farm into an Ark for Lost Species
by null Derek Gow&“Courageous, visionary, funny.&”—Isabella Tree&“One of the most remarkable figures in British conservation.&”—Observer&“Gow reinvents what it means to be a guardian of the countryside.&”—GuardianBirds, Beasts and Bedlam recounts the adventures of Britain&’s favorite maverick rewilder, Derek Gow, and his single-minded mission to save our rarest wildlife—one species at a time.Author of Bringing Back the Beaver and Hunt for the Shadow Wolf, Derek shares his personal, courageous, and highly entertaining tales in Birds, Beasts and Bedlam, including how he raised a sofa-loving wild boar piglet, transported a raging bison bull across the UK, got bitten by a Scottish wildcat, and, together with Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell, restored the ancient white stork to the pioneering Knepp Estate.After a Shetland ewe captured his heart as a boy, Derek grew up to become a farmer with a passion for ancient breeds. When he realized how many of our species were close to extinction—even on his own land—Derek tore down fences literally and metaphorically, transforming his traditional Devon farm into a 300-acre rewilding haven for beavers, water voles, lynx, wildcats, harvest mice, wild boar, and more. A project that is still ongoing today.Birds, Beasts and Bedlam continues the rich tradition of great British nature writing. Passionate, subversive, and unforgettable, it will leave you inspired to support rewilding efforts around the world, in your community, and even in your backyard.&“A do-er, not a dreamer, Gow has become one of our most outspoken rewilders.&”—Countryfile Magazine&“In this warm and funny autobiography, [Gow] writes with a whimsical fluency about the moments of humour and pathos in an unusual life.&”—Country Life&“Gow has a fire in his belly. We need more like him.&”―BBC Wildlife magazine&“[Gow&’s] stories can be bawdy, laugh-out-loud funny, poignant, or even depressing, but they&’re never dull.&”―Booklist
Bird's-Eye View: Keeping Wild Birds in Flight (Orca Wild #4)
by Ann ErikssonWild birds are everywhere, from the dry deserts to the icy poles. We see them soaring overhead, paddling across water, flitting through trees, pecking at the ground or our backyard bird feeders and singing from fence posts. Birds contribute to the health of the planet and provide pleasure for millions of people, but wild birds are in trouble. Today, almost 200 bird species are critically endangered. They are threatened by habitat loss, invasive species, climate change, pesticides, plastics in the environment, human-made structures and other animals. Bird’s-Eye View looks at why wild birds are important, why they need help and what young people all over the world are doing and can do to give wild birds a boost. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.
Birds for Kids: A Junior Scientist's Guide to Owls, Eagles, Penguins, and Other Bird Species (Junior Scientists)
by Melissa MayntzExplore the wild and wonderful world of birds with the Junior Scientists series for kids ages 6 to 9From tiny hummingbirds to powerful eagles and everything in between—our planet is home to so many beautifully feathered friends! This big book of birds is packed with tons of cool facts and colorful photos that offer a fascinating peek into their lives. It's written especially for curious new readers, with engaging trivia and age-appropriate language that lets kids read and explore independently as they learn all about birds!35 birds to meet— Kids will discover a variety of bird species like flamingos, penguins, and barn swallows, and find out what they look like, where they live, what they eat, and more.Fun facts—Keep young readers fascinated with cool facts about how baby birds are born, if birds can get lost when they fly, and which water bird eats baby alligators!Learning in action— You'll even find some activities to try, like helping your child measure their own wingspan, build a nest, and spotting your backyard birds.Get ready for an exciting journey through the lives of our beaked buddies in this ultimate bird book for kids.
Birds in Winter: Surviving the Most Challenging Season
by Roger F. PasquierHow birds have evolved and adapted to survive winterBirds in Winter is the first book devoted to the ecology and behavior of birds during this most challenging season. Birds remaining in regions with cold weather must cope with much shorter days to find food and shelter even as they need to avoid predators and stay warm through the long nights, while migrants to the tropics must fit into very different ecosystems and communities of resident birds. Roger Pasquier explores how winter affects birds’ lives all through the year, starting in late summer, when some begin caching food to retrieve months later and others form social groups lasting into the next spring. During winter some birds are already pairing up for the following breeding season, so health through the winter contributes to nesting success.Today, rapidly advancing technologies are enabling scientists to track individual birds through their daily and annual movements at home and across oceans and hemispheres, revealing new and unexpected information about their lives and interactions. But, as Birds in Winter shows, much is visible to any interested observer. Pasquier describes the season’s distinct conservation challenges for birds that winter where they have bred and for migrants to distant regions. Finally, global warming is altering the nature of winter itself. Whether birds that have evolved over millennia to survive this season can now adjust to a rapidly changing climate is a problem all people who enjoy watching them must consider.Filled with elegant line drawings by artist and illustrator Margaret La Farge, Birds in Winter describes how winter influences the lives of birds from the poles to the equator.
The Bird's Nest Fungi
by Harold J. BrodieThe intriguing Bird's Nest Fungi (Nidulariaceae) of forest, meadow, and garden have been familiar to botanists since 1601, but only relatively recently has the significance of their peculiar form been realized. Dr Brodie traces the long controversy that arose when Bird's Nest Fungi were first classified as seed plants because of the numerous seed-like bodies contained in their small cup-shaped fruit bodies. The 'seeds' are now known to contain spores like those of other fungi such as puffballs, to which the Nidulariaceae are related. Present-day research has shown that certain Bird's Nest Fungi produce chemicals having previously unrecognized molecular structure. Between these milestones Dr Brodie reveals the solution to the mystery of the dispersal of the 'eggs' from the 'bird's nest': the fruit bodies are splash guns from which the reproductive spores are ejected by the force of falling raindrops. This explanation of the phenomenon is supported by copious observations and hitherto unpublished experiments.All known species of Nidulariaceae, including many only recently recognized, are described in this volume. All aspects of growth, structure, development, and life-cycle of these fungi, both in nature and in laboratory culture, are reported in a modern, comprehensive treatment of a subject which is of interest not only to mycologists but to amateur naturalists as well.
Birds of a Feather
by Paul FournierIn this new collection, Maine guide, bush pilot, journalist, and professional photographer Paul Fournier spins more stories of the wild outdoors in the inimitable style that earned him the Best Book of 2011 Award from the New England Outdoor Writers Association for Tales from Misery Ridge. In the title essay, Fournier tells the fascinating story of how devoted scientists, citizens, and outdoor professionals brought back the bald eagle in Maine one nesting pair at a time. Other tales strike a similar vein: a group of volunteers and biologists strive to save the rare Arctic char in a remote Maine lake, the author attempts to spy a cougar in Maine, and he and a friend find a daring way to film a world famous clowning skier's downhill run in one "take." Among his adventures and misadventures over the decades, Fournier covers the Sonny Liston/Mohammed Ali fight in Lewiston, gets perilously close to a rutting moose, and witnesses how a pair of deer poachers are literally caught in their own trap. Experienced outdoorsmen in particular will nod with appreciation and pleasure at the author's experiences, and armchair explorers will enjoy his entertaining essays about the strange habits of forest fauna. This diverse collection of stories finds its unity in the author's humor, authority, and love of his subjects: Maine and its wild and civilized inhabitants, whether they climb, slink, swim, fly--or walk on two feet.
Birds of Arizona and New Mexico (A Timber Press Field Guide)
by Melissa Fratello Steven PragerIdentify and discover the inner lives of birds with this easy to use full-color guidebook.Birds of Arizona and New Mexico is a comprehensive field guide to commonly found birds in the American Southwest. Authors Melissa Fratello and Steven Prager speak to a new generation of birders, offering a unique perspective and approach to birding that prioritizes accessibility and inclusion. They also cover the region&’s unique issues, such as birding on tribal land, and birding along the Southern Border. Birds of Arizona and New Mexico will delight both experienced and aspiring birders with: ·Coverage of Arizona, New Mexico, and their border regions ·Illustrated descriptions of nearly 400 bird species ·800+ spectacular photographs of relevant plumages and birds in flight ·Individual range maps showing seasonal and migratory patterns ·And much more!
Birds of Passage: Hunting and Conservation in Malta (Environmental Anthropology and Ethnobiology #25)
by Mark-Anthony FalzonBird migration between Europe and Africa is a fraught journey, particularly in the Mediterranean, where migratory birds are shot and trapped in large numbers. In Malta, thousands of hunters share a shrinking countryside. They also rub shoulders with a strong bird-protection and conservation lobby. Drawing on years of ethnographic fieldwork, this book traces the complex interactions between hunters, birds and the landscapes they inhabit, as well as the dynamics and politics of bird conservation. Birds of Passage looks at the practice and meaning of hunting in a specific context, and raises broader questions about human-wildlife interactions and the uncertain outcomes of conservation.
Birds of Passage: Hunting and Conservation in Malta (Environmental Anthropology and Ethnobiology #25)
by Mark-Anthony FalzonBird migration between Europe and Africa is a fraught journey, particularly in the Mediterranean, where migratory birds are shot and trapped in large numbers. In Malta, thousands of hunters share a shrinking countryside. They also rub shoulders with a strong bird-protection and conservation lobby. Drawing on years of ethnographic fieldwork, this book traces the complex interactions between hunters, birds and the landscapes they inhabit, as well as the dynamics and politics of bird conservation. Birds of Passage looks at the practice and meaning of hunting in a specific context, and raises broader questions about human-wildlife interactions and the uncertain outcomes of conservation.
Birds of Prey: Biology and conservation in the XXI century
by José Hernán Sarasola Juan Manuel Grande Juan José NegroThis book will provide the state-of-the-art on most of the topics involved in the ecology and conservation of birds of prey. With chapters authored by the most recognized and prestigious researchers on each of the fields, this book will become an authorized reference volume for raptor biologists and researchers around the world.
Birds of Prey Rescue: Changing the Future for Endangered Wildlife
by Pamela HickmanBirds of prey, otherwise known as raptors, have been respected and admired yet also feared and loathed throughout their existence. They are meat-eating birds and extremely well-equipped for the hunt, with powerful eyesight, ultra-sensitive hearing, and sharp talons. Despite these apparent advantages, many birds of prey species are seriously endangered or threatened.This latest addition to the Firefly Animal Rescue series profiles the dedicated people and projects around the world helping raptors to survive, including: The Philippine Eagle Foundation that is bringing the Philippine eagle back from the brink of extinction; Lindsay Oaks, an American microbiologist, who helped discover what is killing vultures in Asia; Sophie Osborn, who monitors released California condors; The biologists using Peregrine falcons as "foster parents" for the young of the endangered South American aplomado falcon. Illustrated with 50 spectacular color photographs, Birds of Prey Rescue also addresses the general biological issues and challenges in preserving a future for endangered wildlife.
Birdsong For The Curious Naturalist: Your Guide to Listening
by Donald KroodsmaBirdsong made easy to understand, lavishly illustrated with color photos, and accompanied by more than 700 online recordings From a leading expert, Birdsong for the Curious Naturalist is a basic, how-to guide that teaches anyone—from beginner to advanced birder—how to listen. In understandable and appealing language, Kroodsma explains why and how birds sing, what various calls mean, and what to listen for from the birds around us. The descriptions are accompanied by color photos of the birds, as well as QR codes that link to an online collection of more than 700 recordings. With these resources, readers are prepared to recognize bird sounds and the birds that make them. Kroodsma encourages readers to find the joy of birdsong and curiosity—to observe, listen intently, be curious, ask questions, and realize that many unanswered questions about birdsong don&’t have to rely on scientists for answers but can be answered by any curious naturalist.
A Birman-Schwinger Principle in Galactic Dynamics (Progress in Mathematical Physics #77)
by Markus KunzeThis monograph develops an innovative approach that utilizes the Birman-Schwinger principle from quantum mechanics to investigate stability properties of steady state solutions in galactic dynamics. The opening chapters lay the framework for the main result through detailed treatments of nonrelativistic galactic dynamics and the Vlasov-Poisson system, the Antonov stability estimate, and the period function $T_1$. Then, as the main application, the Birman-Schwinger type principle is used to characterize in which cases the “best constant” in the Antonov stability estimate is attained. The final two chapters consider the relation to the Guo-Lin operator and invariance properties for the Vlasov-Poisson system, respectively. Several appendices are also included that cover necessary background material, such as spherically symmetric models, action-angle variables, relevant function spaces and operators, and some aspects of Kato-Rellich perturbation theory. A Birman-Schwinger Principle in Galactic Dynamics will be of interest to researchers in galactic dynamics, kinetic theory, and various aspects of quantum mechanics, as well as those in related areas of mathematical physics and applied mathematics.
The Birth of Energy: Fossil Fuels, Thermodynamics, and the Politics of Work (Elements)
by Cara New DaggettIn The Birth of Energy Cara New Daggett traces the genealogy of contemporary notions of energy back to the nineteenth-century science of thermodynamics to challenge the underlying logic that informs today's uses of energy. These early resource-based concepts of power first emerged during the Industrial Revolution and were tightly bound to Western capitalist domination and the politics of industrialized work. As Daggett shows, thermodynamics was deployed as an imperial science to govern fossil fuel use, labor, and colonial expansion, in part through a hierarchical ordering of humans and nonhumans. By systematically excavating the historical connection between energy and work, Daggett argues that only by transforming the politics of work—most notably, the veneration of waged work—will we be able to confront the Anthropocene's energy problem. Substituting one source of energy for another will not ensure a habitable planet; rather, the concepts of energy and work themselves must be decoupled.
Birth of Scientific Ecology: Eugenius Warming (1841 - 1924)
by Patrick MatagneThis book presents a biography of the Danish botanist Eugen Warming. As the author of a treatise on ecology that brought him international recognition, he was able to inspire the first generation of 20th-century European and American ecologists. His innovative approach to nature and his Arctic and tropical missions heralded the birth of a new science and an ecological awareness. As a professor at several Scandinavian universities during a period of intense debate and controversy over evolutionary theories, Eugen Warming vigorously asserted his convictions. Birth of Scientific Ecology presents the image of a man of knowledge and power, recognized by his contemporaries as a founder of ecology and a player in the ecological project of the Kingdom of Denmark at a time when the empires were clashing.
The Birth of Territory
by Stuart EldenPolitical theory professor Stuart Elden explores the history of land ownership and control from the ancient to the modern world in The Birth of Territory.Territory is one of the central political concepts of the modern world and, indeed, functions as the primary way the world is divided and controlled politically. Yet territory has not received the critical attention afforded to other crucial concepts such as sovereignty, rights, and justice. While territory continues to matter politically, and territorial disputes and arrangements are studied in detail, the concept of territory itself is often neglected today. Where did the idea of exclusive ownership of a portion of the earth’s surface come from, and what kinds of complexities are hidden behind that seemingly straightforward definition? The Birth of Territory provides a detailed account of the emergence of territory within Western political thought. Looking at ancient, medieval, Renaissance, and early modern thought, Stuart Elden examines the evolution of the concept of territory from ancient Greece to the seventeenth century to determine how we arrived at our contemporary understanding. Elden addresses a range of historical, political, and literary texts and practices, as well as a number of key players—historians, poets, philosophers, theologians, and secular political theorists—and in doing so sheds new light on the way the world came to be ordered and how the earth’s surface is divided, controlled, and administered.“The Birth of Territory is an outstanding scholarly achievement . . . a book that already promises to become a ‘classic’ in geography, together with very few others published in the past decades.” —Political Geography“An impressive feat of erudition.” —American Historical Review
The Birth of the Anthropocene
by Jeremy DaviesThe world faces an environmental crisis unprecedented in human history. Carbon dioxide levels have reached heights not seen for three million years, and the greatest mass extinction since the time of the dinosaurs appears to be underway. Such far-reaching changes suggest something remarkable: the beginning of a new geological epoch. It has been called the Anthropocene. The Birth of the Anthropocene shows how this epochal transformation puts the deep history of the planet at the heart of contemporary environmental politics. By opening a window onto geological time, the idea of the Anthropocene changes our understanding of present-day environmental destruction and injustice. Linking new developments in earth science to the insights of world historians, Jeremy Davies shows that as the Anthropocene epoch begins, politics and geology have become inextricably entwined.
Birth of the Shinkansen: The Origin Story of the World-First Bullet Train
by Tetsuo ShimomaeThis book discusses the Shinkansen, the world's first high-speed railway, which was born in Japan in 1964 and how it has developed up to the present day. In the 1950s, some European railways were trying to increase the commercial operating speed up to 160 km/h, and it was considered difficult to raise it to 200 km/h. Japanese engineers with excellent engineering ability post World War ll moved from the military to the railways to overcome the technological challenges realizing the high-speed railways using new approaches. The book discusses the technological barriers in speeding up the railway at that time and how these engineers overcame them in non-computer days. In the five decades since the Shinkansen began operating, there have been significant developments enabling high-speed, safe, and frequent train operation with high punctuality while conserving the environment. The book also describes today’s highly evolved Shinkansen. The Shinkansen, which runs 440,000 km a day, has carried 13.3 billion people without a single fatality in 56 years. The book overviews factors that contributed to the Shinkansen’s high safety record. This book is an excellent guide for those interested in the history of the world’s first high-speed railway.