Now in its 4th Edition, revisions include 250 updated range maps, and new classification information National Geographic is reissuing the Field Guide to the Birds of North America in the 4th edition, focusing on its accuracy and easy use in the field. This is the ultimate birders field guide - sturdy, easy to carry and use, and featuring the most complete information among bird guides. It features all species known to breed in North America, including those that are regular visitors to our continent or that drop in occasionally - more than 800 in all. The edition is lavishly illustrated with specially commissioned full-colour illustrations, plus newly updated range maps and detailed descriptions. A superb new index allows birders in the field to quickly identify a species.

    Exploring the "peculiar and mysterious particulars of nature," Gould introduces the reader to some of the many and wonderful manifestations of evolutionary biology.

    The author's new epilogue makes a case for the creation of a new park to safeguard this exceptionally rich storehouse of relict species and evolutionary stories, which has largely been bypassed by conservationists since John Muir.

    and then the departure of the island's young men to fight in the Second World War. Together they bring alive the warmth and closeness of a unique Hebridean community.In Crotal and White Finlay J. Macdonald continues his story with a witty account of his adolescent years during the depression. Hard days for the villagers. but their sense of humour never deserted them. And when young Finlay won the bursary to secondary school in the Northlands it was with a mixture of joy and sadness that he prepared to leave behind him a community that would soon be changed forever.

    His endearing story describes the special relationship between man and wild animal, and of his own survival alone in a perilous and unforgiving wilderness. But foremost, The Ghost Walker is a story of a patient and dedicated pursuit to understand the elusive puma and its place in the environment.

    Whether carried into the field or consulted at home, these books provide readers with fascinating facts and insights into the behavior of birds and wildlife.And that's not all. With new Stokes projects under way ... with information about Stokes activities available on-line at www.StokesBooks.com...you can be certain that more and more readers will be relying on Stokes guides.

    * More than 700 color illustrations for easy identification * Expanded with new sections on mushrooms, insects, and rock identification * Handy color tabs for easy access, and quick reference index on back coverDon't just call it a mushroom when it's a golden chanterelle; know your screech owl from your saw-whet owl; distinguish a monarch butterfly from a painted lady -- all with the help of this comprehensive guide to the common plants and animals of the Cascade and Olympic Mountains.The species accounts have been updated with the latest taxonomic changes and, as before, include common name, scientific name, and description of important features, habitat, and geographic range.

    Hundreds of plants and animals that inhabit the rocky shores, sandy beaches, and quiet bays and estuaries are described and illustrated with encyclopedic thoroughness.Two hundred and ninety-nine color illustrations and nearly 400 black-and-white photographs and line drawings show sponges, molluscs, crustaceans, comb jellies, flatworms, seaweeds, and many other kinds of seashore life, making for easy identification. The text, cross-referenced with figures and plates, describes in precise terms the size, color, activities, and peculiarities of the plants and animals most likely to be encountered.This book is a greatly expanded version of the author's popular Seashore Life of Puget Sound, the Strait of Georgia, and the San Juan Archipelago, published in 1973. It includes much new material on marine life along the open coast and in coastal bays, and extends the coverage to Oregon and northern California. Years of additional study make this the definitive work on the common seashore life of the northern Pacific coast.Kozloff discusses the geology and geography of the area, and gives the reader "some instant zoology and botany" with which to make the most of seashore exploration. He presents more than 650 species of plants and animals, each in its individual habitat, in chapters dealing with "Floating Docks and Pilings," "Rocky Shores of the Puget Sound Region," "Rocky Shores of the Open Coast," "Sandy Beaches," and "Quiet Bays and Salt Marshes." He also explains the laws and customs governing the collection of biological material and how animals respond to changes in their environment. Clearly and convincingly, he communicates pleasure in, and respect for, diverse marine habitats.This book is not only for the use of professional biologists and students; it will add to the pleasure of all who visit the Pacific seashores, ranging from secluded inlets in the San Juan Islands to the magnificent rocky outer coast and tidal estuary of San Francisco Bay.

    The user-friendly design makes it ideal for use in the field, with aids such as color-coding of major bird groups, running heads at the top of each page to indicate which family of birds is being described, large page numbers for easy reference and large accurate paintings which reflect the bird as it is seen in the field.

    There seems to be something about tropical islands that stirs the blood of even the most unadventurous souls.’Lying in the Indian Ocean, the islands of Mauritius and Madagascar – where millions of years of evolutionary isolation created a flora and fauna unique in the world - provide the exotic setting for Gerald Durrell’s expeditionary rescue work with animals. In his personal and delightful way he entertains, educates and makes a dramatic appeal to us all about the distressing state of these beautiful and endangered species around the world and shows us the serious consequences to life and its future on this earth. This exciting journey also inspired an international television series based on the author’s rescue and breeding operations.

    529 species are described in detailed written accounts-with information on measurements; body shape and color; scales, fins, and gills; habitat; range; and behavior-and 400 other species are briefly noted. Poisonous or otherwise dangerous fish are distinguished by a warning symbol.

    Explains the techniques used in finding wild animals such as owls, turtles, squirrels, foxes, beavers, and deer, and in getting close enough to study their behavior.

    

    Pressing hard against the upper limit of life's possibilities, it exists higher and steeper throughout the year than any other big beast on the continent. It is possibly the best and most complete mountaineer that ever existed on any continent. Oreamnos americanus is its scientific name. Its common name is mountain goat." Resourceful, belligerent, and unbelievably sure-footed, the mountain goat is a white-coated survivor from the Ice Age. Oreamnos americanus shares its dizzying alpine world with elk, eagles, bighorn sheep, and grizzlies. This first full-length book on the mountain goat offers a superbly written portrait of its life, habits, and environment. Douglas H. Chadwick tracked mountain goat herds for seven years, and his observations are richly textured and replete with fascinating and dramatic details. We learn of the mountain goats' lives from birth to adulthood, their feeding habits, unique social behavior and courtship rituals, and their long history. Chadwick also makes clear the troubling and escalating impact of the modern world on the mountain goat's wilderness home. This Bison Books edition features a new introduction by the author.

    This guide covers every known species of whale, porpoise, and dolphin and explains the evolution, classification, status, distribution, and natural history of whales.