Going right up to the present day, and including both natural and man-made features, it demonstrates the sometimes subtle, sometimes radical ways in which people, flora, fauna, climate, soils, and other physical conditions have played a role in shaping the landscape. "...quirky and rewarding...full of answers to questions that others have not had the wit to ask."--Economist. "One thing is certain: no one would be wise to write further on our natural history...without thinking very hard about what is contained in these authoritative pages."--Country Life.

    This engaging chronicle of how the author and the great horned owl "Bubo" came to know one another over three summers spent in the Maine woods--and of how Bubo eventually grew into an independent hunter--is now available in an edition that has been abridged and revised so as to be more accessible to the general reader.

    In the first broad treatment of honey bee biology to appear in decades, Mark Winston provides rare access to the world of this extraordinary insect.In a bright and engaging style, Winston probes the dynamics of the honey bee's social organization. He recreates for us the complex infrastructure of the nest, describes the highly specialized behavior of workers, queens, and drones, and examines in detail the remarkable ability of the honey bee colony to regulate its functions according to events within and outside the nest. Winston integrates into his discussion the results of recent studies, bringing into sharp focus topics of current bee research. These include the exquisite architecture of the nest and its relation to bee physiology; the intricate division of labor and the relevance of a temporal caste structure to efficient functioning of the colony; and, finally, the life-death struggles of swarming, supersedure, and mating that mark the reproductive cycle of the honey bee.The Biology of the Honey Bee not only reviews the basic aspects of social behavior, ecology, anatomy, physiology, and genetics, it also summarizes major controversies in contemporary honey bee research, such as the importance of kin recognition in the evolution of social behavior and the role of the well-known dance language in honey bee communication. Thorough, well-illustrated, and lucidly written, this book will for many years be a valuable resource for scholars, students, and beekeepers alike.

    

    With over 1,000 illustrations, including 47 color plates, this guide provides the most comprehensive coverage of any book on the signs of many European birds, resident, visiting or vagrant.

    In this book, David Attenborough not only describes the natural history of the Mediterranean, but also tells the fascinating story of mankind's changing attitudes to the natural world and gives a new insight into the communities of animals and plants that live today in this lovely Sea and the lands around it.

    Harriet Ritvo here gives us a vivid picture of how animals figured in English thinking during the nineteenth century and, by extension, how they served as metaphors for human psychological needs and sociopolitical aspirations.Victorian England was a period of burgeoning scientific cattle breeding and newly fashionable dog shows; an age of Empire and big game hunting; an era of reform and reformers that saw the birth of the Royal SPCA. Ritvo examines Victorian thinking about animals in the context of other lines of thought: evolution, class structure, popular science and natural history, imperial domination. The papers and publications of people and organizations concerned with agricultural breeding, veterinary medicine, the world of pets, vivisection and other humane causes, zoos, hunting at home and abroad, all reveal underlying assumptions and deeply held convictions--for example, about Britain's imperial enterprise, social discipline, and the hierarchy of orders, in nature and in human society.Thus this book contributes a new new topic of inquiry to Victorian studies; its combination of rhetorical analysis with more conventional methods of historical research offers a novel perspective on Victorian culture. And because nineteenth-century attitudes and practices were often the ancestors of contemporary ones, this perspective can also inform modern debates about human-animal interactions.

    This biography of Aldo Leopold follows him from his childhood as a precocious naturalist to his profoundly influential role in the development of conservation and modern environmentalism in the United States.

    In handsome color spreads, each tree is pictured as it would appear in a typical landscape, with each of its features -- such as seasonal changes, leaf shape, flowers, seeds, bark -- illustrated in fine detail and clearly labeled. Written by world renowned dendrologist Alan Mitchell and illustrated by noted tree artist David More, Trees of North America will delight the naturalist and the gardener as both an authoritative reference work and a tribute to the rich variety of trees on our continent.

    Sure to win a new round of fans, this classic, best-selling (over 90,000 copies sold!) volume of wildlife photography is now available in a handsomely jacketed new hardcover edition.

    The great cats - lions and tigers among them - fascinate us with their strength, their agility, and their cunning stealth. Domestic cats are but soft, charming companions in the body of a sleek, graceful hunter. The rest of the cat family, from the leopard to the bobcat, are the embodiment of wilderness. It is this spirit of wilderness that has made the cat such a constant wonder to manking throughout the ages.

    Like the other volumes in this popular series, Tom Brown's Field Guide to the Forgotten Wilderness takes the reader on a fascinating journey into nature's mysteries and magic, and presents a treasure trove of knowledge, insight, and anecdotes. Tom Brown, Jr. shows readers how to open their eyes to the surprising abundance of natural beauty that can be found in the urban and suburban landscapes of backyards, local parks, highway medians, and even windowsill flower boxes.

    Frogs and Toads of the World is a comprehensive guide to the natural history of this large and diverse group of creatures. Stunningly illustrated throughout with 200 color photographs, this one-of-a-kind book traces the evolution and classification of frogs and toads, providing detailed information about each of the 49 unique families and highlighting distinctive and notable species. It vividly describes their remarkable diversity in shape, color, and markings; anatomy and development; life cycle; habitats; the various methods they use to attract mates and hunt for food; and the physiological and behavioral tricks they use to survive and thrive around the world.This indispensable guide also explores frogs' interaction with humans, from modern-day collection for the meat trade, scientific research, and the trade in exotic pets to how their survival is being threatened by habitat destruction, climate change, and disease.A comprehensive guide to the natural history of frogs and toadsFeatures 200 stunning color photographsCovers each of the 49 unique frog familiesDescribes anatomy, life cycle, habitats, survival tricks, and more

    Dixon’s Amphibians and Reptiles of Texas: With Keys, Taxonomic Synopses, Bibliography, and Distribution Maps, completely redesigned throughout with color photographs, revised taxonomic keys, and updated species descriptions, covers more than two hundred species of amphibians and reptiles. As in the previous editions, the book includes an extensive listing of the literature on Texas amphibians and reptiles that goes back to the historic writings of Berlandier, in the early nineteenth century, and is updated to reflect the most recent research.?Comprehensive distribution maps, updated references, and an exhaustive bibliography round out this latest edition of what has come to be widely recognized as the standard scientific guide and reference for professional, academic, and amateur naturalists interested in the herpatofauna of Texas.

    It embraces the whole basin of the Amargosa from the Panamints to the Spring Mountains, from the Palmettos to the Avawatz. And it spans a century from the earliest recollections and the oldest records to that day in 1933 when much of the valley was finally set aside as a National Monument. This is the story of an illusory land, of the people it attracted and of the dreams and delusions they pursued-the story of the metals in its mountains and the salts in its sinks, of its desiccating heat and its revitalizing springs, and of all the riches of its scenery and lore-the story of Indians and horse thieves, lost argonauts and lost mine hunters, prospectors and promoters, miners and millionaires, stockholders and stock sharps, homesteaders and hermits, writers and tourists. But mostly this is the story of the illusions-the illusions of a shortcut to the gold diggings that lured the forty-niners, of inescapable deadliness that hung in the name they left behind, of lost bonanzas that grew out of the few nuggets they found, of immeasurable riches spread by hopeful prospectors and calculating con men, and of impenetrable mysteries concocted by the likes of Scotty. These and many lesser illusions are the heart of its history.