Why has the ancestor of the domestic dog been thus treated and why have we developed such a strong love hate relationship with the wolf?

    This volume contains over 1250 photographs of mushrooms and fungi, often showing the specimens in various stages of growth, and including all the latest botanical and common names as well as current ecological information on endangered species.

    Experienced birders use the most easily observed characteristics — size, structure, behavior, and general color patterns — to identify birds even before looking carefully at plumage details. Now birders at all levels can learn how to identify shorebirds quickly and simply. This guide includes more than 870 stunning color photographs, starting with a general impression of the species and progressing to more detailed images of the bird throughout its life cycle. Quiz questions in the captions will engage and challenge all birders and help them benefit from this simplified, commonsense approach to identification.

    He made pilgrimages to true time capsules like a remote lagoon in Western Australia, spent time in research collections photographing forms of microscopic life, and even found ways to create visual parallels between the growth of organs in the human body and the patterns seen on the surface of the earth. The resulting volume is a glorious picture book of planet earth depicting the amazing biodiversity that surrounds us all. Lanting's true gift lies beyond his technical mastery: it is his eye for geometry in the beautiful chaos of nature that allows him to show us the world as it has never been seen before. From crabs to jellyfish, diatoms to vast geological formations, jungles to flowers, monkeys to human embryos, LIFE is a testament to the magical beauty of life in all its forms and is Lanting's most remarkable achievement to date. The photographer: Dutch-born Frans Lanting has been hailed as one of the great nature photographers of our time. For the past two decades he has documented wildlife and our relationship with nature in environments from the Amazon to Antarctica. Exhibits of his photographs have been shown at major museums in Paris, Milan, Tokyo, New York, Madrid, and Amsterdam. Lanting's previous TASCHEN titles include Eye to Eye, Jungles, and Penguin. The editor: Christine Eckstrom is a writer and editor specializing in natural history. She collaborates with Lanting on fieldwork, books, and other publishing projects from their home base in California.

    

    Each account includes a full-color and detailed illustration, along with information about habitat, nesting, feeding, voice, similar species, as well as a range map. A Quick Reference Guide organizes all species into color-coded family groupings. Also included are a glossary of terms, a birder's checklist and separate indexes for scientific and common names. A map features the state's best birding sites and describes Washington's most notable viewing locations.

    His work is based on an integration of rational scientific analysis with our intuition, sensing and feeling.

    With producers and camerapeople travelling to every continent and almost every corner of the world, from the highest mountains to the lowest depths, their adventures have been many and unforgettable. Using every kind of craft and technological wizardry imaginable, from helicopters and submersibles, to satellites and remote cameras, they have also witnessed remarkable things. And what makes so much of the series special are the unique aerial perspectives from which they have filmed so many of the animals.This book tells the dramatic tales of their encounters, discoveries and many trials and tribulations. Also revealed are the ingenious means by which some of the unique sequences in the series have been made. Memorable sequences filmed in the wild include wild camels in the snow in the Gobi desert, a giant (truly giant) salamander hunting at night, desert lions capturing an oryx, golden snub-nosed monkeys playing high in the mountains of China, a giant panda in a cave tending her tiny newborn and a snow leopard chasing its prey down a sheer rock face. Used for the first time in any book are special photographs taken from high-definition film footage, which will bring the tales to life.

    Selected from more than 18,000 entries representing photographers from at least 50 countries, these winning and commended images are a commemorative collection from the worlds largest and most prestigious wildlife photography competition. Each is accompanied by an informative and memorable caption, which includes photographic details.

    It covers all of Europe, from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean Basin, including western Turkey, Cyprus, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and the Azones, Canaries and Madeira. It also contains an introduction to studying and identifying dragonflies, and more.

    This must-have field guide is perfect for hikers, fishers, and naturalists.More than 600 superb color photographsHelpful keys for identificationClear coded layoutCovers Oregon, Washington, northern California, and British Columbia

    Thorington Jr. and Katie Ferrell unveil the fascinating world of one of the "most watched" mammals on the planet.The diversity of squirrels is astounding. There are 278 species that inhabit all continents except Antarctica and Australia—varying in size from the lumbering 18-pound gray marmot to the graceful pygmy flying squirrel that is smaller than most mice. In many parts of the world they readily share human habitats, joining us for lunch in a city park, raiding our bird feeders, and sneaking into college dorm rooms through open windows. Reviled as pests or loved as an endearing amusement, squirrels have played important roles in trade, literature, and mythology.Thorington and Ferrell cover every aspect of this diverse animal family, from the first squirrels of 36 million years ago to the present day. With over one hundred photographs and an intuitive question-and-answer format, this authoritative and engaging guide sheds light on a common mammal that is anything but commonplace.

    Tim Rubbert shares the lessons he has learned from hiking with grizzlies from Yellowstone to Alaska.

    Learn about 124 Indiana trees, organized in the book by leaf type and attachment. Fact-filled information contains the particulars that you want to know, while full-page photos provide the visual detail needed for accurate identification. Trees are fascinating and wonderful, and this is the perfect introduction to them.

    I'd like nothing better than to have 6 billion people talking and thinking about protecting our planet, and I see no reason to stop trying." --WylandMuralists naturally think big. But Wyland-arguably the world's best-known marine painter, whose images span thousands of square feet of walls, canvases, and sculpted forms-makes an impact far beyond the art world. Wyland combines his incredible talents with those of a dedicated team of educators, scientists, and environmentalists to truly change the way we view the planet.Wyland: 25 Years at Sea opens the door to Wyland's fascinating world of art and its power to make a difference in the earth's future. Through its pages we experience the wonder of nature as seen through the eyes of this extraordinary artist, while deepening our understanding of the importance of our environment and all creatures that share it. Like an artist's palette, this book mixes Wyland's breathtaking work with a narrative that reveals the man's personal world and his commitment to the earth.Woven throughout the whales, sea turtles, and ocean waves is the absorbing story of how Wyland grew from his Detroit roots to become a successful fine artist to his mission today of delivering a lasting, worldwide message of concern, hope, and needed action.

    While the familiar two-note greeting is now just a memory for most of us who live in the state’s growing urban sprawl, this bird is an economic commodity on par with crops and livestock in some regions of Texas. Three other native species of quail also inhabit Texas. Like the northern bobwhite, the scaled quail is significant as a game bird. The other two species, Gambel’s quail and Montezuma quail, are found in limited areas of southwestern Texas and represent an important indicator of forest, rangeland, and habitat conditions. Texas Quails presents the first complete assessment of the four species of quail found in this vast state. Experts describe each of them and examine all geographic regions of the state for historical and current population trends, habitat status, and research needs. These experts also discuss management practices, hunting issues, economics, and diseases. With the recent creation of the Texas Quail Conservation Initiative, this volume provides a timely and comprehensive view of quail science and stewardship.

    This anthology, compiled from non-fiction sources by tiger scientist and conservationist K. Ullas Karanth, opens up a captivating world of rich descriptions, deeply felt personal experiences and serious reflections by hunters, amateur naturalists and wildlife scientists who encountered this most charismatic of all animal species. The first section of the book explores tiger hunting and old-style natural history, and revives some of the earliest essays on the tiger. Historian Mahesh Rangarajan's overview of the pre-colonial and colonial periods, when ruthless hunting of tigers was the dominant social ethos, sets the stage for English forester C.E.M. Russell's narration of tiger hunting in Mysore, published in 1900. Then follow tales by hunter-naturalists Dunbar Brander, Fred Champion, Kenneth Anderson, William Baz?? and Arthur Locke. The descriptions by more recent and less justifiably bloodthirsty hunters, such as Kesri Singh, a game manager in princely India, and Jack Denton Scott, an American safari hunter, provide grim examples of the slaughter of tigers. The second section covers the post-colonial period. This was the era when a ???new natural history', driven by the sheer joy of watching tigers, emerged??"leading to the first steps to save this magnificent cat from the brink of extinction. Essays by forest managers such as A. Hoogerwerf, Kailash Sankhala and Vladimir Troinin, who were fascinated by the tiger, are complemented by the writings of perceptive amateur naturalists such as E.P. Gee, Arjan Singh and Valmik Thapar. In the last section the reader steps into the world of modern tiger science and conservation. An account of the first-ever scientific study of tigers by George Schaller is followed by the observations of other biologists, such as John Seidensticker, Melvin Sunquist, Dale Miquelle and John Goodrich, who followed in Schaller's footsteps and generated new insights into tiger e

    Photographs and text introduce the characteristics and behavior of puffins and their habitat on the ocean in cold, northern areas.