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.

    What is going on inside the head of a nightingale as it sings, and how does its brain improvise? How do desert birds detect rain hundreds of kilometers away? How do birds navigate by using an innate magnetic compass?Tracing the history of how our knowledge about birds has grown, particularly through advances in technology over the past fifty years, Bird Sense tells captivating stories about how birds interact with one another and their environment. More advanced testing methods have debunked previously held beliefs, such as female starlings selecting mates based on how symmetrical the male's plumage markings are. (Whereas females can discern the difference between symmetrical and asymmetrical markings, they are not very good at detecting small differences among symmetrically marked males!)Never before has there been a popular book about how intricately bird behavior is shaped by birds' senses. A lifetime spent studying birds has provided Tim Birkhead with a wealth of fieldwork experiences, insights, and a unique understanding of birds, all firmly grounded in science. No one who reads Bird Sense can fail to be dazzled by it.

    "Beneath the flannel surface of this deer-hunting, truck-loving Badger is the soul of a poet." —Chicago TribuneYou'll find in this book a slender silver cord of smart contemplation about meaning and purpose." —Minneapolis Star Tribune"He's the real thing." —USA Today

    And while they may seem like simple little creatures, they are really very complex and never cease to amaze those who live with them. Physiologically and psychologically bunnies are very different from cats and dogs--or any other pet you may be familiar with--and they have their own unique needs and problems that must be addressed. Keeping a bunny healthy and happy requires a sincere commitment of time, energy, and love--one you'd better be sure you're willing to invest before you take one of these gentle little creatures into your life. Rabbits For Dummies lets you take a well-informed look before hopping headlong into the wonderful world of rabbit ownership. This fun, entertaining book fills you in on everything you need to know to successfully adopt, nurture, live with and love a rabbit. You'll discover how to:Choose the right rabbit for you Learn how to communicate with your bunny Understand your rabbit's special needs Acclimate your rabbit to your household Feed and house your rabbit properly Identify and address common health problems Breed Rabbits Written by lifelong rabbit fancier and award-winning author pet author, Audrey Pavia, Rabbits For Dummies is ideal for first-time and veteran rabbit owners, alike. It is a gold mine of advice, guidance and tested-in-the-trenches tips on:Deciding if a rabbit is right for you and vice versa Choosing the right breed, size, age and sex bunny for you Finding your rabbit and introducing it into your home Housing, cleaning and feeding your rabbit Health issues, concerns and treatments Dealing with bunny behavior problems Training your bunny to use a litter box Teaching your rabbit tricks and having fun together Rabbit psychology and physiology Breeding and showing rabbits for fun and profit Packed with informative photos and how-to sections on every aspect of caring for and loving a pet bunny, Rabbits For Dummies is a survival guide for rabbits and their people.

    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.

    People the world over have fallen in love with the stunning and deeply personal images of this rescued bird and her human family. But there is far more to Penguin's story than meets the eye. It begins with a shocking accident, in which Cameron's wife, Sam, suffers a near fatal fall that leaves her paralysed and deeply depressed.Into their lives comes Penguin, an injured magpie chick abandoned after she fell from her nest. Penguin's rescue and the incredible joy and strength she gives Sam and all those who helped her survive demonstrates that, however bleak things seem, compassion, friendship and support can come from unexpected quarters, ensuring there are always better days ahead. This plucky little magpie reminds us all that, no matter how lost, fragile or damaged we feel, accepting the love of others and loving them in return will help to make us whole.

    Unwitting humans create a zone of disturbance that scatters the wildlife. Respectful humans who heed the birds acquire an awareness that radically changes the dynamic. We are welcome in their habitat. The birds don't fly away. The larger animals don't race off. No longer hapless intruders, we now find, see, and engage the deer, the fox, the red-shouldered hawk—even the elusive, whispering wren.Deep bird language is an ancient discipline, perfected by Native peoples the world over. Finally, science is catching up. This groundbreaking book unites the indigenous knowledge, the latest research, and the author's own experience of four decades in the field to lead us toward a deeper connection to the animals and, in the end, a deeper connection to ourselves.

    An account of the year Clara Parkes spent transforming a 676-pound bale of fleece into saleable yarn, and the people and vanishing industry she discovered along the way.

    A best-selling, fully illustrated, and comprehensive book, this large-format volume has been required reading for every angler for the past two decades. Included here are instructions for tackle selection; casting and presentation; flies and their specific uses; successful techniques on stream, pond, or ocean; and the select tackle, flies, and methods for pursuing every major gamefish in fresh and salt water, from bass to bonefish, tarpon to trout.

    I hope it helps you too!

    Passing his days covertly watching birds, he was unaware that he, too, was being watched. Peter Conder, also a passionate ornithologist, had noticed Buxton gazing skywards. He approached him and, with two other prisoners, they founded a secret birdwatching society.This is the untold story of an obsessive quest behind barbed wire. Through their shared love of birds, the four PoWs overcame hunger, hardship, fear and stultifying boredom. Their quest would draw in not only their fellow prisoners, but also some of the German guards, at great risk to them all.Derek Niemann draws on original diaries, letters and drawings, to show how Conder, Barrett, Waterston and Buxton were forged by their wartime experience into the giants of postwar wildlife conservation. Their legacy lives on.

    'Wildlife Warrior' charts his amazing life - from his childhood catching snakes in Victoria, through to his work in the wilderness and in his zoo. It follows his love story with his wife Terri and his rise to fame.

    Find out where to go with Kauai Trailblazer, a comprehensive guide to everything the island offers. For family travelers and independent adventurers, this completely revised new edition offers hundreds of top spots to hike, snorkel, kayak, surf, and mountain bike, plus four historic and scenic driving tours. A directory lists restaurants, campgrounds, accommodations, and local outfitters, free hula shows and farmers' markets. You'll also find information about local flora, weather, and a glossary of Hawaiian words and place names. Maps and photos illustrate the text.

    We admire their mystery and manners, their strength and fragility, their beauty and their ugliness and perhaps compare these very characteristics to their own lives in the process. Though admired today, the birds of Scripture are largely unseen and underappreciated. From the well-known image of the dove to the birds that gorge on the flesh of the defeated beast in Revelation, birds play a dynamic part in Scripture. They bring bread to the prophets. They are food for the wanderers. As sacrifices, they are the currency of mercy. Highlighting 10 birds throughout Scripture, author Debbie Blue explores their significance in both familiar and unfamiliar biblical stories and illustrates how and why they have represented humanity across culture, Christian tradition, art, and contemporary psyche. With these (usually) minor characters at the forefront of human imaginations, poignant life lessons illuminate such qualities as desire and gratitude, power and vulnerability, insignificance and importance even as readers gain a better understanding that God s mysterious grace is sometimes most evident in His simplest of creatures.

    In this revised edition, Merlin D. Tuttle, founder and science director of Bat Conservation International in Austin, Texas, offers bat aficionados the most up-to-date bat facts, including a wealth of new information on attracting bats and building bat houses and a totally revamped key to the identification of common North American species.