Birding the Southwestern National Parks
de Roland H. Wauer (Ed. Texas A&M University Press) Isbn : 1585442879
14.15 € / 92.82 FF
At the end of the twentieth century roughly 265 million people visited the 374 sites in the American National Park System. These places, designated and protected because of their significance to our nation's historical and natural heritage, contain some of the most beautiful landscapes in the United States-landscapes that naturally lend themselves to outdoor recreation. In this book, veteran parks interpreter Roland H. Wauer introduces the pleasures of birding in the national parks of the American Southwest. From California to Texas, from hugely popular destinations such as Arizona's Grand Canyon to the mostly undiscovered shores of Amistad National Recreation Area, Wauer visits fourteen sites and gives us his advice on what birds to expect and where and how to find them. Birding the South...

Dunnock Behaviour and Social Evolution
de N. B. Davies (Ed. Oxford University Press) Isbn : 0198546750
121.10 € / 794.36 FF
At first sight just a small brown bird, the dunnock's unobtrusive appearance belies its extraordinary behavior and mating patterns. This book gives a full account of the mating systems of the dunnock or hedge sparrow, Prunella modularis, which include pairs, a male with two females, two males with one female, and several males with several females. Detailed observations, elegant field experiments, and DNA fingerprinting are combined to show how this variable social organization arises from selfish individuals competing to maximize their own reproductive success. Further experiments reveal how the cuckoo may thwart the dunnock's parental efforts. David Quinn's exquisite drawings provide a visual summary of the bird's behavior. All students of ecology, evolution, and animal behavior will wan...

The Ostrich Communal Nesting System
de Brian C. R. Bertram (Ed. Princeton Univ Pr) Isbn : 0691087857
46.16 € / 302.79 FF
As the study of cooperative breeding systems expands, a number of key species form the examples that underpin our general understanding. The ostrich is increasingly becoming such a textbook species, on the basis of the results obtained in Brian Bertram's study of vigilance and egg discrimination in this extraordinary bird. Here Bertram presents new data on the ostrich communal nesting system, in which several females lay in one female's nest, with only one female and the male doing all the work. The Ostrich Communal Nesting System unravels the basis of the cooperation observed, and explains how a system involving apparent altruism is maintained by natural selection. It is now possible as never before to explain and quantify the effects of the different choices these birds make and to integ...

The California Condor: A Saga of Natural History and Conservation
de Noel F. R. Snyder, Helen Snyder (Ed. Princeton University Press) Isbn : 0126540055
34.24 € / 224.6 FF
As the largest flying bird of North America, and one of the most endangered, the California Condor has been a source of tremendous interest and awe. This book offers up-to-date information on both the biology and conservation of the condor, as analyzed by the two most knowledgeable field biologists to have studied the species. The authors present first a thorough review of the history of condor studies and conservation efforts, then a detailed examination of the biology and recent decline of the...

Birding Washington
de Natalie McNair-Huff, Rob McNair-Huff (Ed. Falcon Press Publishing) Isbn : 076272577X
14.15 € / 92.82 FF
As the first stop in the continental United States for birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway, Washington offers a wide range of birding opportunities and species, from the typical fall migrations of ducks and geese to the convergence of millions of shore birds in Grays Harbor each spring. Highlighting the natural history and points of interest for birders in Washington, this guide is an excellent addition to Falcon's Birding Series. Maps and betw photographs accompany easy-to-read, lively descriptions of the best places to find birds and at-a-glance information puts everything bird watchers need to know about getting there and enjoying the experience right at their fingertips.Other books in the Birding series include Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, Northern California, Texas, and...

Of Birds and Texas
de Stuart Gentling, Scott Gentling (Ed. University of Texas Press) Isbn : 0292728344
62.64 € / 410.89 FF
As John James Audubon's Birds of America was the most magnificent ornithological publication of the nineteenth century, Of Birds and Texas may rightfully claim that honor for the twentieth. Originally published in a twenty-three-by-twenty-nine-and-a-half-inch elephant folio limited edition in 1986, this collection of forty exquisitely detailed bird portraits and ten Texas landscapes, with accompanying commentary by the artists Scott Gentling and Stuart Gentling and a personal essay by Texas' most respected writer, John Graves, won widespread acclaim. A. C. Greene praised it as«the most stunning and prodigious book in Texas history (and possibly forever),»while the Dallas Morning News deemed it«the most magnificent book ever produced in Texas.»This edition is intended to bring Of Birds and ...

Birds of Wisconsin
de Owen J. Gromme, Milwaukee Public Museum (Ed. University of Wisconsin Press) Isbn : 0299158608
62.64 € / 410.89 FF
Art lovers and bird watchers, rejoice ! Owen J. Gromme's classic Birds of Wisconsin comes to life again in a splendid new edition with completely rephotographed color plates and a new introduction by well-known ornithologist Samuel D. Robbins, Jr. This stunning revised edition features eighty-nine full-color portraits depicting the state's rich variety of native species and seventeen new paintings showing birds in their natural habitat. Bird watcher, ornithologist, or curious observer will find...

Hummingbirds: My Winter Guests
de Arnette Heidcamp (Ed. Crown Pub) Isbn : 0517708841
15.03 € / 98.59 FF
Arnette Heidcamp has had more experiences with hummingbirds in her house than any other bird lover. After sharing the story of Squeak and Rosie, she now tells us about ten more feathered visitors in Hummingbirds : My Winter Guests.Arnette's winter guests were birds who because of illness or injury were unable to fly south for the winter, or birds that had migrated to the wrong place and needed a winter refuge. Among them were Charlie, a rubythroat who was attacked by a cat ; Little Peeper, with a shoulder injury ; K-T, the little miracle bird who flew into a window at full speed and survived ; Little One, a baby hummingbird who was abandoned when her nest was destroyed ; and finally, joining K-T in the sunroom for a winter filled with hummingbird interaction, Cry- stal and Red, Arnette's t...

Arizona Birds: An Introduction to Familiar Species
de James Kavanagh (Ed. Waterford Press) Isbn : 1583551077
4.97 € / 32.6 FF
Arizona Birds, An Introduction to Familiar Species, is a must-have, reference guide for beginners and experts alike. Whether you're on a nature hike or in your own backyard, you'll want to take along a copy of this indispensable guide. The Pocket Naturalist(tm) series is an introduction to common plants and animals and natural phenomena. Each pocket-sized, folding guide highlights up to 150 species and most feature a map highlighting prominent sanctuaries and outstanding natural attractions. Each is laminated for durability.

Skua and Penguin: Predator and Prey
de Euan Young (Ed. Cambridge Univ Pr (Sd)) Isbn : 0521322510
108.57 € / 712.17 FF
Areas of barren rock and scree around the edge of Antarctica provide a breeding ground for two of the continent's most well-known species of bird: the south polar skua and the Adelie penguin. This book considers the relationship between these two species, taking as its study site Ross Island. The author challenges the traditional view, through detailed observations of the foraging ecology of the skua, that they are totally dependant on penguin eggs and chicks for food. In addition, studies of the impact of skuas on penguin breeding and the extent to which the skua breeding cycle is functionally related to that of the penguin provide further evidence to suggest that the two species occur together independently as a consequence of limited breeding space, rather than as a result of a distinct...