Showing 1–12 of 28 results
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Birds and Climate Change: Impacts and Conservation Responses
Artist/Author: Pearce-Higgins, James, Rhys E Green$94.00 Add to cartFrom the red grouse to the Ethiopian bush-crow, bird populations around the world can provide us with vital insights into the effects of climate change on species and ecosystems. They are among the best studied and monitored of organisms, yet many are already under threat of extinction as a result of habitat loss, overexploitation and pollution. Providing a single source of information for students, scientists, practitioners and policy-makers, Birds and Climate Change begins with a critical review of the existing impacts of climate change on birds, including changes in the timing of migration and breeding and effects on bird populations around the world. The second part considers how conservationists can assess potential future impacts, quantifying how extinction risk is linked to the magnitude of global change and synthesising the evidence in support of likely conservation responses. The final chapters assess the threats posed by efforts to reduce the magnitude of climate change.
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Belonging on an Island: Birds, Extinction, and Evolution in Hawai`i
Artist/Author: Lewis, Daniel$80.00 Add to cartA lively, rich natural history of Hawaiian birds that challenges existing ideas about what constitutes biocultural nativeness and belonging
This natural history takes readers on a thousand-year journey as it explores the Hawaiian Islands’ beautiful birds and a variety of topics including extinction, survival, conservationists and their work, and, most significantly, the concept of belonging. Author Daniel Lewis, an award-winning historian and globe-traveling amateur birder, builds this lively text around the stories of four species – the Stumbling Moa-Nalo, the Kaua’i ‘O’o, the Palila, and the Japanese White-Eye.
Lewis offers innovative ways to think about what it means to be native and proposes new definitions that apply to people as well as to birds. Being native, he argues, is a relative state influenced by factors including the passage of time, charisma, scarcity, utility to others, short-term evolutionary processes, and changing relationships with other organisms. Belonging on an Island also describes how bird conservation started in Hawai’i and the naturalists and environmentalists who did extraordinary work.
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The Peregrine Returns: The Art and Architecture of an Urban Raptor
Artist/Author: Hennen, Mary (Author), Peggy Macnamara (Illustrator), Stephanie Ware (Illustrator), John Bates (Foreword By)$56.00 Add to cartPeregrine falcons have their share of claims to fame. With a diving speed of over two hundred miles per hour, these birds of prey are the fastest animals on earth or in the sky, and they are now well known for adapting from life on rocky cliffs to a different kind of mountain: modern skyscrapers. But adaptability only helps so much. In 1951, there were no peregrines left in Illinois, for instance, and it looked as if the species would be wiped out entirely in North America. Today, however, peregrines are flourishing.
In The Peregrine Returns, Mary Hennen gives wings to this extraordinary conservation success story. Drawing on the beautiful watercolours of Field Museum artist-in-residence Peggy Macnamara and photos by Field Museum research assistant Stephanie Ware, as well as her own decades of work with peregrines, Hennen uses a program in Chicago as a case study for the peregrines’ journey from their devastating decline to the discovery of its cause (a thinning of eggshells caused by a by-product of DDT), through to recovery, revealing how the urban landscape has played an essential role in enabling falcons to return to the wild – and how people are now learning to live in close proximity to these captivating raptors.
Both a model for conservation programs across the country and an eye-opening look at the many creatures with which we share our homes, this richly illustrated story is an inspiring example of how urban architecture can serve not only our cities’ human inhabitants, but also their wild ones.
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Thinking Like a Parrot: Perspectives from the Wild
Artist/Author: Bond, Alan B, Judy Diamond$73.00 Add to cartPeople form enduring emotional bonds with other animal species, such as dogs, cats, and horses. For the most part, these are domesticated animals, with one notable exception: Many people form close and supportive relationships with parrots, even though these amusing and curious birds remain thoroughly wild creatures. What enables this unique group of wild animals to form social bonds with people, and what does this mean for their survival?
In Thinking Like a Parrot, Alan Bond and Judy Diamond look beyond much of the standard work on captive parrots to the mischievous, inquisitive, and astonishingly vocal parrots of the wild. Focusing on the psychology and ecology of wild parrots, Bond and Diamond document their distinctive social behaviour, sophisticated cognition, and extraordinary vocal abilities. Also included are short vignettes – field notes of the natural history and behaviour of both rare and widely distributed species, from the neotropical crimson-fronted parakeet to New Zealand’s flightless, ground-dwelling kākāpō. This composite approach makes clear that the behaviour of captive parrots is grounded in the birds’ wild ecology and evolution, revealing that parrots’ ability to bond with people is an evolutionary accident, a byproduct of the intense sociality and flexible behaviour that characterize their lives.
Despite their adaptability and intelligence, however, nearly all large parrot species are rare, threatened, or endangered. To successfully manage and restore these wild populations, Bond and Diamond argue, we must develop a fuller understanding of their biology, of the complex set of ecological and behavioural traits that has led to their vulnerability. Spanning the global distribution of parrot species, Thinking Like a Parrot is rich with surprising insights into parrot intelligence, flexibility, and – even in the face of threats – resilience.
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Seabirds of the World: Secret Realm of the Oceans’ Wanderers
Artist/Author: Tipling, David$43.00 Add to cartThis book is a visual celebration of seabirds from the tropics to the polar regions, revealing their extraordinary lives in pictures and words. From seabird cities to a lone albatross circumnavigating the globe, each picture not only tells a story but is beautifully crafted.
David Tipling has travelled the world’s oceans and visited remote islands across the globe in order to reveal the secret lives of some of earth’ s most enigmatic species of birds. Seabirds of the World celebrates the lives of these remarkable birds, many of which have populations in crisis.
Never before has such a large group of birds needed such urgent action to save them from the brink of extinction.
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Handbook of Bird Biology (Third Edition)
Artist/Author: Lovette, Irby J., Fitzpatrick, John W$198.00 Add to cartBirds thrive in all conditions, from urban neighborhoods to the remotest oceans, driest deserts, and the wettest rainforests. From the tiniest hummingbird to the largest ostrich, their varied forms fascinate us – from drab to ostentatious, silent to raucous, earthbound to global nomad.
This much-anticipated third edition of the Handbook of Bird Biology is an essential and comprehensive resource for everyone interested in learning more about birds, from casual bird watchers to formal students of ornithology. Wherever you study birds your enjoyment will be enhanced by a better understanding of the incredible diversity of avian lifestyles. Arising from the renowned Cornell Lab of Ornithology and authored by a team of experts from around the world, the Handbook covers all aspects of avian diversity, behaviour, ecology, evolution, physiology, and conservation. Using examples drawn from birds found in every corner of the globe, it explores and distills the many scientific discoveries that have made birds one of our best known – and best loved – parts of the natural world.
This edition has been completely revised and is presented with more than 800 full color images. It provides readers with a tool for life-long learning about birds and is suitable for bird watchers and ornithology students, as well as for ecologists, conservationists, and resource managers who work with birds.
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Ecology and Conservation of Forest Birds (Hardcover)
Artist/Author: Mikusiński, Grzegorz (Editor), Jean-Michel Roberge (Editor), Robert J Fuller (Editor)$137.00 Add to cartEcology and Conservation of Forest Birds is a unique review of current understanding of the relationships between forest birds and their changing environments. Large ecological changes are being driven by forest management, climate change, introduced pests and pathogens, abiotic disturbances, and overbrowsing. Many forest bird species have suffered population declines, with the situation being particularly severe for birds dependent on attributes such as dead wood, old trees and structurally complex forests. With a focus on the non-tropical parts of the northern hemisphere, the text addresses the fundamental evolutionary and ecological aspects of forest birds using original data analyses and synthesising reviews. The characteristics of bird assemblages and their habitats in different European forest types are explored, together with the macroecological patterns of bird diversity and conservation issues. Ecology and Conservation of Forest Birds provides a valuable reference for ecologists, ornithologists, conservation professionals, forest industry employees, and those interested in birds and nature. Also available in softcover (see stock id 16861)
“Every experienced ornithologist knows that there is an intangible magic about the community of birds, and their interactions with other species, in a mature forest – this book puts some science behind that magic we know.”
– Hugh Possingham, Chief Scientist of the Nature Conservancy -
Ecology and Conservation of Forest Birds (Paperback)
Artist/Author: Mikusiński, Grzegorz (Editor), Jean-Michel Roberge (Editor), Robert J Fuller (Editor)$73.00 Add to cartEcology and Conservation of Forest Birds is a unique review of current understanding of the relationships between forest birds and their changing environments. Large ecological changes are being driven by forest management, climate change, introduced pests and pathogens, abiotic disturbances, and overbrowsing. Many forest bird species have suffered population declines, with the situation being particularly severe for birds dependent on attributes such as dead wood, old trees and structurally complex forests. With a focus on the non-tropical parts of the northern hemisphere, the text addresses the fundamental evolutionary and ecological aspects of forest birds using original data analyses and synthesising reviews. The characteristics of bird assemblages and their habitats in different European forest types are explored, together with the macroecological patterns of bird diversity and conservation issues. Ecology and Conservation of Forest Birds provides a valuable reference for ecologists, ornithologists, conservation professionals, forest industry employees, and those interested in birds and nature. Also available in hardcover (see stock id 16863)
“Every experienced ornithologist knows that there is an intangible magic about the community of birds, and their interactions with other species, in a mature forest – this book puts some science behind that magic we know.”
– Hugh Possingham, Chief Scientist of the Nature Conservancy -
Birds of Eastern Polynesia: A Biogeographic Atlas
Artist/Author: Thibault, Jean-Claude, Alice Cibois$57.00 Add to cartBirds of Eastern Polynesia is the first biogeographic Atlas covering all of the birds of one of the largest areas of Oceania. The book treats all of the 241 species, including extinct birds, ever recorded on the Line Islands, the Cook, Austral, Society, Marquesas, Tuamotu and Gambier archipelagos, the Pitcairn Group, and the Eastern Is. Group. Their distribution over the 151 islands of the region is detailed in 142 maps. The species accounts include systematics, a detailed morphometric or genetic analysis when it is available, and data on distribution, population size and trends, habitat and breeding. All species recorded in Eastern Polynesia are illustrated in colour, except those only known by bone records.
Birds of Eastern Polynesia represents an original and much needed ornithological synthesis of all the available literature on Eastern Polynesian birds, including many difficult-to-find reports, as well as unpublished data gathered from local ornithologists and biologists. It also contains new data collected by the authors during numerous fieldtrips in Eastern Polynesia and during visits to museum collections. This work presents a complete overview of this vast oceanic region for anyone with an interest in the biology, biogeography and conservation of the birds of the Pacific islands.
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An Uncertain Future: Australian Birdlife in Danger
Artist/Author: Maslen, Geoffrey$38.00 Read moreCURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE. In An Uncertain Future, Geoffrey Maslen takes us into the fascinating lives of Australian birds, showing us how intelligent they are, the significant threats they face due to disappearing habitats and climate change and how essential these angels of the air are to our own survival. Soaring through the skies, light as the air itself, birds are the closest creatures we have to angels on the planet. They bring song and beauty to our lives, and they play a significant role in sustaining Earth’s ecosystems. But birds are also facing the threat of extinction. Drawing on numerous interviews with researchers and biologists studying birdlife in Australia and dozens of scientific reports from around the world, Maslen reveals a dire picture of what plummeting bird populations means for humanity.
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Recovering Australian Threatened Species: A Book of Hope
Artist/Author: Garnett, Stephen, Peter Latch, David Lindenmayer, John Woinarski (Editors)$60.00 Add to cartAn inspiring showcase of successful approaches and implementation methods for conservation.
Australia’s nature is exceptional, wonderful and important. But much has been lost, and the ongoing existence of many species now hangs by a thread. Against a relentless tide of threats to our biodiversity, many Australians, and government and non-government agencies, have devoted themselves to the challenge of conserving and recovering plant and animal species that now need our help to survive. This dedication has been rewarded with some outstanding and inspiring successes: of extinctions averted, of populations increasing, of communities actively involved in recovery efforts.
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Vanished and Vanishing Parrots: Profiling Extinct and Endangered Species.
Artist/Author: Forshaw, Joseph and Frank Knight.$150.00 Add to cartParrots are among the most distinctive and beautiful birds in the world. They are also among the most endangered bird groups, threatened by habitat loss through land clearance, the trapping of adults, and the taking of chicks from the nest for the international live-bird trade. Currently, a number of species are in danger of extinction. Vanished and Vanishing Parrots is a comprehensive reference, bringing together information on species that have become extinct or are in danger of becoming extinct. The book is organised into three regional sections: the Australasian Distribution, the Afro-Asian Distribution and the Neotropical Distribution. Each section contains a general introduction discussing the status of parrots in the region, with particular emphasis on threats that caused the extinction of species or are endangering extant species, and conservation measures being implemented or which should be implemented. Within the regional sections, species accounts provide up-to-date information on distribution, status, habitats, movements, calls, habits and breeding behaviour. Each account is accompanied by a magnificent colour plate by renowned artist Frank Knight.
Vanished and Vanishing Parrots will be a valuable reference for scientific, ornithological and avicultural organisations, as well as individual lovers of birds and of illustrated natural history books.
