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note;-Many of these titles may be available in our second-hand section
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The Golden Eagle
£31.95
"The authors enthusiasm for this majestic bird of prey shines through the pages of this excellent work"..Birdwatch
"Sheer pleasure and enjoyment for the avid reader..this superb book is a must for your bookshelf"..Don Scott IBIS
" Aremakable achievement...it will become a classic..Birds
"I urge you to put a copy of this superb book on your shelves....Birdwatching
"Surely nobody has ever captured the essence of the Golden Eagle so brilliantly"..Mike Everett British Birds
- The First comprehensive monograph on the Golden Eagle for forty years.
- Superb pictures from Keith Brockie.
- Additional wash landscapes and a colour frontispiece by Donald Watson capture the very special atmosphere of Scotland's Golden Eagle country.
- Explores factors limiting Golden Eagle numbers and breeding performance.
- The sensitive issue of Golden Eagle predation on livestock is reviewed in depth.
- Addresses conservation issues and the species' fortunes in past and present.
- Fascinating chapters on the place of Golden Eagls in human culture and folklore.
The author has worked on eagles in Scotland for over 15 years and these studies provide the foundation for a treatment which also includes the most up to date information from work in North America,continental European and elsewhere,allowing fascinating insights into the species' relationships with a variety of different habitats.392Pages.Hardback.
NEW !
Field Guide to the BIRDS OF
£29.95
Terry Stevenson and John Fanshawe
The Birds of East Africa is the first comprehensive field guide to a spectacular region for birding.Covering all the resident,migrant and vagrant birds of Kenya,Tanzania,Uganda,Rwanda and Burundi it describes a remarkable 1388 species.Three experienced artists have painstakingly prepared 287 new plates showing 3400 images illustrating all the plumages and major races likely to be encountered.Set opposite the plates are concise descriptive accounts describing identification,status,range,habits and voice,and range maps for each species.Introductory sections provide notes on how to use the species accounts,the nomenclature adopted,conservation issues,where to send records,and maps of protected and other important bird areas.
Hardback;-500pp.Colour plates,maps etc.
A NATURALIST'S SHETLAND
£29.95
mapOne of Britain's natural treasures,the Shetland Islands are spectacular with their varied geology,wonderful landscape,and special flora and fauna.They are peopled by a culture distinct within the British Isles.Despite their isolation,the islands have evolved many particular species.This book is only the second to describe all the wildlife of the Shetland Islands and the first to comprehensively cover their history since the last ice age,as well as the human inpacts of the Neolithic,Bronze,and Iron Age cultures and the Norse influences from Scandinavia.It critically observes the costs and benefits of a modern economy,both to people and the natural scene.Written for the general reader and keen naturalist,this book is lavishly illustrated with photographs and graced with evocative sketches by John Busby.65 figures,tables,maps and diagrams illustrate and clarify points in the text.
Hardback;-1998.
The Raven
£29.50
"Few writers have captured all aspects of the raven in a single volume as personally and accurately as Derek Ratcliffe does in this wonderfully informative book."...Condor
The Raven is one of the most spectacular and romantic of British birds,but relatively neglected in the modern literature of ornithology.This book sets out to redress this imbalance.The place of the Raven in Myth,legend and history,is long established and this book descibes its fall from grace as a valued scavenger in medieval cities to a persecuted outcast in the modern wilds.
Today Ravens carry a new omen in the modern world,as a barometer of goodwill to wildlife.Like those in the Tower of London,the continued existance of Ravens in our wild countryside will be telling us something about both our current situation and our prospects for the future.
- Provides a thorough summary of the Raven's natural history and its long association with humankind.
- Addresses major features of Raven behaviour such as flocking,communal roosting of non-breeders,nesting habitats and intelligence.
- Wonderful illustrations by Chris Rose.
- Discussion of the Northern hemisphere raven is enlivened by reference to other raven species.
- Describes how the species position in the UK is delicately balanced and depends on both sympathetic land management practices and improving attitudes to Ravens as friends not foes.
384 Pages.Hardback
The Nuthatches
£25.50
" I recommend this book to everyone interested in woodland birds,there is much to learn within its pages."...Mark Holling,...Scottish Birds News
The Nuthatches are common and widespread birds throughout the Northern Hemisphere,but poorly studied until quite recently.Erik Mattysen's extensive studies,started in 1982,have done much to illuminate their ecology.
- A detailed description of the ecology and behaviour of the Eurasian Nuthatch.
- A fascinating species,one of only a few to rely largely on stored food for winter survival and to live as a territorial pair throughout the year.
- The intricate dynamics of pair stability,territory size and the various strategies of floating,non-territory holders is the subject of an entire fascinating chapter.
- The habitat fragmentation that has accompanied widespread disruption of woodland habitats everywhere has had a profound effect on territorial and social behaviour and this is dealt with at length.
- Comparisons with the 23 other nuthatch species provide good general perspectives on biological species seperation problems.
- Insights into species set the scene for further work which may explain the links between species ecology and behaviour and their phylogeny and varying habitats.
288 Pages.Hardback
Tundra Plovers
£29.50
Ingvar Byrkjedal and Des Thompson
Illustrated by Ingvar Byrkjedal
"Covers everything you want to know....it is becoming a cliche to say 'another excellent poyser monograph'but it is hard to argue with."...Gordon Kamlett,..Birdwatching
A world review of plovers in the genus Pluvialis-4 species of both Old and New World.A definative text on a group of both an evocative and biologically fascinating species.This ground breaking book on shorebirds examines the taxonomy,appearance,behaviour,ecology and conservation of Golden and Grey Plovers,and compares and contrasts their natural history and biogeography.There are detailed accounts on all aspects of lifestyle including feeding,mating,parental care,moults,migration and avoidance of predators.Over 40 photographs,over 150 tables and figures,and many other embelishments complete this definitive book.
452 Pages.Hardback.
The Dippers
Dippers are the world's only truly aquatic passerine bird fascinating for their remarkable swimming and diving abilities,and the beauty of their preferred but threatened habitat,the fast flowing streams of the wild uplands.Territorial behaviour,breeding biology,diet,movements and population dynamics are all discussed in relation to the Dipper's adaptations to an aquatic lifestyle in environments coming under increasing pressure from man's current changes in land use.
225 Pages.Hardback.
The Ancient Murrelet
£32.95
Breeding along the northern coast from British Columbia to Japan,this little known bird dwelt in relative obscurity until it became the focus of a conservation debate which has resulted in a new National Park in the Queen Charlotte Islands where half the world's breeding population breeds.Tony Gaston has carried out the only detailed study of the birds,and his work has revealed the complex social behaviour of the males and the species' response to the variety of predators the face-from Peregrines to Deer Mice.
249 Pages.Hardback.
The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds
Their Distribution and Abundance.Edited by
Ward J.M Hagemeijer & Michael J Blair
Published for the European Bird Census Council,with translated introductory summary in 13 languages.
A picture of Bird disribution on a scale never before realised in Europe.The winner of Bird Watching Magazine's "best bird book of 1997"
"A colossal work...for surpassing anything previously available."....Steve Gantlett,Birding World
"This volume is excellent value for money and contains an enormous amount of information on European bird distribution.A must for the serious birder and a source of many papers for large scale ecologists."....Bryan Sharrocks,Journal of Animal Ecology 98
This landmark volume presents,for the first time,an integrated picture of the distribution and abundance of the breeding birds of Europe.A truly monumental work,the survey area includes far flung but important regions such as Madeira,the Azores,Iceland,Swalbard,Novaya Zemlya,Franz Josef land and Transcaucasia (but not Turkey and Cyprus).
Data gathered by 10,000 ornithologists from every European Country
Maps show the presence or absence of over 495 species
Accompanying text written by a team of 450 authors from 38 countries
Lively illustrations by an international team of artists
Bar charts showing population figures and trends for key countries
New and unique information collected from parts of Russia and Ukraine
Hardback.920pp
The New Atlas of Breeding Birds
in Britain and Ireland 1988-1991
£53.95
Published for the British Trust for Ornithology,the Scottish Ornithologists Club and the Irish Wildbird Conservancy.
"The most important work on British Birds this century...a landmark in ornithological history and a vital resource to be used by British Birdwatchers and those fighting for conservation"...NEW SCIENTIST
"A monumental work-a must for anyone with any kind of interest in Britain's breeding birds.Treat yourself to an education".BIRDWATCH
"A mine of knowledge,easily accessible with its highly attractive,jargon-free treatment". THE COUNTRYMAN
- Complete results of Britain's second nationwide survey of bird populations
- Most species are covered by an illustration,full text and three maps of current distribution,relative abundance and changes in distribution since the first survey.
- Detailed introduction describes the survey methods and data analysis.
- Rare breeding species covered in full appendix.
Hardback;576pp.
Birds of the Strait of Gibraltar
*
"Finlayson is to be congratulated on the thoroughness of his research,effective graphics production and documentation (over 22 pages of references),all combined in an easily readable book,the whole enhanced by the delightful complementary illustrations of Ian Willis.This is a major work which must have a place in the library of anyone interested in bird migration and/or Iberia"...Ibis
The Strait of Gibraltar is famous as a major point of passage for palearctic birds migrating between their European breeding grounds and their winter quarters in Africa.Clive Finlayson,a native of the rock and a trained ornithologist,presents a fascinating account of the region and its resident and tranitory bird life.
Hardback:534 pp.November 1991.Price £OUT OF PRINT *See Second-hand section
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Illustrated by
Kim Atkinson,Phil Bristow,Terrence Lambert,Darren Rees,Philip Snow & Owen Williams
This volume sets out for the first time the historical and current status of all the bird species found in Wales together with their present distribution.The three authors,all staff of the RSPB in Wales,have between them,an accumulated experience of some 80 years of first-hand knowledge of birds in the principality.Their knowledge and love of birds and wales itself makes this authoritive volume a landmark both in Welsh and ornithological publishing.
Hardback;384pp.March 1994.Price £OUT OF PRINT Try Second-hand section
Birds in Scotland
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"All birdwatchers resident in Scotland seem to possess a copy of this book.Visiting birdwatchers would be foolish to venture north of the border without one".
Hardback;392pp.1986. Price OUT OF PRINT See Second-hand
*see also Scottish Birds Valerie M.Thom. Other books on Scottish Birding here
Red Data Birds in Britain
"A milestone in British bird conservation in the late 20th century.No serious conservationist or birdwatcher should be without a copy...Natural World
The authors identify 117 species which demand our attention.For each species,the book examines the bird's distribution,status,habitat requirements and the nature of current and future threats,and suggests practical measures which should be taken to monitor,protect and conserve the birds concerned.
Hardback; 360pp.1990.
