Recommendations based on "Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Strangest Parrot (Scientists in the Field)"

Centring on the discovery in the Burgess Shale of 530 million year old fossils unique in age, preservation and diversity, this book challenges perceptions about man's place in the history of life.

First published in 1949 and praised in The New York Times Book Review as "a trenchant book, full of vigor and bite," A Sand County Almanac combines some of the finest nature writing since Thoreau with an outspoken and highly ethical regard for America's relationship to the land.Written with an unparalleled understanding of the ways of nature, the book includes a section on the monthly changes of the Wisconsin countryside; another part that gathers informal pieces written by Leopold over a forty-year period as he traveled through the woodlands of Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Sonora, Oregon, Manitoba, and elsewhere; and a final section in which Leopold addresses the philosophical issues involved in wildlife conservation. As the forerunner of such important books as Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire, and Robert Finch's The Primal Place, this classic work remains as relevant today as it was forty years ago.

From the internationally bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees An illuminating manifesto on ancient forests: how they adapt to climate change by passing their wisdom through generations, and why our future lies in protecting them.

Today many of us live indoor lives, disconnected from the natural world as never before. And yet nature remains deeply ingrained in our language, culture and consciousness. For centuries, we have acted on an intuitive sense that we need communion with the wild to feel well. Now, in the moment of our great migration away from the rest of nature, more and more scientific evidence is emerging to confirm its place at the heart of our psychological wellbeing. So what happens, asks acclaimed journalist Lucy Jones, as we lose our bond with the natural world--might we also be losing part of ourselves?Delicately observed and rigorously researched, Losing Eden is an enthralling journey through this new research, exploring how and why connecting with the living world can so drastically affect our health. Travelling from forest schools in East London, to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, via Poland's primeval woodlands, Californian laboratories and ecotherapists' couches, Jones takes us to the cutting edge of human biology, neuroscience and psychology, and discovers new ways of understanding our increasingly dysfunctional relationship with the earth. Urgent and uplifting, Losing Eden is a rallying cry for a wilder way of life - for finding asylum in the soil and joy in the trees - which might just help us to save the living planet, as well as ourselves, from a future of ecological grief.

Reissue of J. A. Baker's extraordinary classic of British nature writing, with an exclusive new afterword by Robert Macfarlane. J. A. Baker's extraordinary classic of British nature writing was first published in 1967. Greeted with acclaim, it went on to win the Duff Cooper Prize, the pre-eminent literary prize of the time. Luminaries such as Ted Hughes, Barry Lopez and Andrew Motion have cited it as one of the most important books in twentieth-century nature writing. Despite the association of peregrines with the wild, outer reaches of the British Isles, The Peregrine is set on the flat marshes of the Essex coast, where J. A. Baker spent long winters looking and writing about the visitors from the uplands - peregrines that spend the winter hunting the huge flocks of pigeons and waders that share the desolate landscape with them. This new edition of the timeless classic, published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its first publication, features an afterword by one of the book's greatest admirers, Robert Macfarlane.

The full story of seabirds from one of the greatest nature writers. The book looks at the pattern of their lives, their habitats, the threats they face and the passions they inspire - beautifully illustrated by artist Kate Boxer `I was entranced ... It is a work that takes wing in the mind' ROBERT MACFARLANE. Seabirds have always entranced the human imagination and Adam Nicolson has been in love with them all his life: for their mastery of wind and ocean, their aerial beauty and the unmatched wildness of the coasts and islands where every summer they return to breed. Over the last couple of decades, modern science has begun to understand them: their epic voyages, their astonishing abilities to navigate for tens of thousands of miles on a featureless sea, their ability to smell their way towards fish and home. Only the poets in the past would have thought of seabirds as creatures riding the ripples and currents of the planet, but that is what the scientists are seeing now too. In ten chapters, each dedicated to a different bird, and each beautifully illustrated by Kate Boxer, The Seabird's Cry travels the ocean paths along with them, looking at the way their bodies work, the sense of their own individuality, the strategies and tactics needed to survive and thrive in the most demanding environment on earth. At the heart of the book are the Shiant Isles, a cluster of Hebridean islands in the Minch but Nicolson has pursued the birds much further - across the Atlantic, up the west coast of Ireland, to St Kilda, Orkney, Shetland, the Faeroes, Iceland and Norway; to the eastern seaboard of Maine and to Newfoundland, to the Falklands, South Georgia, the Canaries and the Azores - reaching out across the widths of the world ocean which is the seabirds' home. But a global tragedy is unfolding. Even as we are coming to understand them, the number of seabirds is in freefall, dropping by nearly 70% in the last sixty years, a billion fewer now than there were in 1950. Of the ten birds in this book, seven are in decline, at least in part of their range. Extinction stalks the ocean and there is a danger that the grand cry of a seabird colony, rolling around the bays and headlands of high latitudes, will this century become little but a memory.

Our understanding of vertebrate origins and the backbone of human history evolves with each new fossil find and DNA map. Many species have now had their genomes sequenced, and molecular techniques allow genetic inspection of even non-model organisms. But as longtime Nature editor Henry Gee argues in Across the Bridge, despite these giant strides and our deepening understanding of how vertebrates fit into the tree of life, the morphological chasm between vertebrates and invertebrates remains vast and enigmatic. As Gee shows, even as scientific advances have falsified a variety of theories linking these groups, the extant relatives of vertebrates are too few for effective genetic analysis. Moreover, the more we learn about the species that do remain—from sea-squirts to starfish—the clearer it becomes that they are too far evolved along their own courses to be of much use in reconstructing what the latest invertebrate ancestors of vertebrates looked like. Fossils present yet further problems of interpretation. Tracing both the fast-changing science that has helped illuminate the intricacies of vertebrate evolution as well as the limits of that science, Across the Bridge helps us to see how far the field has come in crossing the invertebrate-to-vertebrate divide—and how far we still have to go.

Delve into the fascinating world of birds through astonishing photography and clear explanations, in this absorbing global guide Birds are dinosaurs, with a history going back millions of years. Our fascination with them runs deep in history and our close association is reflected in creation stories, myths, legends, songs, and children's stories. This book explores both the natural history of birds and that deep cultural connection. From their evolution and anatomy to their behaviour and diversity, spanning tiny dunnocks hiding in bushes to ostriches strong enough to knock out a lion. Articles cover a group, such as hawks, finches, swans, or birds of paradise, moving the focus away from a predictable species-by-species account and allowing for truly global coverage. Discover the bold nature of European Robins and why they are associated with Christmas; the mythical Phoenix, which rises from the ashes; and learn about eagles, from their hunting prowess to the myriad stories and symbolism associated with them. Packed with information, and beautiful photography and illustrations, The Bird Book is a must-have for nature enthusiasts.

Includes brief entries on and illustrations of nearly 2000 animals in the categories: Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fishes.

Dive into an unprecedented survey of millions of years of life on planet Earth. Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life is a beautifully crafted encyclopedia of prehistoric species that the whole family can enjoy. Featuring an incredible mix of 3D reconstructions, extraordinary skeletons, and amazingly intricate fossils, it uses the latest scientific research to recreate a wealth of ancient species, from the earliest primitive life forms to great dinosaurs, early mammals, and even the first humans. This richly illustrated catalogue starts with the first Precambrian microbes and traces the evolution of life through mass extinctions and ice ages. As well as dinosaurs, it features extinct plants, invertebrates, amphibians, fish, birds, reptiles, and mammals, conjuring up a series of past worlds. The book also explores geological time and examines how fossils preserve the story of evolution. In the pages of this unique book of natural history, you'll find: - A detailed catalogue of over 500 animals, plants, fungi and microbes with illustrations and fact files unmatched by any other book on the market.- A tour of some of the most fascinating fossils and skeletons.- Clear CGI reconstructions give a new life to some of the oldest identified species, allowing you to visualise them as they would have existed on Earth.- Richly annotated artworks displaying geological processes including how Earth formed and how fossils are preserved in rock Combining stunning visuals and clear text, Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life is not only packed with fascinating prehistoric facts and species, it's beautifully foiled cover will take pride of place on your coffee table! The ideal gift for dinosaur enthusiasts and naturalists of all ages that will be treasured for years to come.