Natural History

This beautifully illustrated volume, substantially updated for this new large-format edition, is the ultimate reference guide to more than 1300 of the most spectacular, best-loved and unusual trees across the globe, from the huge redwoods of California to the banyan trees of south-east Asia. A comprehensive introduction looks at the origins of trees, how they have evolved over time, and the ways in which they have adapted to suit the variety of terrains in which they thrive. The three directories feature trees from Temperate and Tropical America; Britain and Europe; and Africa, Asia and Australasia. Each entry is accompanied by a hand-painted illustration, and includes identification details such as bark texture; leaf shape and size; flowering time; average height; and overall tree shape. It is an authoritative volume that will form a vital part of every family's natural history library.

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Know Your Hobby Animals is an essential guide to discovering many interesting facts about 194 popular breeds of chickens, pigs, goats, cows and sheep. A complete compilation of the most popular farm animals within the Know Your... series, you'll learn all about each breed's unique characteristics, history, breeding, personality and more. Fun and fascinating, this engaging and collective guide will turn both the young and old into farm animal enthusiasts!

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Everything you need to take care of your feline friend Cats are the purrfect pets: they’re relatively easy to care for, a blast to play with, and sure to win the heart of every member of your family with their loving nature—and sometimes sassy demeanor! Cats For Dummies gives you expert insight into everything from cat behavior to what makes each type of feline unique. With this easy-to-understand guide, you'll be able to tackle those tough cat-astrophes from dealing with problem behaviors like scratching the furniture and missing the litter box—all while learning to understand what your cat is trying to tell you. Happily bring a cat or kitten into your life Keep your new four-legged family member comfortable and safe Live a happy feline-friendly life Keep your cat in prime health Whether you're looking to get your first kitten or adopt a senior cat, this book covers all the basics of feline cat care.

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Tabby cat or toucan? Airedale terrier or Angora rabbit? Python or Parakeet? If you didn’t have a pet as a child, you probably wanted one. Pets features a huge range of pets from everyday pets such as cats and dogs to exotic pets such as tropical fish, toucans and terrapins, from cute mice to formidable pythons, from energetic rabbits to docile tortoises to thoroughbred horses. Part of the highly successful Mini Encyclopedia series, Pets includes 300 pets from around the world, offering a wealth of fascinating information on the background, breeding and natural habitat of these animals. With a page and outstanding colour illustration given to each pet, and specification boxes detailing on the origins, appearance, size, diet and lifespan of each animal, Pets is an easy-to-use pocket reference book for anyone interested in domesticated animals.

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With gorgeous full-color illustrations, ornate decorative elements, lettering in metallic ink, and engaging text, The Language of Flowers: A Fully Illustrated Compendium of Meaning, Literature, and Lore for the Modern Romantic is a treasure for flower lovers. A sumptuous, contemporary anthology of 50 of the world's most storied and popular flowers, each of its entries offers insight to the meaning associated with the flower, and is a fascinating mix of foklore, classic mythology, literature, botanical information and popular culture. Following an introduction that provides a short history of the language of flowers, a fad which reached its peak during the reign of Queen Victoria, each uniquely illustrated and designed entry is an enjoyable read full of history and little-known facts. Here is the story of Tulipmania; how the pansy got its "face," and why the most particular pollination process of a certain orchid has made the vanilla bean a very dear commodity. You'll also dicover how Christian Dior's passion for lily of the valley inspired his classic perfume Diorissimo and its extraordinary bottle; why Oscar Wilde had a penchant for wearing green carnations in his lapel; and how Greeks and Romans believed snapdragons could ward off witchcraft, so they planted them at entryways to their homes. With more than a dozen two-page paintings evoking the romance of noteworthy Victorian gardens and symbolic bouquets, a cross-referenced index of flowers and meanings, and suggestions for further reading, this book is a must for lovers of floriology and Victoriana.

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Now with full-color photography and illustrations throughout, the completely updated third edition of Storey’s Guide to Raising Horses is the most comprehensive horse husbandry handbook available, whether you’re a first-time owner or an experienced horse handler. Covering everything you need to know about facilities, breeding, and health care, this new edition features a photographic gallery of many types of horses; expanded material on recognizing, preventing, and treating a wide range of health issues, including insulin resistance, skin conditions, and digestive disorders; new vaccination protocols, including vaccinating for West Nile Virus; and updated information on breeding methods, foaling problems, and the care of broodmares and new foals.

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An engrossing and revealing study of why we deem certain animals “pests” and others not—from cats to rats, elephants to pigeons—and what this tells us about our own perceptions, beliefs, and actions, as well as our place in the natural worldA squirrel in the garden. A rat in the wall. A pigeon on the street. Humans have spent so much of our history drawing a hard line between human spaces and wild places. When animals pop up where we don’t expect or want them, we respond with fear, rage, or simple annoyance. It’s no longer an animal. It’s a pest.At the intersection of science, history, and narrative journalism, Pests is not a simple call to look closer at our urban ecosystem. It’s not a natural history of the animals we hate. Instead, this book is about us. It’s about what calling an animal a pest says about people, how we live, and what we want. It’s a story about human nature, and how we categorize the animals in our midst, including bears and coyotes, sparrows and snakes. Pet or pest? In many cases, it’s entirely a question of perspective.Bethany Brookshire’s deeply researched and entirely entertaining book will show readers what there is to venerate in vermin, and help them appreciate how these animals have clawed their way to success as we did everything we could to ensure their failure. In the process, we will learn how the pests that annoy us tell us far more about humanity than they do about the animals themselves.

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What if the stories of trees and people are more closely linked than we ever imagined?Winner of the World Wildlife Fund's 2020 Jan Wolkers PrizeOne of Science News's "Favorite Books of 2020" A New York Times "New and Noteworthy" BookA 2020 Woodland Book of the YearGold Winner of the 2020 Foreword INDIES Award in Ecology & EnvironmentBronze Winner of the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Award in Environment/EcologyPeople across the world know that to tell how old a tree is, you count its rings. Few people, however, know that research into tree rings has also made amazing contributions to our understanding of Earth's climate history and its influences on human civilization over the past 2,000 years. In her captivating book Tree Story, Valerie Trouet reveals how the seemingly simple and relatively familiar concept of counting tree rings has inspired far-reaching scientific breakthroughs that illuminate the complex interactions between nature and people.Trouet, a leading tree-ring scientist, takes us out into the field, from remote African villages to radioactive Russian forests, offering readers an insider's look at tree-ring research, a discipline known as dendrochronology. Tracing her own professional journey while exploring dendrochronology's history and applications, Trouet describes the basics of how tell-tale tree cores are collected and dated with ring-by-ring precision, explaining the unexpected and momentous insights we've gained from the resulting samples.Blending popular science, travelogue, and cultural history, Tree Story highlights exciting findings of tree-ring research, including the fate of lost pirate treasure, successful strategies for surviving California wildfire, the secret to Genghis Khan's victories, the connection between Egyptian pharaohs and volcanoes, and even the role of olives in the fall of Rome. These fascinating tales are deftly woven together to show us how dendrochronology sheds light on global climate dynamics and uncovers the clear links between humans and our leafy neighbors. Trouet delights us with her dedication to the tangible appeal of studying trees, a discipline that has taken her to austere and beautiful landscapes around the globe and has enabled scientists to solve long-pondered mysteries of Earth and its human inhabitants.

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The first comprehensive guide to the aquatic plants of the regionBeneath the surface of bodies of freshwater—springs, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes—there is a world of plants of great variety and beauty, a realm that is often poorly known and understood. Correctly identified, these plants can tell us much about the character and condition of the habitats in which they live. A collaboration of Danish, German, and British field botanists specializing in freshwater plants, this guide presents all of the known aquatic plants of Northern and Central Europe, including Britain and Ireland, as well as many marginal and wetland species.This is the first comprehensive guide to the identification of the region’s 410 species and hybrids of both native and non-native ferns and flowering plants that are dependent upon freshwater wetlands. Following the latest taxonomy, the book features 358 plates in pen and ink, more than 1,400 colour photographs, illustrated keys, distribution maps and detailed descriptions. The introduction gives an overview of evolution, anatomy and morphology, ecology, eco-physiology, research traditions and more, and the book also includes guidelines for working with aquatic plants. The first comprehensive guide to the region’s aquatic plants Covers all 410 known species Features 358 illustrated plates, more than 1,400 colour photographs, distribution maps, detailed descriptions and much more

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The go-to photographic guide to all the damselflies and dragonflies recorded in Europe, including the Macaronesian Islands and western TurkeyEurope's Dragonflies is a comprehensive, lavishly illustrated and beautifully designed photographic field guide to the damselflies and dragonflies of Europe. Written by two well-travelled experts, the book covers all 140 resident and vagrant species recorded, focussing on the field identification of adult insects. Concise species profiles highlight key identification features and provide information on behaviour, habitat preferences, distribution, flight periods, status and conservation. Other sections cover identification tips, conservation status and legislation. Presenting an unsurpassed selection of images of the highest quality, this is the go-to guide for anyone wishing to know more about these amazing and fascinating insects. Comprehensive coverage of every species of damselfly and dragonfly recorded in Europe Stunning colour plates showing males, females, immatures, colour forms, subspecies and typical habitat for every species Over 1,200 superb photographs, supplemented with illustrations of fine details Detailed profiles for the 140 resident and vagrant species Unique comparison plates for difficult groups Easy to use by beginners and experts alike, avoiding technical terms

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'All the charm, wonder, eccentricity and vigour of country life is here in these pages, and told with such engaging directness, detail and colour . . . Bliss' STEPHEN FRY'A capacious work that contains multitudes . . . a work to amble through, seasonally, relishing the vivid dashes of colour and the precision and delicacy of the descriptions' THE SPECTATOR'My favourite read of the year . . . warm, funny and moving' SUNDAY TIMES'A writer whose pages you turn and then turn back immediately to re-read, relish and get by heart' SUSAN HILL, SUNDAY TELEGRAPHRonald Blythe lived at the end of an overgrown farm track deep in the rolling countryside of the Stour Valley, on the border between Suffolk and Essex. His home was Bottengoms Farm, a sturdy yeoman's house once owned by the artist John Nash. From here, Blythe spent almost half a century observing the slow turn of the agricultural year, the church year and village life in a series of rich, lyrical rural diaries.Beginning with the arrival of snow on New Year's Day and ending with Christmas carols sung in the village church, Next to Nature invites us to witness a simple life richly lived. With gentle wit and keen observation Blythe meditates on his life and faith, on literature, art and history, and on our place in the landscape.It is a celebration of one of our greatest nature writers, and an unforgettable ode to the English countryside.

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Filled with expressive sentiments and beautifully simple illustrations from award-winning artist and best-selling author Joanne Fink, This book offers healing comfort to all who are grieving and dealing with loss. Affirming and cathartic, this comforting book will help bring healing without sugarcoating the sadness of losing a pet. Everyone who has lost a pet--whether recently or years ago--will connect with the thoughtful sentiments and beautiful illustrations. This is a sweet sympathy gift of comfort for anyone who endures the journey of losing a four-legged friend.

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“We are matter and long to be received by an Earth that conceived us, which accepts and reconstitutes us, its children, each of us, without exception, every one. The journey is long, and then we start homeward, fathomless as to what home might make of us.”—from The River You TouchWhen Chris Dombrowski burst onto the literary scene with Body of Water, the book was acclaimed as “a classic” (Jim Harrison) and its author compared with John McPhee. Dombrowski begins the highly anticipated The River You Touch with a question as timely as it is profound: “What does a meaningful, mindful, sustainable inhabitance on this small planet look like in the Anthropocene?”He answers this fundamental question of our time initially by listening lovingly to rivers and the land they pulse through in his adopted home of Montana. Transplants from the post-industrial Midwest, he and his partner, Mary, assemble a life based precariously on her income as a schoolteacher, his as a poet and fly-fishing guide. Before long, their first child arrives, followed soon after by two more, all “free beings in whom flourishes an essential kind of knowing […], whose capacity for wonder may be the beacon by which we see ourselves through this dark epoch.” And around the young family circles a community of friends—river-rafting guides and conservationists, climbers and wildlife biologists—who seek to cultivate a way of living in place that moves beyond the mythologized West of appropriation and extraction.Moving seamlessly from the quotidian—diapers, the mortgage, a threadbare bank account—to the metaphysical—time, memory, how to live a life of integrity—Dombrowski illuminates the experience of fatherhood with intimacy and grace. Spending time in wild places with their children, he learns that their youthful sense of wonder at the beauty and connectivity of the more-than-human world is not naivete to be shed, but rather wisdom most of us lose along the way—wisdom that is essential for the possibility of transformation.

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If you want to know your ichthyosaur from your iguanodon, and your belemnites from your brachiopods, strap in for this whirlwind tour of the highlights of palaeontology Life as we know it now has a long history, buried beneath the ground. Palaeontology is the science of fossilized animals and plants, using discoveries of ancient lifeforms to uncover secrets of the past. From giant dinosaurs, to ammonites, to the first ever humans, explore the greatest findings in palaeontology in this pocket-sized introduction. The Little Book of Palaeontology includes:- The key palaeontological discoveries over the past 400 years, including the dinosaur found complete with intricate scales, and the largest fossil ever uncovered- Profiles of influential palaeontologists such as Jack Horner, Dong Zhiming and Mary Anning- What we have learnt about the lives of ancient creatures and how they became extinct- The big questions about the prehistoric world that palaeontologists are trying to answer todayThis illuminating little book will introduce you to the key thinkers, themes and theories you need to know to understand how life evolved. Look through this window to the past and learn about our prehistoric ancestors and the creatures of a bygone age.

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After a few billion years of bearing witness to life on Earth, of watching one hundred billion humans go about their day-to-day lives, of feeling unbelievably lonely, and of hearing its own story told by others, The Milky Way would like a chance to speak for itself. All one hundred billion stars and fifty undecillion tons of gas of it.It all began some thirteen billion years ago, when clouds of gas scattered through the universe's primordial plasma just could not keep their metaphorical hands off each other. They succumbed to their gravitational attraction, and the galaxy we know as the Milky Way was born. Since then, the galaxy has watched as dark energy pushed away its first friends, as humans mythologized its name and purpose, and as galactic archaeologists have worked to determine its true age (rude). The Milky Way has absorbed supermassive (an actual technical term) black holes, made enemies of a few galactic neighbors, and mourned the deaths of countless stars. Our home galaxy has even fallen in love.After all this time, the Milky Way finally feels that it's amassed enough experience for the juicy tell-all we've all been waiting for. Its fascinating autobiography recounts the history and future of the universe in accessible but scientific detail, presenting a summary of human astronomical knowledge thus far that is unquestionably out of this world.NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2022 BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY AND SCIENCENETNAMED A BEST AUDIOBOOK OF 2022 BY BOOKPAGE

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This beautiful book accompanies a new photographic competition celebrating some of the best bird photography of the year. The Bird Photographer of the Year competition celebrates the artistry of bird photography, and this large-format book is lavishly illustrated to reflect this. A celebration of avian beauty and diversity, it is a tribute to both the dedication and passion of the photographers as well as a reflection of the quality of today’s modern digital imaging systems. The book includes the winning and short-listed images from the competition, now in its fifth year, showcasing some of the finest bird photography from around the world. A proportion of the profits from the book goes directly to the BTO to support their conservation work. The advent of digital technology has revolutionised photography in recent years, and the book brings to life some of the most stunning bird photography currently on offer. It features a vast variety of photographs by hardened pros, keen amateurs and hobbyists alike, reflecting the huge diversity of bird enthusiasts and nature lovers which is so important in ensuring their conservation and survival.

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THE TIMES AUDIOBOOK OF THE YEAR'The finest book ever written on nature and landscape in Britain' GuardianIn this masterpiece of nature writing, beautifully narrated by Oscar-winning actor Tilda Swinton, Nan Shepherd describes her journeys into the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland. There she encounters a world that can be breathtakingly beautiful at times and shockingly harsh at others. Her intense, poetic prose explores and records the rocks, rivers, creatures and hidden aspects of this remarkable landscape. Shepherd spent a lifetime in search of the 'essential nature' of the Cairngorms; her quest led her to write this classic meditation on the magnificence of mountains, and on our imaginative relationship with the wild world around us. Composed during the Second World War, the manuscript of The Living Mountain lay untouched for more than thirty years before it was finally published.

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Logs, stones and the like provide an interesting interface between the damp depths of the soil and the drier open ground surface, offering refuges for a fascinating array of animals. The communities of organisms that live beneath them are little noticed and even less studied, yet the potential for ecological work here is great. Some of the animals are relatively large and frequently not difficult to find. They exhibit a wide range of lifestyles – from slow slugs or snails to very fast centipedes, from generalist to specialist feeders and from herbivores to carnivores. With chapters covering the cryptosphere environment, species groups, identification, guidelines and ideas for further research, this much-expanded and updated new edition also includes extensive, easy-to-use, comprehensively illustrated keys. Ground-surface debris can be found almost anywhere, often presenting highly accessible microhabitats for study and bringing immediate rewards to the curious: here is the ideal tool to unlock these worlds.

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Go beyond training and tricks with enrichment activities to improve your dog’s mental health from TikTok dog enrichment specialist Chelsea Barstow.It’s time to take a big step beyond the regular old sit, stay, and roll over with your dog. Canine enrichment can help reduce stress in your dog as well as give them a constructive way to drain their energy. We all know what it’s like to be bored at home, and with a dog, boredom leads to trouble. With Happy Dog, you will learn simple ways to stimulate your dog’s mind and keep them occupied whenever they need. From rolling treats in a towel, to playing the Find It game, a variety of lick mats, creating obstacles your dog must navigate, going on an adventure walk, and canine puzzles, there are tons of ways to help keep your dog mentally (and physically) happy and healthy.

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Whales, dolphins and porpoises are among the world's most mysterious and beautiful animals, and there are many opportunities to see them in the seas around Europe. This comprehensive and authoritative guide covers everything you need to know about where, when and how to watch them. Packed with useful information and top tips to help you get the most out of your trip, it includes a thorough account of whale-watching opportunities in every European country where organised whale-watching takes place, as well as detailed accounts of every cetacean species found in Europe and a fascinating introduction to their world. Whether you want to watch Blue Whales in Iceland, Bottlenose Dolphins in Wales, Narwhal in Greenland or Sperm Whales in Greece, this comprehensive guide is the ideal companion.

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When ecologist Carl Safina and his wife, Patricia, took in a near-death baby owl, they expected that, like other wild orphans they’d rescued, she’d be a temporary presence. But Alfie’s feathers were not growing correctly, requiring prolonged care. And soon Carl and Patricia began to realise that the healing was mutual. Alfie & Me is the story of the remarkable impact this little owl would have on their lives. The continuing bond of trust following her freedom—and her raising of her own wild brood—drew Carl and Patricia across the boundary into Alfie’s world, allowing them a view of existence from Alfie’s perspective. Interwoven with Safina’s reflections on humankind’s relationship with the living world across cultures and throughout history, Alfie & Me is a work of profound beauties and magical timing harboured within one upended year.

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In Underland, Robert Macfarlane delivers an epic exploration of the Earth’s underworlds as they exist in myth, literature, memory, and the land itself. Traveling through the dizzying expanse of geologic time—from prehistoric art in Norwegian sea caves, to the blue depths of the Greenland ice cap, to a deep-sunk "hiding place" where nuclear waste will be stored for 100,000 years to come—Underland takes us on an extraordinary journey into our relationship with darkness, burial, and what lies beneath the surface of both place and mind. Global in its geography and written with great lyricism, Underland speaks powerfully to our present moment. At once ancient and urgent, this is a book that will change the way you see the world.

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