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Northern Cardinals, Cardinalis Cardin...
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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Amazon Bestselling Books - Birdwatching

Here are the Amazon.com bestsellers in books in the birdwatching category:

(Note: Click on the linked title to see editorial and customer reviews)



Birds are the most consistently inventive builders, and their nests set the bar for functional design in nature. Avian Architecture describes how birds design, engineer, and build their nests, deconstructing all types of nests found around the world using architectural blueprints and detailed descriptions of the construction processes and engineering techniques birds use. This spectacularly illustrated book features 300 full-color images and more than 35 case studies that profile key species worldwide.






This stunningly illustrated book from acclaimed birder and photographer Richard Crossley revolutionizes field guide design by providing the first real-life approach to identification. Whether you are a beginner, expert, or anywhere in between, The Crossley ID Guide will vastly improve your ability to identify birds.

Unlike other guides, which provide isolated individual photographs or illustrations, this is the first book to feature large, lifelike scenes for each species. These scenes--640 in all--are composed from more than 10,000 of the author's images showing birds in a wide range of views--near and far, from different angles, in various plumages and behaviors, including flight, and in the habitat in which they live.





This is the ultimate, indispensable bird field guide—comprehensive, authoritative, portable, sturdy, and easier than ever to use.





The Sibley Guide to Birds has quickly become the new standard of excellence in bird identification guides, covering more than 810 North American birds in amazing detail.






...beautifully detailed illustrations—more than 6,600 in all—and descriptions of 810 species and 350 regional populations will enrich every birder's experience.






Get to know birds by ear with this engaging, one-of-a-kind book. Discover seventy-five unique species from Eastern and Central North America as you enjoy their sounds at the touch of a button-reproduced in high quality on the attached digital audio module-while reading vivid descriptions of their songs, calls, and related behaviors.






This field guide covers the avifauna of western North America using detailed artworks, maps and text.






On a desert island in the heart of the Galapagos archipelago, where Darwin received his first inklings of the theory of evolution, two scientists, Peter and Rosemary Grant, have spent twenty years proving that Darwin did not know the strength of his own theory. For among the finches of Daphne Major, natural selection is neither rare nor slow: it is taking place by the hour, and we can watch.





With all-new range maps, updated text, and 40 new paintings, the completely revised editions of two classic Peterson Field Guides are sure to be valuable additions to any birder's pocket or daypack. At a trim size of 5 x 8, they are portable but also beautifully illustrated.






The ultimate must-have guide for identifying migrant raptors, Hawks at a Distance is the first volume to focus on distant raptors as they are truly seen in the field. Jerry Liguori, a leading expert on North American raptors, factors in new information and approaches for identifying twenty-nine species of raptor in various lighting situations and settings.





Introduced in 1977 and completely revised in 1994, these bestselling photographic field guides have become the birding bibles of more than four million enthusiasts. Virtually every bird found in North America is brought to life in a full-color photograph and with textual information on the bird's voice, nesting habits, habitat, range, and interesting behaviors. 






Birders can memorize hundreds of details and still not be able to identify birds if they don’t really understand what’s in front of them.Today birders have access to almost too much information, and their attempts to identify birds can be drowned out by excess detail. The all-new Kaufman Field Guide to Advanced Birding takes a different approach, clarifying the basics and providing a framework for learning about each group. Overall principles of identification are explained in clear language, and ten chapters on specific groups of birds show how these principles can be applied in practice.






From the National Wildlife Federation® comes the most up-to-date, all-photographic field guide to North American birds. Birders will find it indispensable: this single, portable volume features more than 750 species, along with more than 2,000 stunning images by leading nature photographers showing birds in their natural habitats. Captions highlight important field marks, and comprehensive species accounts describe habitats, behavior, flight, migration, songs, and plumages.






There is an unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife. Most native insects cannot, or will not, eat alien plants. When native plant species disappear, the insects disappear, thus impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals.

Bringing Nature Home has sparked a national conversation about the link between healthy local ecosystems and human well-being...By acting on Douglas Tallamy’s practical recommendations, everyone can make a difference.










No matter where you live—in the country, city, a high-rise or house—this handy guide will quench your curiosity about the feathered creatures in your midst. It features 150 of the most common and interesting birds likely to be observed at backyard feeders, nesting nearby or just migrating through. An indispensable visual index of all 150 species appears on the inside front and back laminated covers, making identification a snap.






On Valentine's Day 1985, biologist Stacey O'Brien first met a four-day-old baby barn owl -- a fateful encounter that would turn into an astonishing 19-year saga. With nerve damage in one wing, the owlet's ability to fly was forever compromised, and he had no hope of surviving on his own in the wild. O'Brien, a young assistant in the owl laboratory at Caltech, was immediately smitten, promising to care for the helpless owlet and give him a permanent home. Wesley the Owl is the funny, poignant story of their dramatic two decades together.



Saturday, June 25, 2011

Strikingly Beautiful Birds - Woodpeckers

A bird perhaps a bit under appreciated for its beauty are Woodpeckers. Here are a series of pictures that put this bird's beauty on display...



A Male Magellanic Woodpecker, Torres Del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile




A Male Magellanic Woodpecker, Torres Del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile


Simoni, Marco


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Red-Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes Erythrocephalus), Eastern USA




Red-Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes Erythrocephalus), Eastern USA


Maslowski, Steve


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Baby Pileated Woodpeckers Peer from the Tree Hole Nest




Baby Pileated Woodpeckers Peer from the Tree Hole Nest


Grall, George


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Grey Woodpecker Tapping Tree Trunk, Tarangire National Park, Tanzania




Grey Woodpecker Tapping Tree Trunk, Tarangire National Park, Tanzania


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Close-Up of a Black-Cheeked Woodpecker Perching on Wood, Cano Negro, Costa Rica




Close-Up of a Black-Cheeked Woodpecker Perching on Wood, Cano Negro, Costa Rica


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Acorn Woodpecker Male on a Snag (Melanerpes Formicivorus), Arizona, USA




Acorn Woodpecker Male on a Snag (Melanerpes Formicivorus), Arizona, USA


Melton, Charles...


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Male Golden-Fronted Woodpecker, Melanerpes Aurifrons, Texas, USA




Male Golden-Fronted Woodpecker, Melanerpes Aurifrons, Texas, USA


Cornell, John


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Pileatd Woodpecker Scales a Pine Tree Trunk




Pileatd Woodpecker Scales a Pine Tree Trunk


Grall, George


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Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes Carolinus




Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Melanerpes Carolinus


Carter, Gary


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Great Spotted Woodpecker



Great Spotted Woodpecker


Hamblin, Mark


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Golden-Olive Woodpecker, Female at Nest-Hole, Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, Costa Rica




Golden-Olive Woodpecker, Female at Nest-Hole, Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, Costa Rica


Fogden, Michael


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A Male Pileated Woodpecker Looks Around Before Boring into the Trunk of a Dead Pine




A Male Pileated Woodpecker Looks Around Before Boring into the Trunk of a Dead Pine


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Large White Billed Woodpecker, Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahamas Islands, 1731




Large White Billed Woodpecker, Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahamas Islands, 1731


Catesby, Mark


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Northern Flicker, Oregon, USA




Northern Flicker, Oregon, USA


Sleicher, Charles


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Woodpecker and Trees



Woodpecker and Trees


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Monday, June 20, 2011

Beautiful Birds of the High Arctic

I have an adventurous side, which prompted me to spend two summers above the Arctic Circle in Alaska working as a geologist. It was an unforgettable experience. We lived in a bush camp, and rode around in helicopters all over the place. As an avid birdwatcher I had some great times:

--Seeing all three species of Jaegers in one day
--Spotting a Bluethroat while waiting for a helicopter to pick me up
--Finding a nesting pair of Gyrfalcons
--Seeing and identifying a Bar-tailed Godwit
--Nesting seabirds on cliffs on the Arctic Ocean (Chukchi Sea)
--Long-tailed Jaegers and Whimbrels on a regular basis
--A flock of beautiful Snow Buntings in breeding plumage
-- Abundant Lapland Longspurs in breeding plumage

The wildlife was also incredible: a wolverine, beautiful Arctic Foxes, grizzlies, and the Caribou migration wherein I watched the herd pass by me 25-30 abreast for two hours.

In memory of this experience here are pictures, and a spectacular Gyrfalcon video, of some of the beautiful birds (and a mesmerizing wolverine photo) of the high Arctic...

 


Gyrfalcon (Falco Rusticolus) in its White Phase




Gyrfalcon (Falco Rusticolus) in its White Phase


Sartore, Joel


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Snow Bunting, Plectrophenax Nivalis, Manitoba, Canada




Snow Bunting, Plectrophenax Nivalis, Manitoba, Canada


Morris, Arthur


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Parasitic Jaeger, Stercorarius Parasiticus, Flying over and Guarding its Nest




Parasitic Jaeger, Stercorarius Parasiticus, Flying over and Guarding its Nest


Cornell, John


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Bar-Tailed Godwit (Limosa Lapponica) on the Alaskan Tundra, USA




Bar-Tailed Godwit (Limosa Lapponica) on the Alaskan Tundra, USA


Maslowski, Steve


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Male Lapland Longspur on the Tundra (Calcarius Lapponicus), Alaska, USA




Male Lapland Longspur on the Tundra (Calcarius Lapponicus), Alaska, USA


Maslowski, Steve


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Portrait of a Snowy Owl
Portrait of a Snowy Owl
Fogstock Llc
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A Portrait of a Wolverine




A Portrait of a Wolverine


Nicklen, Paul


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Arctic Wings: Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge [With CD] From Mountaineers Books

This is a celebration in word and image of the birds who return each year to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to nest - and how they link every point on the globe. 200 colour photos from award-wining nature photographers, Subhankar Banerjee, Steven Kazlowski and Arthur Morris are included. Essays by noted writers, biologists and conservationists, including David Allen Sibley, Debble Miller and former US president Jimmy Carter are provided. It offers life histories of individual bird species from every major group, including shorebirds, songbirds and raptors plus dramatic stories of migration and strategies for survival. It also includes an audio CD of Arctic bird songs.



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