Rails

Rails
Author: Barry Taylor
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 601
Release: 2010-08-30
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 140813537X

This is a guide to rails, a relatively homogeneous family of birds spread throughout the world. Barry Taylor and Ber van Perlo have described and illustrated 145 species of rails, including two that are newly described, and also ten that are recently extinct and two that are almost certainly extinct. The book, based on up-to-date references and on new observations, is the first to give comprehensive information on field identification (including voice), covering all species and races for which details are known. It is also the first to provide descriptions of the immature and juvenile plumages of many species. The authors provide a detailed summary of current knowledge of all aspects of rail biology and their often complex behaviour, social structure, and family life. They explain how such apparently poorly flying birds can undertake intercontinental migrations and are such widespread and successful colonists of remote oceanic islands. They also discuss the remarkable ease and speed with which species on such islands have evolved into flightless forms in the absence of predators, a fact that has led to the rapid extinction of numerous island taxa following the arrival of man. Rail habitats are fast disappearing, say the authors, and many rails become endangered before enough is known about them to plan effective conservation measures. The book provides information on distribution, status, habitat requirements, and current threats, and it gives conservation priorities for threatened species.

Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers

Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers
Author: Simon Harrap
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 465
Release: 2010-06-30
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1408134586

This guide covers all 110 of the world's species of tits, nuthatches and creepers. The Parulidae ("true" tits), Remizidae (penduline tits) and Aegithalidae (long-tailed tits) form the bulk of the book (78 species), with a further 24 species of nuthatch and eight creepers. The text covers each species under a number of headings: identification, sex and age, voice, distribution and movements, habitat, population, habits, breeding biology, description, movements, geographical variation, relationships, and references.

Madoqua

Madoqua
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 352
Release: 1995
Genre: Deserts
ISBN:

Namibia

Namibia
Author: Bill Revilio
Publisher: New Holland Australia(AU)
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2000
Genre: Travel
ISBN: 9781859742006

A guide to Namibia, a country of contrasting landscapes ranging from the world's oldest desert to rugged mountains, dense woodland and lily-carpeted waterways. This guide covers the country's superb national parks, major festivals, crafts and architecture, as well as its main tourist attractions, towns, resorts, beaches and areas of special interest.

The Birds of Africa: Volume V

The Birds of Africa: Volume V
Author:
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 721
Release: 2020-06-25
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1472986555

This is the fifth volume in the Birds of Africa series, covering the rich avifauna of the world's second largest continent. Volume V treats the thrushes, warblers and flycatchers. Universally recognised as by far the most authoritative work ever published on the subject, The Birds of Africa is a superb multi-contributor reference work, with encyclopaedic species texts, stunning paintings of all species and numerous subspecies, hundreds of informative line drawings, detailed range maps, and extensive bibliographies. Each volume contains an Introduction that brings the reader up to date with the latest developments in African ornithology, including the evolution and biogeography of African birds. Diagnoses of the families and genera, often with superspecies maps, are followed by the comprehensive species accounts themselves. These include descriptions of range and status, field characters, voice, general habits, food, and breeding habits. Full bibliographies, acoustic references, and indexes complete this scholarly work of reference. This fifth volume in the series deals comprehensively with the true thrushes, Old World warblers, Old World flycatchers, paradise-flycatchers, monarchs, shrike-flycatchers, wattle-eyes and batises. The editors and artists have worked closely with other authors - all acknowledged experts in their field - to produce a superb reference in which comprehensive texts on every species are complemented by accurate and detailed paintings and drawings of the birds themselves.