The Magpies: The Ecology and Behaviour of Black-Billed and Yellow-Billed Magpies PDF Download
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Author: Tim Birkhead
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408137771
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 273
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Book Description
Two species of magpie feature in this book, the Black-billed Magpie, familiar to most Europeans, which occurs throughout much of the northern hemisphere, and the Yellow-billed Magpie, which is confined to California. Magpies are unmistakable in their appearance, voice and extrovert, arrogant manner. While their persecution at the hands of gamekeepers over the last hundred years has made them wary and difficult to approach, a number of recent field studies, both in Europe and North America, have successfully revealed the intricacies of the magpie way of life. Tim Birkhead has studied both species, and has produced a fascinating account of their ecology and behaviour. Many of the results from his ten-year study of magpies in northern England are published here for the first time. Particularly revealing however is his comparison of the two species and of their different races. Magpies occur in a wide range of habitats, including English farmland, the deserts of North America, the mountains of Saudi Arabia and the windswept plateaus of Tibet. As this book explains, magpies are able to exploit this diversity of habitats largely through their remarkably flexible social behaviour. The Magpies covers all aspects of their lives, including their marital relationships, food hoarding behaviour, longevity and survival, nesting behaviour, breeding success and their controversial relationship with man. The text is supported by numerous photographs, diagrams and tables, and superb illustrations by David Quinn.
Author: Tim Birkhead
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408137771
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Get Book Here
Book Description
Two species of magpie feature in this book, the Black-billed Magpie, familiar to most Europeans, which occurs throughout much of the northern hemisphere, and the Yellow-billed Magpie, which is confined to California. Magpies are unmistakable in their appearance, voice and extrovert, arrogant manner. While their persecution at the hands of gamekeepers over the last hundred years has made them wary and difficult to approach, a number of recent field studies, both in Europe and North America, have successfully revealed the intricacies of the magpie way of life. Tim Birkhead has studied both species, and has produced a fascinating account of their ecology and behaviour. Many of the results from his ten-year study of magpies in northern England are published here for the first time. Particularly revealing however is his comparison of the two species and of their different races. Magpies occur in a wide range of habitats, including English farmland, the deserts of North America, the mountains of Saudi Arabia and the windswept plateaus of Tibet. As this book explains, magpies are able to exploit this diversity of habitats largely through their remarkably flexible social behaviour. The Magpies covers all aspects of their lives, including their marital relationships, food hoarding behaviour, longevity and survival, nesting behaviour, breeding success and their controversial relationship with man. The text is supported by numerous photographs, diagrams and tables, and superb illustrations by David Quinn.
Author: T. R. Birkhead
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781472597304
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 270
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Book Description
"Magpies are unmistakeable in their appearance, voice and extrovert, arrogant manner. While their persecution at the hands of gamekeepers over the last hundred years has made them wary and difficult to approach, a number of recent field studies, both in Europe and North America, have successfully revealed the intricacies of the magpie way of life. Two species of magpie feature in this book, the Black-billed Magpie, familiar to most Europeans, which occurs throughout much of the northern hemisphere, and the Yellow-billed Magpie, which is confined to California. Tim Birkhead has studied both species, and has produced a fascinating account of their ecology and behaviour. Many of the results from his ten-year study of magpies in northern England are published here for the first time. Particularly revealing however is his comparison of the two species and of their different races. Magpies occur in a wide range of habitats, including English farmland, the deserts of North America, the mountains of Saudi Arabia and the windswept plateaus of Tibet. As this book explains, magpies are able to exploit this diversity of habitats largely through their remarkably flexible social behaviour. The Magpies covers all aspects of their lives, including their marital relationships, food hoarding behaviour, longevity and survival, nesting behaviour, breeding success and their controversial relationship with man. The text is supported by numerous photographs, diagrams and tables, and superb illustrations by David Quinn."--Bloomsbury Publishing.
Author: Steve Madge
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408135272
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 215
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Book Description
Crows and Jays is a combination of scientifically accurate information and an identification guide, planned to give anyone, whether a birdwatcher or biologist, a greater understanding of the lives of these beautiful, yet very complex, group of birds. 120 species of crows, jays and their allies exist in the world today. Many are exceedingly beautiful in colour, grace and form, whereas others are black and somewhat sinister in appearance. In no other group of perching birds has evolution produced such a degree of variation, from the tiny Hume's Ground-Jay of the steppe-highlands of Tibet to the huge Thick-billed Raven of the mountains of Ethiopia. Some have had a long association with people and appear in tales of mythology and superstition, while others have been regarded as agricultural pests. The great majority, however, remain largely unknown, their only contact with humanity being the destruction of their specialised habitats. As a consequence, more than 20 species are now regarded as internationally endangered, some of which are very poorly known. The 30 superb colour plates by Hilary Burn in this book depict them all; each plate is accompanied by an informative caption page summarising the criteria required to identify the species, alongside colour world distribution maps. Some of these birds, bearing such evocative names as the Banggai Crow, Mesopotamian Crow and Flores Crow, have never been illustrated before. The authoritative text by Steve Madge treats each species in depth, summarising identification techniques and concisely reviewing all aspects of corvid behaviour, distribution, population and taxonomy. The author has had first-hand experience of most of the species during his travels throughout the world, travels in which he gradually became fascinated by this very special, but somewhat ignored, group of birds. This will surely be a standard work of reference for many years to come.
Author: Charles F. Thompson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1441964215
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 201
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Book Description
Current Ornithology publishes authoritative, up-to-date, scholarly reviews of topics selected from the full range of current research in avian biology. Topics cover the spectrum from the molecular level of organization to population biology and community ecology. The series seeks especially to review (1) fields in which an abundant recent literature will benefit from synthesis and organization, or (2) newly emerging fields that are gaining recognition as the result of recent discoveries or shifts in perspective, or (3) fields in which students of vertebrates may benefit from comparisons of birds with other classes. All chapters are invited, and authors are chosen for their leadership in the subjects under review.
Author: Tim Birkhead
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400848830
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 545
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Book Description
Ten Thousand Birds provides a thoroughly engaging and authoritative history of modern ornithology, tracing how the study of birds has been shaped by a succession of visionary and often-controversial personalities, and by the unique social and scientific contexts in which these extraordinary individuals worked. This beautifully illustrated book opens in the middle of the nineteenth century when ornithology was a museum-based discipline focused almost exclusively on the anatomy, taxonomy, and classification of dead birds. It describes how in the early 1900s pioneering individuals such as Erwin Stresemann, Ernst Mayr, and Julian Huxley recognized the importance of studying live birds in the field, and how this shift thrust ornithology into the mainstream of the biological sciences. The book tells the stories of eccentrics like Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, a pathological liar who stole specimens from museums and quite likely murdered his wife, and describes the breathtaking insights and discoveries of ambitious and influential figures such as David Lack, Niko Tinbergen, Robert MacArthur, and others who through their studies of birds transformed entire fields of biology. Ten Thousand Birds brings this history vividly to life through the work and achievements of those who advanced the field. Drawing on a wealth of archival material and in-depth interviews, this fascinating book reveals how research on birds has contributed more to our understanding of animal biology than the study of just about any other group of organisms.
Author: Tim Birkhead
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 140883054X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 290
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Book Description
What is it like to be a swift, flying at over one hundred kilometres an hour? Or a kiwi, plodding flightlessly among the humid undergrowth in the pitch dark of a New Zealand night? And what is going on inside the head of a nightingale as it sings, and how does its brain improvise?Bird Sense addresses questions like these and many more, by describing the senses of birds that enable them to interpret their environment and to interact with each other. Our affinity for birds is often said to be the result of shared senses - vision and hearing - but how exactly do their senses compare with our own? And what about a birds' sense of taste, or smell, or touch or the ability to detect the earth's magnetic field? Or the extraordinary ability of desert birds to detect rain hundreds of kilometres away - how do they do it?Bird Sense is based on a conviction that we have consistently underestimated what goes on in a bird's head. Our understanding of bird behaviour is simultaneously informed and constrained by the way we watch and study them. By drawing attention to the way these frameworks both facilitate and inhibit discovery, it identifies ways we can escape from them to seek new horizons in bird behaviour.There has never been a popular book about the senses of birds. No one has previously looked at how birds interpret the world or the way the behaviour of birds is shaped by their senses. A lifetime spent studying birds has provided Tim Birkhead with a wealth of observation and an understanding of birds and their behaviour that is firmly grounded in science.
Author: Scott E. Hygnstrom
Publisher: DIANE Publishing Inc.
ISBN: 1437936881
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 503
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Book Description
A comprehensive reference on vertebrate species that can cause economic damage or become nuisance pests. Reviews all vertebrate species that come into conflict with human interests in North America. Includes agricultural, commercial, industrial, and residential pest problems and recommends solutions; emphasizes prevention; outlines and explains all currently registered and recommended control methods and materials. Contains dozens of chapters written by various authors. Figures.
Author: Patricia Gowaty
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461559855
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 629
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Book Description
Standing at the intersection of evolutionary biology and feminist theory is a large audience interested in the questions one field raises for the other. Have evolutionary biologists worked largely or strictly within a masculine paradigm, seeing males as evolving and females as merely reacting passively or carried along with the tide? Would our view of nature `red in tooth in claw' be different if women had played a larger role in the creation of evolutionary theory and through education in its transmission to younger generations? Is there any such thing as a feminist science or feminist methodology? For feminists, does any kind of biological determinism undermine their contention that gender roles purely constructed, not inherent in the human species? Does the study of animals have anything to say to those preoccupied with the evolution and behavior of humans? All these questions and many more are addressed by this book, whose contributing authors include leading scholars in both feminism and evolutionary biology. Bound to be controversial, this book is addressed to evolutionary biologists and to feminists and to the large number of people interested in women's studies.
Author: Mike Hansell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521017640
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296
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Book Description
Bird Nests and Construction Behaviour provides a broad view of our current understanding of the biology of the nests, bowers, and tools made by birds. It illustrates how birds, among vertebrates, have more impressive and consistent building abilities than any other builders, excluding humans. However, birds seem to require no special building equipment and use quite uncomplicated behavior. The book raises general issues in the field of behavioral ecology, including the costs of reproduction, sexual selection, and the organization and complexity of behavior. This volume was written for students and researchers of animal behavior, behavioral ecology, and ornithology, it will nevertheless make fascinating reading for architects and engineers interested in understanding how structures are created by animals.
Author: Carel ten Cate
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107092388
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 351
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Book Description
An overview of current research and experimental approaches in avian cognition and how this relates to other species.
