Animals

Ever wonder how to attract beautiful birds right to your backyard? Now you can create a bird-watching paradise with this accessible guidebook that teaches you everything you need to know about welcoming your new feathered friends and how to care for them while they're visiting.

Backyard Bird Sanctuary helps you attract fifty of the most common and sought-after birds in the United States. With beautiful, full-color illustrations of both the male and female of each species, you'll have no trouble identifying your new companions. Inside you'll find everything you need to know about welcoming these birds into your yard including:
-Preferred types of food and feeder
-Nesting and brooding habits
-Range and migratory patterns
-Effective techniques for attracting birds
-Ways to provide shelter
-And so much more!

With tips and advice for any sized yard--even a small patio or balcony--you can enjoy the beauty of wild birds wherever you live. Now you can surround your home with cheerful bird songs and beautiful plumage all year long!

"There is the mammal way and there is the bird way." But the bird way is much more than a unique pattern of brain wiring, and lately, scientists have taken a new look at bird behaviors they have, for years, dismissed as anomalies or mysteries -- What they are finding is upending the traditional view of how birds conduct their lives, how they communicate, forage, court, breed, survive. They are also revealing the remarkable intelligence underlying these activities, abilities we once considered uniquely our own: deception, manipulation, cheating, kidnapping, infanticide, but also ingenious communication between species, cooperation, collaboration, altruism, culture, and play.

Some of these extraordinary behaviors are biological conundrums that seem to push the edges of, well, birdness: a mother bird that kills her own infant sons, and another that selflessly tends to the young of other birds as if they were her own; a bird that collaborates in an extraordinary way with one species--ours--but parasitizes another in gruesome fashion; birds that give gifts and birds that steal; birds that dance or drum, that paint their creations or paint themselves; birds that build walls of sound to keep out intruders and birds that summon playmates with a special call--and may hold the secret to our own penchant for playfulness and the evolution of laughter.

Drawing on personal observations, the latest science, and her bird-related travel around the world, from the tropical rainforests of eastern Australia and the remote woodlands of northern Japan, to the rolling hills of lower Austria and the islands of Alaska's Kachemak Bay, Jennifer Ackerman shows there is clearly no single bird way of being. In every respect, in plumage, form, song, flight, lifestyle, niche, and behavior, birds vary. It is what we love about them. As E.O Wilson once said, when you have seen one bird, you have not seen them all.

Get the New Edition of Ohio's Best-Selling Bird Guide

Learn to identify birds in Ohio, and make bird-watching even more enjoyable. With Stan Tekiela's famous field guide, bird identification is simple and informative. There's no need to look through dozens of photos of birds that don't live in your area. This book features 124 species of Ohio birds organized by color for ease of use. Do you see a yellow bird and don't know what it is? Go to the yellow section to find out.

Book Features:

This new edition includes more species, updated photographs and range maps, revised information, and even more of Stan's expert insights. So grab Birds of Ohio Field Guide for your next birding adventure--to help ensure that you positively identify the birds that you see.

A whimsical celebration of the colourful characteristics and playful personalities of our favourite canine companions, from the creators of Catphabet and Plantphabet.

It's no secret that dogs are one of life's great joys.

They come in all shapes and sizes and, like humans, they have unique personalities, skillsets and interests that can make you friends fur-ever, or have you barking up the wrong tree.

Dogphabet is a rollicking, rambunctious, gorgeously illustrated A-Z celebration of our loyal best friend, from fearless and reliable pooches to the downright zany and vivacious. It's paws-itively delightful.

A renowned cat behavior scientist of over thirty years, Dr. Sarah Brown has been at the forefront of research in the field, discovering how cats use tail signals to interact with each other and their owners. Now, she reveals the previously unexplored secrets of cat communication in a book that is both scientifically grounded and utterly delightful.

Each chapter dives into a different form of communication, including vocalizations, tail signals, scents, rubbing, and ear movements. The iconic meow, for example, is rarely used between adult cats--cleverly mimicking the cries of a human infant, the meow is a feline invention for conversing with people. Through observing the behavior of two cat colonies in rural England, readers will also have the opportunity to glimpse into the lives of some of the cats behind Dr. Brown's science.

Can we understand what cats' meows and other signals mean? How do cats actually perceive us? And how can we use this information to inform how we talk back to our feline friends? Referencing historical records, exploring modern scientific studies of cat-human communication, and including simple, elegant line drawings, The Hidden Language of Cats is perfect for any cat lover who wants to learn more about their companion.

"A wild, rollicking ride into the heart of horse country--these essays get at what it means to love horses, in all that love's complexity." --Anton DiSclafani, author of The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls

A compelling and provocative essay collection that smashes stereotypes and redefines the meaning of the term "horse girl," broadening it for women of all cultural backgrounds.

As a child, horses consumed Halimah Marcus' imagination. When she wasn't around horses she was pretending to be one, cantering on two legs, hands poised to hold invisible reins. To her classmates, girls like Halimah were known as "horse girls," weird and overzealous, absent from the social worlds of their peers.

Decades later, when memes about "horse girl energy," began appearing across social media--Halimah reluctantly recognized herself. The jokes imagine girls as blinkered as carriage ponies, oblivious to the mockery behind their backs. The stereotypical horse girl is also white, thin, rich, and straight, a daughter of privilege. Yet so many riders don't fit this narrow, damaging ideal, and relate to horses in profound ways that include ambivalence and regret, as well as unbridled passion and devotion.

Featuring some of the most striking voices in contemporary literature--including Carmen Maria Machado, Pulitzer-prize winner Jane Smiley, T Kira Madden, Maggie Shipstead, and Courtney Maum--Horse Girls reframes the iconic bond between girls and horses with the complexity and nuance it deserves. And it showcases powerful emerging voices like Braudie Blais-Billie, on the connection between her Seminole and Quebecois heritage; Sarah Enelow-Snyder, on growing up as a Black barrel racer in central Texas; and Nur Nasreen Ibrahim, on the colonialist influence on horse culture in Pakistan.

By turns thought-provoking and personal, Horse Girls reclaims its titular stereotype to ask bold questions about autonomy and desire, privilege and ambition, identity and freedom, and the competing forces of domestication and wildness.

In Letters of Note: Dogs, Shaun Usher brings together a delightful collection of correspondence about our canine friends, featuring affectionate accounts of pups' playful misdemeanours, heartfelt tributes to loyal fidos and shared tales of remarkable hounds.

Includes letters by:
Clara Bow, Bob Hope,
Charles Lamb, Sue Perkins,
Marcel Proust, Dodie Smith,
Gertrude Stein, E.B. White
& many more

An updated, informative review of the status and biology of the fifty-five species of mammals living wild in Ohio, richly illustrated with photographs, maps, drawings, and original artwork.

This comprehensive reference illustrates how species within each of the seven orders of mammals in Ohio share modes of reproduction, locomotion, and nutrition, providing a framework for understanding the fascinating world of mammalian biology. Presentations of natural history in each account of the various species are enhanced with descriptions of intriguing adaptations for avoiding demise from predators, food shortages, and the frigid conditions of Ohio winters. The book is richly illustrated with range maps, exquisite skull drawings, beautiful photography, and engaging artwork.

Challenges to wildlife conservation are considerable in Ohio, with its vast industrialized urban centers distributed across a largely agricultural landscape. With frequent citations of scientific reports and conservation efforts of the Ohio Division of Wildlife and of other public and private entities, this book instills an appreciation for the rich mammalian fauna of Ohio, as well as knowledge on how to join efforts to protect it.

Covering all of the state's mammals, from tiny, obscure shrews to the magnificent white-tailed deer, Mammals of Ohio is a definitive resource for professional biologists and students. The narrative style throughout the book is accessible, providing the general reader with an appreciation for the full scope of the rich mammalian diversity in the state.

"Montgomery's heart-tugging conversations with teammates and her commitment to helping an octogenarian named Fire Chief reveal turtles to be perfect conduits for meditations on aging, disability and chosen family." --Scientific American

National Book Award finalist for The Soul of an Octopus and New York Times bestseller Sy Montgomery turns her journalistic curiosity to the wonder and wisdom of our long-lived cohabitants--turtles--and through their stories of hope and rescue, reveals to us astonishing new perspectives on time and healing.

When acclaimed naturalist Sy Montgomery and wildlife artist Matt Patterson arrive at Turtle Rescue League, they are greeted by hundreds of turtles recovering from injury and illness. Endangered by cars and highways, pollution and poachers, these turtles--with wounds so severe that even veterinarians would have dismissed them as fatal--are given a second chance at life. The League's founders, Natasha and Alexxia, live by one motto: Never give up on a turtle.

But why turtles? What is it about them that inspires such devotion? Ancient and unhurried, long-lived and majestic, their lineage stretches back to the time of the dinosaurs. Some live to two hundred years, or longer. Others spend months buried under cold winter water. Montgomery turns to these little understood yet endlessly surprising creatures to probe the eternal question: How can we make peace with our time?

In pursuit of the answer, Sy and Matt immerse themselves in the delicate work of protecting turtle nests, incubating eggs, rescuing sea turtles, and releasing hatchlings to their homes in the wild. We follow the snapping turtle Fire Chief on his astonishing journey as he battles against injuries incurred by a truck.

Hopeful and optimistic, Of Time and Turtles is an antidote to the instability of our frenzied world. Elegantly blending science, memoir, philosophy, and drawing on cultures from across the globe, this compassionate portrait of injured turtles and their determined rescuers invites us all to slow down and slip into turtle time.

Following the success of A Dog a Day and Old Dogs, Sally Muir returns with an adorable collection of beautiful rescue dog portraits that will melt even the coldest of hearts.

Several years ago, Sally Muir began a Facebook project, posting dog art daily, which became the best-selling book A Dog a Day. Through the project she was introduced to endless people and their dogs, and the distinct personalities and complex emotions that owners attribute to them. This was followed with Old Dogs, where Sally asked the public to send in photos of their elderly canines. She was drawn to the tales behind their greying whiskers and so the natural next step was rescue dogs with their eventful life stories.

Rescue Dogs is a beautiful collection of loveable hounds with colourful histories and expressive faces. From Mr Bojangles who was rescued after being hit by a car to Molly who found a new lease of life after being rescued from a shelter at age 15, Rescue Dogs will tug at the heartstrings and leave you with a profound sense of optimism for life, new beginnings and kindness. This is the perfect gift for your dog-loving friends, or for yourself to enjoy some mindful moments flicking through delightful, heart-warming canine portraits.

Speck is not a good boy. He is a terrible boy, a defiant, self-destructive, often malodorous boy, a grave robber and screen door moocher who spends his days playing chicken with the Fed Ex man, picking fights with thousand-pound livestock, and rolling in donkey manure, and his nights howling at the moon. He has been that way since the moment he appeared on the ridgeline behind Rick Bragg's house, a starved and half-dead creature, seventy-six pounds of wet hair and poor decisions.

Speck arrived in Rick's life at a moment of looming uncertainty. A cancer diagnosis, chemo, kidney failure, and recurring pneumonia had left Rick lethargic and melancholy. Speck helped, and he is helping, still, when he is not peeing on the rose of Sharon. Written with Bragg's inimitable blend of tenderness and sorrow, humor and grit, The Speckled Beauty captures the extraordinary, sustaining devotion between two damaged creatures who need each other to heal.

Teach Your Dog to Talk is a light-hearted and easy-to-use guide to exploring Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Inspired by the discovery that dogs can use AAC to communicate with their humans, this book is perfect for the average pet owner who is looking to foster a deeper connection with their dog through "speech training."

As the first resource to encourage more pet owners to explore this fun (and funny!) endeavor with their animals, Teach Your Dog to Talk will explore the basic setup of currently available AAC devices and best practices for getting started, and highlight notable achievements by some of the internet's favorite "talking" dogs. The book will also answer frequently asked questions, discuss common mistakes, and offer do's and don'ts.

Pet owners will discover a whole new layer of their relationship with their beloved four-legged friends thanks to the tips and tricks offered in this first-of-its-kind handbook.

The third and final updated edition of David Attenborough's classic Life trilogy. Life on Earth covered evolution, Living Planet , ecology, and now The Trials of Life tackles ethology, the study of how animals behave.

'This is, quite simply, the best thing I've ever done.' Sir David Attenborough on the TV series, The Trials of Life, upon which this book is based.

This is the third and last of Sir David's great natural history books based on his TV series and competes his survey of the animal world that began with Life on Earth and continues with Living Planet.

In Life on Earth, Sir David showed how each group of animals evolved. In Living Planet he looked at the way they have adapted to the whole range of habitats in which they live. Now, in Trials of Life, he completes the story by revealing how animals behave - and why.