The Whooper Swan


Book Description

This is the first ever monograph on the Whooper Swan. This species is found in the northern Palearctic and is the world's most widely distributed swan. It is a familiar bird in northern Europe and across Asia to the far East, and is particularly noticeable when migrating between breeding and wintering grounds in large, noisy flocks. This migratory behaviour makes it a powerful symbol of seasonal change, and this, together with the bird's beautiful appearance, make it a popular subject of folklore and legend. For much of its range the Whooper Swan is the archetypal 'wild swan', and its voice and appearance is deeply evocative of time and place. This book looks at all aspects of the life and times of this enchanting bird. The book includes chapters on taxonomy, population, range and distribution, diet, breeding biology, behaviour, migratory behaviour and longevity, as well as taking a look at the swan's associations with our own species in history and legend and throughout its geographic range. This book is a brilliantly readable and exhaustively researched monograph. It is illustrated throughout with numerous photographs and line drawings, illustrating various aspects of the species' behaviour and morphology. It will appeal greatly to all those with an interest in birdwatching, especially those who already know something of this wonderful and inspirational bird.




Whooper Swan


Book Description







Swan Song


Book Description

Dylan is struggling but when he's out on the water with his Grandad his mind clears and everything seems simpler. But his Grandad's beloved Whooper swans are under threat and it feels like everything that has made him feel safe is slipping away ... A profoundly moving novel on the redemptive, healing power of nature from bestseller Gill Lewis.




The North American Swans: Their Biology and Conservation


Book Description

Among birds, swans are relatively long-lived species and are also among the most strongly monogamous, having prolonged pair and family bonds that strongly influence their reproductive and general social behavior, which, in combination with their beauty and elegance, contribute to the overall high degree of worldwide human interest in them. This volume of more than 59,000 words describes the distributions, ecology, social behavior, and breeding biologies of the four species of swans that breed or have historically bred in North America, including the native trumpeter and tundra swans, the introduced mute swan, and the marginally occurring whooper swan. Also included are 5 distribution maps, 15 drawings, 27 photographs by the author, and a reference section of nearly 1,000 literature citations.




Swans of the World


Book Description

Fully illustrated with swans of legend, art, nature and the imagination, Swans of the World is a treasury and a treasure as well.




Earth Is My Witness


Book Description

Art Wolfe’s definitive opus, Earth Is My Witness represents forty years of expeditionary photography. For the first time, Wolfe presents the three subjects at the heart of his work—landscapes, wildlife, and cultures on the edge of extinction—in a single masterpiece that takes us through the world’s ecosystems and geographical regions in a vivid display of the fragility and interconnectivity of life on Earth, while simultaneously exploring his evolution as an artist and the techniques he uses to capture the nuances and rhythms of nature. Earth Is My Witness is the most extensive collection of Art Wolfe photography ever compiled. This lavishly produced work spans the globe, bringing the beauty of the planet’s fast-disappearing landscapes, wildlife, and cultures into stunning focus. Containing unpublished work from throughout Wolfe’s widely celebrated career, Earth Is My Witness offers a riveting and comprehensive look at the world’s ecosystems and geographical regions. Here Wolfe presents an encyclopedic selection of his photography along with intimate stories that exemplify his boundless curiosity. From the rich sights and smells of the Pushkar Camel Fair to the exact moment when a polar bear and her cubs leave their Arctic den, these images represent what Wolfe has lived for: moments when circumstance, light, and subject miraculously collide to form an iconic image. These photographs and the stories behind them explore the delicate interconnectivity of life across our planet. Setting the stage for this fascinating journey is award-winning author Wade Davis. Together, photographer and author present a world that borders on the fantastic but is all the more precious for its fragility. At the heart of Wolfe’s work is the appeal for environmental, cultural, and wildlife preservation, which he makes with beautiful, far-reaching precision in this definitive opus.




Flyaway


Book Description

While her father is in the hospital, 13-year-old Isla befriends Harry, the first boy to understand her love of the outdoors, and as Harry's health fails, Isla tries to help both him and the lone swan they see, struggling to fly, on the lake outside Harry's window.




Whooper Swan


Book Description




Ducks, Geese and Swans


Book Description

"Wildfowl and screamers belong to a highly diverse family of birds, confined to watery habitats. They are amongst the most attractive of birds and are very well-known to man, who has domesticated them, used their feathers for warm clothing and ornamentation, admired their flight, courtship and migration, caught them for food, maintained them in captivity for pleasure, and written about their doings in delightful children's stories, from Mother Goose to Jemima Puddleduck and Donald Duck. They occur throughout the world except Antarctica. Some are faithful to the same partner for life, others for only the few minutes of copulation. In some species, male and female make devoted parents, and yet there is one within the group whose female lays her eggs in the nests of others and never incubates. Diving as a method of obtaining food has evolved many times within the family. Most nest in the open but others in the tree-hole nests of woodpeckers and some in the ground burrows of rabbits or aardvarks. They may be highly social or solitary, defending a large territory." -- publisher website.