NHBS Weekly Digest: Bird Sense, highland mammals, beauty in nature, insects and whales, Elekon and the CB2 Deluxe

New books in stock this week

Looking at the very best of the new arrivals from the last seven days:

Bird Sense jacket imageBird Sense: What it’s Like to be a Bird

Tim Birkhead

The author of The Wisdom of Birds returns with this thought-provoking exploration of the subjective sense experience of birds. The premise is that there is much more to being inside a bird’s head than at first we may assume. The chapters journey through the different senses, revealing the fascinating insights that surround each through generous reference to the history of avian scientific investigation. Birkhead shows by implication that the sensory life of birds has a rich diversity and specificity which may make many readers revisit the question of what it’s like to be a bird.

Atlas of Highland Land Mammals jacket imageAtlas of Highland Land Mammals

Edited by Ro Scott

The second publication that we have stocked from the Highland Biological Recording Group, the previous being Highland Bumblebees. The area in question corresponds to the administrative area covered by the Highland Council and accounts for one third of the land mass of Scotland. Drawing upon data from previous surveys by HBRC of specific species, plus the results of mammal recording over the last 12 years from 1999 to 2010, this is a summary of the appearance, behaviour and location, ecology and conservation status and history/management history  of 37 species. Illustrated with clear distribution maps and four colour plates.

Survival of the Beautiful jacket imageSurvival of the Beautiful

David Rothenberg

Explores the evolutionary nature of beauty, and beauty in nature, taking on the challenge that led to Darwin’s pronouncement that “The peacock’s tail makes me sick!” Rothenberg’s investigations roam through a world of natural and artistic phenomena, from Bowerbirds and their elaborate nest-building to attract a mate, to abstract art and its demolition of the traditional pursuit and exaltation of beauty in art – and his observations about the interplay of beauty, art and culture interrogate the capacity of Darwin’s concept of sexual selection to fully explain the sense of the aesthetic and its appearance in the evolutionary history of animals and humans. Rothenberg is currently collaborating with researchers from CUNY, NYU, and the Netherlands Institute of Ecology on the quantification of the musicality of nightingale songs.

Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Insects jacket imageEcological and Environmental Physiology of Insects

Jon F Harrison, Arthur H Woods and Stephen P Roberts

Volume 3 in the Ecological and Environmental Physiology Series from Oxford University Press.
From the publisher’s description:
“Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Insects presents a current and comprehensive overview of how the key physiological traits of insects respond to environmental variation. It forges conceptual links from molecular biology through organismal function to population and community ecology. As with other books in the Series, the emphasis is on the unique physiological characteristics of the insects, but with applications to questions of broad relevance in physiological ecology. As an aid to new researchers on insects, it also includes introductory chapters on the basics and techniques of insect physiology ecology.”

The Sounding of the Whale jacket imageThe Sounding of the Whale

D. Graham Burnett

A majestic and sweeping history of the development of the relationship between science and the whale in the twentieth century, drawing in the implications and side-stories from the whaling trade, politics, environmental activism and cultural perceptions. The author is professor of history and history of science at Princeton University, joint editor of Cabinet magazine, and author of four books, including Trying Leviathan, which won the New York City Book Award in 2007.

Wildlife Equipment Highlights 

Our weekly suggestions to help you get kitted out for conservation field work, wildlife watching, travel and photography, selected from our range of over 2,000 equipment items.

Elekon Batscanner Bat Detector jacket imageElekon Bat Scanner Bat Detector

The most advanced heterodyne-only detector on the market. Just turn on the device and listen. The ultrasonic sounds are automatically transformed into the audible range without the need for any adjustments, whilst the large LCD screen provides an immediate display of the peak frequency.

Browse our range of bat detection equipment

 

Cluson CB2 Clubman Deluxe Li-Ion 9.2Ah High-Power Lamp/TorchCluson CB2 Clubman Deluxe Li-Ion 9.2Ah High-Power Lamp/Torch

All the great features of the CB2 combined with the reduced size and weight but increased battery life of a Lithium Ion battery. The 12V 9.2Ah version can now produce the high beam for 2.25 hours continuously on a single charge whilst the 12V 18.4Ah version will run for 4 hours. The total weight of the CB2 has also been reduced considerably with the 12V 9.2Ah version now at 1.65kg and the 12V 18.4Ah version at 2.2kg whilst the size of the units has been reduced by approximately 30%.

Browse our range of lamps and torches

 

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