Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History

Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of HistoryFifty Plants that Changed the Course of History

From the crops that have fed billions of people over the centuries to the plants highly regarded for their medicinal qualities, this fascinating offering from garden expert Bill Laws unearths the stories behind some of the world’s best-known plants. The plants are assessed by their influence in the categories of edible, medicinal, practical and commerical, allowing the reader to discover how each of the fifty featured plants has earnt its right to be regarded as changing the course of history. Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History draws upon some fascinating sources from ancient wall paintings to old Japanese wood blocks, depicting traditional methods of harvesting and preparing crops.

Our favourite plant from this book? Coffee

Coffea arabica – black gold. Thought to have been brought to the West by Marco Polo in the 13th Century, coffee is an economic, cultural and social phenomenon without parallel globally… and particularly in the office at NHBS.

Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History

Reed and Bush Warblers in stock at NHBS

Reed and Bush WarblersReed and Bush Warblers has just arrived at NHBS.

This detailed and comprehensive identification guide follows in the mould of “Sylvia Warblers” and “Pipits and Wagtails“. It primarily covers the genera Acrocephalus, Locustella, Cettia and Bradypterus together with a few smaller related genera.

Peter Kennerley & David Pearson’s authoritative handbook covers warbler identification in considerable detail, illustrated with line drawings, sonograms, colour plates and photographs. It is destined to become the ultimate reference for these challenging birds.

Reed and Bush Warblers

Woodland Creation for Wildlife and People in a Changing Climate

Woodland Creation for Wildlife and People in a Changing Climate jacket imageThis lucid, beautifully illustrated and comprehensive guidebook is distributed by NHBS – both the authors are experts in habitat restoration and this publication is a significant contribution to approaching the challenges of woodland wildlife conservation in the 21st century.

Woodland Creation for Wildlife and People in a Changing Climate: Principles and Practice, written by David Blakesley and Peter Buckley, and sponsored by the RSPB, Woodland Trust and the Eden Project has recently been published. New native woodland has the potential to make a significant contribution to wildlife conservation in Britain, by supporting flora and fauna characteristic of both woodland and wider countryside habitat. For example, woodland creation provides opportunities for a number of strongly declining woodland birds characteristic of young woodland, such as tree pipit, willow warbler and garden warbler. The bird species benefiting from new woodlands will depend on a number of factors, such as the woodland type, stage of growth and location within the country. As new woodland matures it may be possible to maintain good populations of a number of woodland birds through coppice management or by providing scrub along rides and theImage from inside the bookwoodland edge.

Open habitats in woodlands are becoming increasingly important in a wider countryside context, with the loss of large areas of unimproved grassland, wetland and heathland. Rides and glades in new native woodland can support such communities, and act as stepping stones to facilitate the movement of species through often inhospitable agricultural landscapes. Even small fragments of open habitat in new native woodland can be important in their own right, supporting not just plants, but also a wide diversity of invertebrates, including many of the declining wider countryside butterflies such as small copper and small heath.

This book presents a comprehensive and extensively illustrated guide to the principles and practice of woodland creation. In the first part of the book, the issues underlying woodland creation projects are considered, such as the relevance of different woodland community types. The process of natural succession is described, illustrating the variety of wildlife that may colonise new woods, including birds, insects and plants. Ecosystem services provided by new woodland for people are examined, together with the threat of climate change, coping strategies for biodiversity, and the planning of woodland habitat networks and planting strategies.

Image from inside the bookIn the second part, detailed practical information for anyone creating woodland is presented, from the planning and selection of sites, sourcing of seeds and selecting tree species to woodland design, layout and management. The creation of woodland edge habitat and open ground communities is given particular prominence.

This book should appeal to anyone with an interest in creating new native woodland, planting trees or conserving woodland wildlife.

Buy your copy of Woodland Creation for Wildlife and People in a Changing Climate

Urban Ecology – plus ecology special offer

Urban Ecology jacket imageUrban Ecology is the new volume in the Ecological Reviews Series published by Cambridge University Press.

From now until the end of the year (31/12/10) you can save 10% on other volumes in this series:

Ecosystem EcologyEcology of Industrial PollutionSpeciation and Patterns of DiversityBody SizeIsland Colonization | Biotic Interactions in the TropicsBiological Diversity and Function in Soils

The World Atlas of Mangroves

World Atlas of MangrovesThe choice of new books in stock at NHBS this week is inspiring in its variety. Our favourite has to be the World Atlas of Mangroves. The detail in this inventory of biodiversity, habitat area, habitat loss and economic value for mangroves in 124 countries is extraordinary and we salute this beautifully produced feat of data collation. Highly recommended.

Browse the July NHBS Newsletter to see all the latest highlights.

Two new birding books you won’t want to miss

2010 is the first year in NHBS’ 25 year history when there hasn’t been a large number of new field guides and avifaunas to pick from over the summer months. Just when we started worrying there wouldn’t be anything to get excited about  all summer, along come two stunning books for birders:

Nightjars of the World: Frogmouths, Potoos, Oilbird and Owlet-nightjarsNightjars of the World: Frogmouths, Potoos, Oilbird and Owlet-nightjars by Nigel Cleere.

This long awaited photographic guide covers the world’s 136 species of nightjar, pootoos, frogmouths, oilbirds and owlet-nightjars and features many never-before-published images, the latest taxonomy and distribution information. £44.99 | Hbk

Nightjars of the World: Frogmouths, Potoos, Oilbird and Owlet-nightjars

A Birdwatching Guide to South-East BrazilA Birdwatching Guide to South-East Brazil by Juha Honkala and Seppo Niiranen

The site descriptions include information on some 50 excellent birdwatching sites throughout South-East Brazil with accurate directions on how-to-get-there, details of what to see and expect, plus important information on conditions. In addition, the book includes illustrations of 558 species.

The species accounts include all the detail necessary for field identification of the 471 species recorded in the Agulhas Negras area, in the heart of South-East Brazil, plus scientific and common names in English and Portuguese, size, voice descriptions, subspecies, habitat, distribution and status in the area. Each species is illustrated with a high quality, full colour photograph. Range maps show the birds’ distribution in Brazil. A comprehensive species list of South-East Brazil, bibliography and a list of useful addresses and websites completes the volume. Paperback | £28.99

A Birdwatching Guide to South-East Brazil

The best of the titles due in July and August:

Bird Observatories of the British Isles

The Golden Eagle (Poyser Monograph)

Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East

Atlas of Rare Birds

NHBS Country Guide: Costa Rica – June 2010

Colourful Costa Rica! From the dramatic cloud forests and volcanoes of the Andean-Sierra Madres to the Northern Lowlands and the spectacular coasts, Costa Rica remains one of the most popular destinations for ecotourism in the world today.

Wildlife of Costa Rica Jacket ImageThis compact new guide to the wildlife of Costa Rica is the perfect general field guide for spotting wildlife in this haven of biodiversity.

Featuring all the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods that one is likely to see on a trip to the rainforest (as well as those secretive creatures such as the jaguar that are difficult to glimpse), The Wildlife of Costa Rica is the guide to have when encountering trogons, tapirs, and tarantulas. In addition to providing details for identifying animals along with interesting facts about their natural history, this guide offers tips for seeing them in the wild. Costa Rica, a peaceful nation with many and diverse animal species, is one of the best places in the world for wildlife watching and nature study.

View book details

Browse our new Costa Rica country guide

Red Eyed Tree Frog

Red Eyed Tree FrogYou will not have too much trouble spotting the new background image on The Hoopoe… these stunning eyes belong to the Red Eyed Tree Frog Agalychnis callidryas.

These beautiful frogs inhabit humid lowland and premontane forests distributed from Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula to Panama, including Costa Rica, where this photograph was taken by Carey James Balboa.

NHBS Country Guide to Costa Rica

Costa Rica is the focus of today’s NHBS Country Guide – the latest books on the wildlife of Costa Rica.

Essential Ornithology – A Reader’s Review

A review of Essential Ornithology by Birdbeginner (UK)

Reader Rating: Essential Ornithology Jacket Image

Your Comment:

“Fabulous & essential reading.”

Your Review:

“Well presented and easy to understand, yet packed with knowledge and without the jargon. Essential text for anyone wanting a greater understanding of birds and bird behaviour. Just buy it to see what I mean – I love it!”

Which one word best describes what you think about this product?

“Brilliant.”