Hoopoe – A blog by nhbs

The long-awaited second edition of the classic Raptors: A Field Guide to Survey and Monitoring has now arrived at NHBS.  

At a time when many raptors in Britain and Ireland are recovering from low population in the mid to late 20th Century (or earlier), there is a growing demand for high quality information on numbers, distribution, and population trends of these birds. This publication, written by experienced professionals, is aimed at people who watch, survey or monitor raptors. It provides detailed descriptions of survey methods for all species of raptor (Accipitriformes, Falconiformes, and Strigiformes), which regularly occur in the United Kingdom.

Written and edited by members of the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Group, this book draws on the knowledge and experience of over 300 raptor specialists. This book includes a CD-ROM containing raptor calls, sets out to promote best practice for the survey and monitoring of raptors. It is hoped that it will provide a starting point for anyone wanting to begin a raptor study, and indeed to encourage a new generation of raptor ecologists.

Get your copy of Raptors: A Field Guide to Survey and Monitoring today!

Browse other recent Raptors & Owls titles

Mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East is the hot new bestseller at NHBS this month.

Covering over 400 species, this work presents all of the terrestrial mammal species of the Western Palearctic, serving as an excellent guide to the great wealth of fauna in this region. Species accounts are concise and authoritative, giving information on size, distribution, habitat, behaviour, reproduction and feeding. Each account is supported by distribution maps and superb illustrations. The book features over 100 plates, comprising of over 600 colour species artworks. Variation between the sexes is illustrated and anatomical diagrams are provided to assist identification. See sample pages and illustrations from this book

Get your copy today – and save 15%!

New Edition – Fully Revised and Updated
In 1996 The Ultimate Site Guide to Scarcer British Birds became an instant classic – for the first time in one publication, birders discovered how and where to see over 100 rarer and difficult-to-find species. These are the birds that make birding such an exciting and rewarding activity: there’s nothing like the thrill of tracking and observing elusive species such as Hawfinch, Spotted Crake and Great Grey Shrike.

For this new expanded edition, the species accounts have been further enhanced with more than 60 new vignettes from illustrator Ray Scally. For each of the 142 species covered this book tells you all you need to know, including where and when to look – up to six pages per species, detailing up to 50 sites, often including maps and grid references. Get your copy of the new edition today!

Other new birding titles this month include Birding from the Hip and History of Ornithology – for more, browse New Birding Titles at NHBS – September 2009

Our pre-publication special offer for Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows must end 30 September 2009; order your copy today and save £35!

If Thomas Henry Huxley was famously ‘Darwin’s bulldog’, then Richard Dawkins is probably best described as ‘Darwin’s pit bull’. – Richard Fortey, The Guardian

Save 20% on the newest book by Richard Dawkins – now available at NHBS.

150 years ago the momentous findings in Charles Darwin’s masterpiece On the Origin of Species shook the scientific and religious world to its core. Perhaps more astonishing, the Creation-Evolution debate sparked by his seminal work of 1859 continues unabated in the 21st century. Now, Richard Dawkins, world renowned evolutionary biologist and famous atheist, takes on the Creationists with a brilliant and uncompromising look at the incontrovertible evidence for Darwin’s theory of evolution.

Get your copy of The Greatest Show on Earth today – and save 20%!

Browse more Richard Dawkins DVDs and books

Autumn must be the time that bat books come home to roost – several new titles have just flown into NHBS, with more on the horizon. The hottest new title is Bats of Britain, Europe and Northwest Africa – now in stock at NHBS. This substantial reference with hundreds of intriguing photographs is certain to appeal to anyone interested in knowing more about the bats of Britain and Europe. Get your copy today – and save £5!

This comprehensive and superbly illustrated handbook presents for the first time all 51 bat species that occur across Europe and Northwest Africa, taking in to account recent taxonomic advances and new species descriptions from over the last few years. The discovery of new species in Europe, after a century of intensive investigations, indicates the limits of our knowledge and how far we are from a comprehensive understanding of bat ecology, biology, behaviour and biogeography. It was this need, especially as it affected conservation in the light of habitat loss and fragmentation, that motivated the authors of this landmark work. This is a new English language edition – this book was previously published in German.

View internal images from this book

Also selling well at NHBS is British Bats – A Guide to Identification Using Sound Analysis – which is due to be published in October 2009. Preorder your copy today!

Check out our great selection of bat detectors, bat boxes and related equipment; for more information on choosing a bat detector, browse the NHBS Quick Guide to Bat Detectors.

Wildlife in a Changing World: An Analysis of the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has just been published and is available at NHBS. This new volume brings updated information across all threatened species and in particular new data on freshwater and marine species.

Wildlife in a Changing World provides the most up-to-date information on the patterns of species facing extinction in some of the most important ecosystems in the world and the reasons behind their declining status. For managers this information will assist in designing and delivering targeted action to mitigate these threats. From a policy perspective, the IUCN Red List offers a progressively more valuable tool. Increasingly it provides the fundamental information needed to deliver indicators for tracking. Order your copy today

Other recent wildlife and species conservation titles include Species Richness, The Game of Conservation, Restoring Wildlife and Rewilding the West.

Browse New Wildlife and Species Conservation titles

A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo is the first comprehensive and accurate guide to the varied avifauna of this island biodiversity hot-spot, which comprises Brunei, the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Indonesian states of Kalimantan. More than 630 bird species have been recorded in Borneo and, using the most up-to-date taxonomy and nomenclature, the guide includes all recently split species and also gives full coverage to the distinctive Bornean races where they differ from their counterparts on neighbouring islands or in mainland South-East Asia.

This long-awaited book has just arrived at NHBS and is now in stock – get your copy today!

View internal images from this book

Browse other Recent Titles at NHBS

We are pleased to offer a pre-publication special offer on the latest volume in the classic Handbook of the Birds of the World series. Volume 14: Bush-Shrikes to Old World Sparrows will be published in October – preorder your copy today and save £35 off the cover price.

If you have a standing order for the Handbook of the Birds of the World series, you will automatically receive Volume 14 at the special pre-publication price.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Golden Oriole – Now in Stock at NHBS
Order Your Copy Today and Save 15%
One of Britain’s rarest breeding birds, the Golden Oriole is also one of its most charismatic. Females are a vivid green, while the males of this species are a stunning yellow and black, with an extraordinary and unforgettable song. A long-distance migrant, the orioles return to breed in early May at just a few sites, almost all of which are in Suffolk. Jake Allsop and Paul Mason’s new book looks in detail at the biology of this spectacular species.

See internal images from this book

Browse other Recent Arrivals at NHBS

   

A World Without Bees – New Paperback Edition
Honeybees are dying. In this timely book, two keen amateur apiarists investigate all the claims and counterclaims with the help of scientists and beekeepers in Europe, America and beyond. They ask the question that will soon be on everyone’s lips: is there any possible way of saving the honeybees – and, with them, the world as we know it?

Now available in paperback – order your copy today

A Short History of the Honey Bee – New at NHBS
There are around 16,000 species of bee. Only seven of these are responsible for creating the world’s sweetest treat – honey. This book follows the journey from flower to hive to honey throughout history, starting with the story of the honey bee – why it is named Apis mellifera, how it has evolved from a solitary creature to one that travels in groups, why it stings, and how pollination really works.

Order A Short History of the Honey Bee – and save £1

Guide to Bees of Britain – NHBS Bestseller
Identify the bees in your garden with this handy 8-page folding chart showing 28 species of bee, most of which can commonly be seen in domestic gardens. As well as the ‘Big Six’ bumblebees, the chart includes species of mining bees, cavity-nesting bees and cuckoo bees. Silhouettes show the typical life-size for each species.

Get your copy today

 

Browse other new and bestselling Bees and Entomology titles