Hoopoe – A blog by nhbs

We are excited to announce that the first volume of the Handbook of the Mammals of the World has just been published and is now in stock at NHBS!

This landmark new series from Lynx Edicions – the publishers of the classic series Handbook of Birds of The World – provides the first comprehensive, global handbook to the Class Mammalia.

Volume 1 covers the Carnivores: African Palm Civet; Cats; Linsangs; Civets, Genets and Oyans; Hyenas; Mongooses; Euplerids; Dogs; Bears; Red Panda; Racoons; Skunks; Weasels, Martens, Polecats, Badgers and Otters.

Order your copy of Volume 1: Carnivores today

Set up a Standing Order for all volumes in the series – you will receive each volume automatically as it is published.

Future volumes in this series will include:

Volume 2: Hoofed Mammals
Volume 3: Primates
Volume 4: Sea Mammals
Volume 5: Marsupials
Volume 6: Rodents
Volume 7: Insectivores
Volume 8: Bats

These internal scans show the high quality of the illustrations and photographs in Volume 1: Carnivores.

The second edition of the classic textbook The Diversity of Fishes has just been published and is now in stock at NHBS.
This new edition represents a major revision of the world’s most widely adopted ichthyology textbook. Expanded and updated, the second edition of The Diversity of Fishes is illustrated throughout with striking color photographs depicting the spectacular evolutionary adaptations of the most ecologically and taxonomically diverse vertebrate group. The text incorporates the latest advances in the biology of fishes, covering taxonomy, anatomy, physiology, biogeography, ecology, and behavior.

Order your copy of The Diversity of Fishes today – and save £5!

Other recent fishes titles include Fish Reproductive Biology and Recruitment and Early Life History of Marine Fishes.

Be sure to check out our expanding range of wildlife equipment, including aquatic nets, sampling trays and waterproof notebooks.

Browse other recent Fishes and Marine Biology titles

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The eagerly awaited Helm Field Guide for Birds of the Horn of Africa has now arrived at NHBS!

The Horn of Africa has the highest endemism of any region in Africa, and around 70 species are found nowhere else in the world. Many of these are confined to the isolated highlands of Ethiopia and Eritrea, but a large number of larks specialise in the arid parts of Somalia and adjoining eastern Ethiopia, whilst the island of Socotra has its own suite of endemic species. The region is also an important migration route and wintering site for many Palearctic birds.

This is the first field guide to the birds of this fascinating region, and an ideal companion to Birds of East Africa by two of the same authors. Over 200 magnificent plates by John Gale and Brian Small illustrate every species that has ever occurred in the five countries covered by the guide, and the succinct text covers the key identification criteria. Special attention is paid to the voices of the species, and over 1000 up-to-date colour distribution maps are included.

Covering Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and Socotra, this long-awaited guide is a much-needed addition to the literature on African birds and an essential companion for birders visiting the region.

Order your copy of Birds of the Horn of Africa today!

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The dormouse is one of the least seen but most loved of British animals. Dormice have always been portrayed as elusive, rare animals with specialised food requirements found only in large ancient woodlands.

Sue Eden was therefore surprised to find them nesting in the coastal scrub of her new garden. Her many years of ensuing research have led her to the conclusion that the dormouse is in reality a widespread, tough, opportunistic omnivore that appears just as at home in low coastal scrub and conifer plantations.

This fascinating new research, together with many colour photographs, provides an inspiration in the search for this appealing creature.

Living with Dormice is now in stock at NHBS – order your copy today

Also check out our selection of Dormouse Nest Tubes and Dormouse Nest Boxes

Browse other recent British Wildlife titles

We have just heard from Collins that the Second Edition of the immensely popular Collins Bird Guide will be published in September 2009.

This guide is written by Lars Svensson, one of Europe’s leading ornithologists, with translation by David Christie, and illustrated by two of the world’s finest bird illustrators, Killian Mullarney and Dan Zetterstrom.

Covering Britain and Europe, this book provides all the information needed to identify any bird species at any time of year, with detailed text on size, habitat, range, identification and voice.

Accompanying every species entry is a distribution map and colour illustrations (over 3500 in all) to show the species in all the major plumages (male, female, immature, in flight, at rest, feeding). This second edition includes expanded text and additional colour illustrations.

Here’s what Mark Golley of Birding World had to say about the first edition:

`The Collins Bird Guide is undoubtedly the finest field guide that has ever been produced and now deservedly sits in a bird book elite of essential titles – nestling between BWP, HBW and Birds of Europe. The nomenclature and taxonomy may not be to everybody’s liking, but it is a certainty that the magnificent work of Mullarney and Zetterstrom has set the illustrative standard for decades to come and will be admired and enjoyed by thousands of birders worldwide for many years. The word `classic’ is so often over-used these days but, for once, it is a particularly fitting way to refer to this book. This is the last great bird book of the 20th Century, and I am sure that Peter Grant would have been happy knowing that. It is a fitting tribute to him, and his co-author and the world class artists. This book is an absolute gem.’

Pre-order your copy of the Collins Bird Guide today!

The NHBS Primatology Catalogue has now been updated for Spring 2009.

There are some great new primatology and behavioural ecology titles, including the new English-language edition of Virunga: The Survival of Africa’s First National Park.

Other recently published titles include Orangutans, Mountain Gorillas and Tinbergen’s Legacy. Upcoming titles include Ape and Not a Chimp: The Hunt to Find the Genes that Make Us Human.

Browse the NHBS Primatology Catalogue

The Vegetative Key to the British Flora has just been published. John Poland and Eric Clement’s novel key allows easy identification of over 3,000 native and alien plants without flowers or fruit, with nothing more than a hand lens.

Collins Flower Guide will be in stock in just a few days – it’s the most complete guide to all flowering plants in Northern Europe yet produced. There’s also a new edition of Orchids of Britain and Ireland – available now.

Browse all Botany Books and Field Ecology Equipment. Don’t miss the latest Special Offers at NHBS

To mark the imminent publication of the 3rd Edition of Bernard Skinner’s Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles we have put together a comprehensive selection of moth books and moth trapping equipment. Get set for a long summer of mothing!

Browse all Moth Books and Field Entomology Equipment. Don’t miss the latest Special Offers at NHBS

Shorebirds of the Northern Hemisphere is in stock now!

Waders are a very popular group among birders of all standards, though their identification is often a challenge. Covering all the species of the northern hemisphere, this new photographic guide provides all the information a birder will need at a glance. Lavishly illustrated with colour photography by the author, Shorebirds of the Northern Hemisphere focuses on specific and subspecific separation and on ageing to provide a complete identification resource.

We are pleased to announce the latest volume in the excellent Wildlife Art Series from Langford Press featuring the watercolours, drawings and prints of Archibald Thorburn.

Archibald Thorburn is one of Britain’s best watercolour artists, particularly known for his pictures of birds and mammals placed in beautiful harmonious landscapes. His style of painting represented a step change in wildlife art around the turn of the century and the lifelike renderings of his subjects brought him early fame and fortune. Not only did Thorburn produce a prolific number of original watercolours, grisailles and prints, he also contributed to scores of natural history books for authors, ornithologists and explorers of the day, while finding time to write and illustrate six books of his own.

Whether the reader is an ardent Thorburn collector or has a general interest in countryside pursuits and birdwatching, this book contains some of the best images ever produced by a British artist.

Order your copy of Archibald Thorburn – Artist and Illustrator today!

Browse other recent and bestselling Wildlife Art books