Kategoria BISAC: Nature >> Reference

In the late eighteenth century, the British took greater interest than ever before in observing and recording all aspects of the natural world. Travelers and colonists returning from far-flung lands provided dazzling accounts of such exotic creatures as elephants, baboons, and kangaroos. The engraver Thomas Bewick (1753 1828) harnessed this newfound interest by assembling the most comprehensive illustrated guide to nature of his day.

"A General History of Quadrupeds," first published in 1790, showcases Bewick s groundbreaking engraving techniques that allowed text and images to be...

Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West is the first fully illustrated field guide to all 348 species of dragonflies and damselflies in western North America. Dragonflies and damselflies are large, stunningly beautiful insects, as readily observable as birds and butterflies. This unique guide makes identifying them easy--its compact size and user-friendly design make it the only guide you need in the field. Every species is generously illustrated with full-color photographs and a distribution map, and structural features are illustrated where they aid in-hand identification....

Southern Asia is a vast and ecologically diverse region that extends from the deserts of Afghanistan to the rainforests of Thailand, and is home to a marvelously rich palm flora. Palms of Southern Asia is the only complete field guide to the 43 genera and 352 species of palms and rattans that occur in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. This attractive guide's handsome illustrations and succinct, authoritative, and jargon-free text make identification easy. Each species account...

Birds of Southern Africa surpasses other field guides to the region by illustrating and describing all 1,250 bird species of South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. In addition, this is the only guide to illustrate the birds of Angola (including Cabinda), whose river basins and rocky hillsides are home to the striking White-headed Robin Chat and the Angolan Cave Chat. The 84 color plates group similar species and subspecies and also depict vagrants and ocean wanderers that appear in this huge region characterized by widely...

Covering over 90 species and with over 500 color photographs, this book has been long awaited by both tree professionals and anyone who wants to identify a tree in the Virgin Islands and south Florida.

Rare for field guides, this user-friendly book provides for all the species the same categories of complete text: form, leaves and bark, flowers, fruits, habitat, and uses. Also for each species there are photos of the whole tree, bark, leaves, flowers, and fruit.

The organization of the book makes it easy to identify a tree. The trees are divided into sections primarily based on...

"If you love snakes, read this book. If you are repulsed by snakes, definitely read this book and you might just find yourself warming up to these fascinating creatures of mystery and myth."--Daniel Beck, Central Washington University

"Vignettes in the book let the armchair reader feel he or she is part of a herpetological adventure. These personal interludes make the book unique, as the straightforward identification varies little from field guide to field guide."--Traci Hartsell, Smithsonian Museum...

"If you love snakes, read this book. If you are repulsed by snakes, definitely read this book and you might just find yourself warming up to these fascinating creatures of mystery and myth."--Daniel Beck, Central Washington University

"Vignettes in the book let the armchair reader feel he or she is part of a herpetological adventure. These personal interludes make the book unique, as the straightforward identification varies little from field guide to field guide."--Traci Hartsell, Smithsonian Museum...

Guide and Reference to the Amphibians of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii

R. D. Bartlett and Patricia P. Bartlett

"A little less technical than other field guides, with a writing style that will appeal to non-scientists. As an in-depth guide covering just western amphibians, it includes more material about each species than other reptile and amphibian guides can cover."--Daniel Cox, Arizona Game and Fish Department

More than 500 species and...

This heavily illustrated, lively, and accessible guide covers twenty native and forty-one introduced species of lizards and crocodilians found in the Southeast.

Introductory chapters cover the biodiversity of lizards and crocodilians both regionally and globally and discuss lizard and crocodilian life cycles, morphology, habitats, diets, and behaviors. Illustrated, fact-filled descriptions of each species and its habitat comprise the heart of the book. The accounts include a physical description of the species plus information about distribution and habitat, behavior and activity, food...

Wildflowers of the Coastal Plain provides detailed information on 535 species of herbaceous plants, vines, and shrubs inhabiting one of the great floristic provinces of the United States. The coastal plain extends from southeast Texas eastward to Florida and includes the Mississippi River flood plain, which stretches from southern Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico. It embraces all but the southern tip of the Florida peninsula and proceeds up the eastern seaboard into southern New Jersey and includes parts of Long Island and Cape Cod. In this indispensable guide, botanist Ray Neyland catalogs...

- more than 1,100 species from 459 genera in 100 families
- many rare and previously overlooked species
- 2,100 color photographs and...

The Sibley Guide to Trees is an astonishingly elegant guide to a complex subject. It condenses a huge amount of information about tree identification--more than has ever been collected in a single book--into a logical, accessible, easy-to-use format.

With more than 4,100 meticulous, exquisitely detailed paintings, the Guide highlights the often subtle similarities and distinctions between...

Combining informative and accessible text, up-to-date maps, and--above all--stunning color photographs, this is the best and most lavishly illustrated photographic guide to the birds of eastern North America. All of the images have been carefully selected to convey both the sheer beauty and the key identification features of each bird, and many of the photos are larger than those found in other guides. Wherever possible, a variety of plumages are pictured, providing visual coverage and usefulness matching any artwork-illustrated field guide. And many of the images are state-of-the-art...

Combining informative and accessible text, up-to-date maps, and--above all--stunning color photographs, this is the best and most lavishly illustrated photographic guide to the birds of western North America. All of the images have been carefully selected to convey both the sheer beauty and the key identification features of each bird, and many of the photos are larger than those found in other guides. Wherever possible, a variety of plumages are pictured, providing visual coverage and usefulness matching any artwork-illustrated field guide. And many of the images are state-of-the-art...

The best-selling field guide that "sets new standards" (New Scientist) and "makes all other field guides for mammals of the United States. . . and Canada obsolete" (Journal of Mammalogy) is now even better. Covering 20 species recognized since 2002 and including 13 new color plates, this fully revised edition of Mammals of North America illustrates all 462 known mammal species in the United States and Canada--each in beautiful color and accurate detail. With a more up-to-date species list than any other guide, improved facing-page descriptions, easier-to-read...