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Say Goodbye to the Cuckoo
Author: Michael McCarthy
Publisher: Ivan R. Dee Publisher
Published: 2010
Total Pages: 296
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →In luminous prose, British writer McCarthy addresses the cultural significance of mitratory songbirds, from nightingales to turtle doves to the European Cuckoo, on the heart and soul....A stunning and profound book that will make readers realize how very much these amazing winged creatures matter. --Colleen Mondor, Booklist
Cuckoo
Author: Nick Davies
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Published: 2015-04-07
Total Pages: 320
ISBN-13: 1620409534
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →A gifted biologist's careful and beguiling study of why cuckoos have got away with tricking other birds into hatching and raising their young for thousands of years. The familiar call of the common cuckoo, "cuck-oo,†? has been a harbinger of spring ever since our ancestors walked out of Africa many thousands of years ago. However, for naturalist and scientist Nick Davies, the call is an invitation to solve an enduring puzzle: how does the cuckoo get away with laying its eggs in the nests of other birds and tricking them into raising young cuckoos rather than their own offspring? Early observers who noticed a little warbler feeding a monstrously large cuckoo chick concluded the cuckoo's lack of parental care was the result of faulty design by the Creator, and that the hosts chose to help the poor cuckoo. These quaint views of bad design and benevolence were banished after Charles Darwin proposed that the cuckoo tricks the hosts in an evolutionary battle, where hosts evolve better defenses against cuckoos and cuckoos, in turn, evolve better trickery to outwit the hosts. For the last three decades, Davies has employed observation and field experiments to unravel the details of this evolutionary "arms race†? between cuckoos and their hosts. Like a detective, Davies and his colleagues studied adult cuckoo behavior, cuckoo egg markings, and cuckoo chick begging calls to discover exactly how cuckoos trick their hosts. For birding and evolution aficionados, The Cuckoo is a lyrical and scientifically satisfying exploration of one of nature's most astonishing and beautiful adaptations.
Cuckoo
Author: Cynthia Chris
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Published: 2024-09-12
Total Pages: 188
ISBN-13: 1789149681
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →An entertaining and wide-ranging romp through the cultural history of a peculiar bird. The cuckoo is peculiar for inspiring such divergent ideas: a symbol of foolishness to both Aristophanes and Cocoa Puffs, a reliable harbinger of spring and the hours of a cuckoo clock, and the source of innumerable innuendos inspired by a habit of laying eggs in others’ nests. In this short, entertaining book, Cynthia Chris explores both the natural and cultural history of the cuckoo as well as the many stories told throughout the centuries about this fascinating bird.
The Art of Mindful Silence
Author: Adam Ford
Publisher: Ivy Press
Published: 2011-10-24
Total Pages: 76
ISBN-13: 1908005157
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The Art of Mindful Silence explores our existential search for mindful solitude, what it can mean, and how we can all benefit from peaceful solace. Silence-seeker Adam Ford wisely interrogates the quiet spaces and pauses in life, drawing upon the spirtual use of solitude in religious traditions from Native American intitiation ceremonies to Christian hermitages. He examines the creative power of silence as a source of inner strength and self-knowledge, and also reveals its darker side when used as a political or relationship weapon. Through personal anecdote and practical daily meditations, The Art of Mindful Silence shows how we can all find moments of soothing peace to nourish our spirits in an increasingly chaotic world.
Low-Carbon Birding
Author: Javier Caletrío
Publisher: Pelagic Publishing Ltd
Published: 2022-09-06
Total Pages: 149
ISBN-13: 1784273457
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Birdwatching in Britain has grown increasingly dependent on burning fossil fuels. Regularly driving long distances to birding hotspots and frequent flying to see exotic species are seen as perfectly normal. In the face of the climate crisis, however, a growing number of birders are reassessing the way they enjoy and study birds. In this timely book, 30 contributors—from young birdwatchers to professional ornithologists—explain why and how they are shifting to climate-friendlier approaches. Low-carbon birding, they argue, is a legitimate and valuable way of enjoying birds. Furthermore, in itself this can bring many joys, some of them unexpected. From first encounters with hawfinches to focusing in on birdsong, from the Kalahari to the Hebrides, the stories told here are not about heroic efforts to save the planet. They are simply accounts of everyday humanity in unprecedented times—ordinary people with doubts and concerns about how to live a decent life and act responsibly in a rapidly warming world. The authenticity of their voices is a testament to the moment of awakening to the climate crisis in British ornithology. Above all, Low-Carbon Birding is an urgent call for birders to leave a better legacy in the skies and across the living world.
Birds and Cages
Author: Ida Tomshinsky
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Published: 2019-03-16
Total Pages: 101
ISBN-13: 1796022098
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →We are not afraid to say that we are fascinated by birds. Flying birds always provoke human admiration. There is this unexplained mysterious feeling that surrounds us when watching birds on the forest trees, in our backyard, at the ocean, sea, or lake. Birds are an infinite treasure of inspiration for humans, waking us up in the morning with beautiful birdsongs. Their little brain is of a size of an unshelled walnut and is associated with intelligent behavior and the same capabilities of humans and apes’ mental tasks. When you think about all the animals in the world, you quickly realize that birds are, in fact, among some of the most intelligent creatures we have on earth. Although there are more than ten thousand bird species worldwide, only a handful of them have made the list for the extremely talented and incredibly intelligent. So who are these super intelligent feathered friends? It is difficult to pick one. Perhaps kea, ravens, and crows are equally smart; while macaws, cockatoo, and jays are on the top of any list too. Who knew that an African gray is capable of working out the location of hidden food by using the kind of deduction and elimination skills previously seen only in humans and apes? And as you probably have heard, they are exceptional talkers! Today, we all know that it is bad to imprison birds in cages, but it was not always the case throughout the history. According to Stephen King, “Some birds are not meant to be caged, that’s all. Their feathers are too bright, their songs too sweet and wild.” Due to beautiful poetry and cultural expressions, the flying bird became a symbol of freedom and independence. There are cases of historic acknowledgment of birdcages, especially in the Victorian era. People were listening to birdsongs in cages as it was their radio entertainment outlet. During wartimes, birds demonstrated their unique abilities in courageous heroic efforts to help humans in transferring information through the battlefields. The birds and birdcages both have a longtime history. Our love for the amazing earth creatures makes us stand out for their protection and safety to enjoy our shared inhabitants on the planet, and as for the birdcages, people find them pretty appealing in various ways of the aesthetic repurposing.
One Flew Under the Cuckoo's Nest
Author: Ami Amara
Publisher: Lulu.com
Published: 2007-01-15
Total Pages: 306
ISBN-13: 1847538274
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →SEE BOOK TRAILER: http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bFV8sG0un
The Moth Snowstorm
Author: Michael McCarthy
Publisher: New York Review of Books
Published: 2016-10-04
Total Pages: 272
ISBN-13: 1681370417
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The moth snowstorm, a phenomenon Michael McCarthy remembers from his boyhood when moths “would pack a car’s headlight beams like snowflakes in a blizzard,” is a distant memory. Wildlife is being lost, not only in the wholesale extinctions of species but also in the dwindling of those species that still exist. The Moth Snowstorm is unlike any other book about climate change today; combining the personal with the polemical, it is a manifesto rooted in experience, a poignant memoir of the author’s first love: nature. McCarthy traces his adoration of the natural world to when he was seven, when the discovery of butterflies and birds brought sudden joy to a boy whose mother had just been hospitalized and whose family life was deteriorating. He goes on to record in painful detail the rapid dissolution of nature’s abundance in the intervening decades, and he proposes a radical solution to our current problem: that we each recognize in ourselves the capacity to love the natural world. Arguing that neither sustainable development nor ecosystem services have provided adequate defense against pollution, habitat destruction, species degradation, and climate change, McCarthy asks us to consider nature as an intrinsic good and an emotional and spiritual resource, capable of inspiring joy, wonder, and even love. An award-winning environmental journalist, McCarthy presents a clear, well-documented picture of what he calls “the great thinning” around the world, while interweaving the story of his own early discovery of the wilderness and a childhood saved by nature. Drawing on the truths of poets, the studies of scientists, and the author’s long experience in the field, The Moth Snowstorm is part elegy, part ode, and part argument, resulting in a passionate call to action.
The Cuckoo's Child
Author: Margaret Thompson
Publisher: Brindle and Glass
Published: 2014
Total Pages: 264
ISBN-13: 1927366291
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →After a donor match test for her brother with leukemia reveals she is not her parents' biological child, Livvy embarks on a search for her birth family that leads her to clues about her son, who disappeared eleven years earlier.
