You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
"Wildfowl and screamers belong to a highly diverse family of birds, confined to watery habitats. They are amongst the most attractive of birds and are very well-known to man, who has domesticated them, used their feathers for warm clothing and ornamentation, admired their flight, courtship and migration, caught them for food, maintained them in captivity for pleasure, and written about their doings in delightful children's stories, from Mother Goose to Jemima Puddleduck and Donald Duck. They occur throughout the world except Antarctica. Some are faithful to the same partner for life, others for only the few minutes of copulation. In some species, male and female make devoted parents, and yet there is one within the group whose female lays her eggs in the nests of others and never incubates. Diving as a method of obtaining food has evolved many times within the family. Most nest in the open but others in the tree-hole nests of woodpeckers and some in the ground burrows of rabbits or aardvarks. They may be highly social or solitary, defending a large territory." -- publisher website.
Keeping Geese is a complete guide to the domesticated goose. It shows how this intelligent bird has been absorbed into different cultures throughout history, from the taming of the Greylag and the Swan goose to the exhibition of the mighty Toulouse. Written from thirty years of first-hand experience of keeping, breeding and exhibiting these birds, Keeping Geese gives an insight into their habits and behaviour. Pure breeds of geese, hand-reared, are tame, responsive and intelligent and reared well, they will give hours of interest and pleasure for life. Illustrated with over 160 photographs and diagrams, this comprehensive study of geese covers the following and much more: domestication of the goose from the wild, and development of the breeds; why keep geese - as garden pets, eggs, exhibition, table birds; getting started with geese; understanding geese - breeds, physiology and behaviour; management of adult stock; breeding, incubation and rearing goslings; recognizing and treating ailments.
In range, Wild Geese covers the geese of North America, Europe and Asia, and thus the world species except for the Hawaiian Goose or Ne-Ne. The plan of the book is similar to the author's Ducks of Britain and Europe but distribution, status and migration rightly assume a more extensive role in Wild Geese and the detailed text on those subjects is fully complemented by migration and distribution maps. Comprehensive chapters are also devoted to classification, ecology, breeding, identification, and to exploitation and conservation. The identification chapter is especially helpful with sections on adult and first winter birds, downy young, plumage variants and voice, for each species and sub-species, as well as guidance on ageing and sexing geese in the field. The text is effectively supported by 16 identification plates in colour by Carol Ogilvie, showing details of heads and bills as well as all species in flight and on the ground, and downy young. The author is an established authority on ducks and geese and has been a research scientist at the Wildfowl Trust, Slimbridge, England, since 1960
None
One winter, after an enforced period of quiet, William Fiennes finds himself restless and yearning for adventure. Inspired by his reading about the migratory patterns of birds, he flies to Texas to find the million-strong flocks of snow geese and to follow them on their spring flight thousands of miles north to breeding grounds on the Arctic tundra. This mesmerizing book, already a classic, captures their journey with wisdom, humility and endless curiosity. It is a meditation on freedom of movement, on seeing the world anew, and on the joy of returning - indefinably changed.
This vintage book contains a detailed guide to keeping geese. Originally intended or the beginner, general farmer and smallholder, it presents a brief outline of the different varieties of geese and the purposes they serve. It also includes helpful photographs, and practical suggestions as to rearing, breeding, selection, incubation, management, and more. Contents include: "Making a Start", "The Mating and Selection of Stock Birds", "The Hatching and Incubation of Eggs", "Distinguishing the Sexes", "The Management of Breeding Stock", "Rearing Young Stock", "Housing of Geese and Goslings", "the Marketing and Rearing of Geese", "Control of Geese", "Fattening", et cetera. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with its original artwork and text.
A summary of information on 154 species of duck, geese and swans of the world intended as an identification manual for the wildfowl enthusiast that goes beyond a regional basis and is light enough to be used as a handy reference book in the field. Wildfowl is a unique combination of scientifically accurate information compressed into an easy-to-use format which has been planned to give anyone a greater understanding of the lives of this fascinating group of birds. The 47 superb colour plates form the backbone of the book, each plate being accompanied by an informative caption page summarising the criteria required to identify, and in many cases, to age and sex each species, along with an easy-to-use cross reference system to the main body of text. The text not only clarifies identification techniques but fully discusses problematic plumages in detail as well as providing a summary on world distribution and status complemented by clear distribution maps.
A synthesis of more than 20 years of behavioural research on an established society of nearly 1000 free-living greylag geese.
RSPB Spotlight: Ducks and Geese is packed with eye-catching, informative colour photos, and features succinct, detailed text written by a knowledgeable naturalist. This is a detailed 'biography' of ducks and geese that breed in or regularly visit the UK – covering 30 species in all. It will include chapters on the evolution of ducks and geese, their place in the natural world, their anatomy and physiology, various feeding methods, spectacular courtship displays and diverse breeding behaviour. Marianne Taylor reveals their often epic migrations and examine their social interactions with their own and other species, including their unusual readiness to hybridise. She also details their relationships with humankind over the centuries, including their presence in folklore and literature and their role in our lives as both prey and pets. She explores their presence as feral and sometimes invasive species outside their natural ranges, and their current status within their native wild ranges as the group includes several species recently recognised as being of global conservation concern.