RSPB Birds: Their Hidden World

About this book

Even if you are an enthusiastic bird watcher, the details of how birds fly, why they behave as they do, how they breed and their extraordinary travels can seem very mysterious.

This lively new book aims to give readers a broad understanding of 'how birds work' from their physical make-up to courtship and breeding, social activity and their spread and travels. Readers will be able to interpret the kind of bird activity and behaviour that they see and hear in their gardens as well as in the wider countryside and on nature reserves.

Designed for the general interest reader and written in a lively and accessible style, the book is presented as a series of beautifully illustrated page spreads, enhanced by fully captioned photographs and with case studies of individual species of British and European birds.

Contents

Introduction Chapter 1 The egg Chapter 2 The nest Chapter 3 Territory Chapter 4 Breeding behaviour Chapter 5 Communal living Chapter 6 Flocking Chapter 7 Hands on Chapter 8 Choosing and keeping a mate Chapter 9 Song calls Chapter 10 The juvenile years Chapter 11 Survival and longevity Chapter 12 Population Chapter 13 Migration and movements Chapter 14 Feeding Chapter 15 Roosting Chapter 16 Birds and weather Chapter 17 Plumage and moult Chapter 18 Flight Chapter 19 Feathers Chapter 20 Vision Chapter 21 Names of birds Glossary Bibliography Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Peter Holden has written nine books, including the bestselling "RSPB Handbook of British Birds" and the acclaimed "RSPB Handbook of Garden Wildlife". He worked for the RSPB for more than 40 years.