Showing results for "Jon" in Nature & Ecology

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his...

Perfect for readers of Jon Krakauer and Douglas Preston, this "authentic and encyclopedic" book examines real-life cases of those who vanish in the wilderness without a trace (Roman Dial)—and those eccentric, determined characters who try to find them. These are the stories that defy...

A joyous celebration of Britain’s rich bird life In Birdland, journalist and lifelong birder Jon Gower explores our intimate connection with the bird life around us. From the symphonic song of the wren to the clack of a puffin’s beak and from epic migrations to sunset murmurations, birds are...

'[Day has] succeeded in making that most familiar of birds seem mysterious, almost magical, and illuminated, brilliantly, the urge towards home' Malachy Tallack A feral history of home, and our relationship with that most unloved bird. As a boy, Jon Day was fascinated by pigeons, which he used...

An immersive history of a pivotal stretch of water ‘Fascinating, spellbinding, erudite and great fun.’ Roddy Doyle ‘Remarkable. Lively … Gower writes beautifully [and] the book is profoundly popular.’ Times Literary Supplement The Turning Tide is a hymn to a sea passage of...

An acclaimed natural history writer follows the trail of the remarkable hummingbird all over the world. Hummingbirds are a glittering, sparkling collective of over three hundred wildly variable species. For centuries, they have been revered by indigenous Americans, coveted by European collectors...

When Jon Katz got a call from an animal control officer about Simon, a neglected donkey who had been found on a failing farm in upstate New York, he wasn't expecting to add another animal to his already full life. But when he made the trek out to meet him, he couldn't help falling in love with the skinny, mangy donkey who had already suffered so much, and he ended up taking him into his home. It was Simon who listened in the fields as Jon read to him and discussed philosophy.

An award-winning author and photographer returns to the Arctic to document the effects of climate change. Forty years ago, the park ranger Jon Waterman took his first journey into the Alaskan Arctic, to the Noatak headwaters. He was astonished by the abundant wildlife, the strange landscape, and...

A tale of some of the most amazing creatures ever to grace this tiny planet - unearth how the science fiction of the Jurassic World franchise inspired the evolution of dinosaur science.

The photographs stop you in your tracks. Five children and their grandmother sheltering under an old wooden jetty as the air around them burns a fierce orange. Seen around the world, these were the images from the heart of the inferno that showed the Tasmanian township of Dunalley fighting for survival. On the morning of 4 January 2013, the people of Dunalley had watched with caution as a bush fire burned slowly on top of the hill. It was not an unusual occurrence - fires are a part of Australian life - and Dunalley had never been troubled before.

This book is the story of a remarkable bird, the golden-collared manakin (Manacus vitellinus) of Panama. Males of this species perform one of the most elaborate, physically complex, and noisy courtship displays of any animal on the planet. Barney A. Schlinger delves into the specialized neurons, muscles, bones, and hormonal systems underlying the manakin's unique courtship behavior, creating a rich life-history account that integrates field observations and evolutionary biology with behavioral ecology, anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, and general ornithology.

Never have so many undertaken such a widespread, hurried attempt to remake the world. Predictably, our hubris has led to unintended—and sometimes disastrous—consequences. Over the Seawall tells us the stories behind these unintended consequences and the fixes that can do more harm than good. From seawalls in coastal Japan, to the reengineered waters in the Ganges River Delta, to the artificial ribbon of water supporting both farms and urban centers in parched Arizona, Stephen Robert Miller traces the histories of engineering marvels that were once deemed too smart and too big to fail.

Written in a brilliantly engaging style by biologist Jules Howard, this fascinating and highly engaging work covers the how and why of sex on Earth, in all its diversity. From sperm wars to cuckoldry, hermaphrodites and virgin births, spent males, racy harems, clitoral births, hips, breasts and birdsong, penis-percussion, and those riskiest and most elusive of all traits, monogamy and true love, all this and more is discussed in Sex on Earth, as Jules takes us on a voyage of discovery of the ins and outs of animal reproduction.

From rainforests to deserts, mountains to plains, the sea to the sky, animals raise their voices in an eclectic and thrilling chorus. This collection celebrates the unique calls of the keel-billed toucan, the morning roar of the Guatemalan howler monkey, the seriously social laughing of the spotted hyena Guatemalan coatimundi, the honk of the courtship-crazed hammerhead bat, sophisticated conversation from the Central African forest elephant, the subtle bellow of the great plains bison, and many more intriguing sounds.

Are birds monogamous? Why do kookaburras laugh? Is the ivory-billed woodpecker really extinct? These fascinating stories feature the delightful and exotic sounds of birds, plus astute and informative commentary from bird lovers, bird experts, and sometimes birds themselves. Learn how naturalist F. Schuyler Matthews translated bird song into musical notes. Discover how the city of Chicago has drawn purple martins back to Lake Michigan, their historic habitat.

Experience a refreshing adrenaline rush on this NPR guided tour of the ultimate in outdoor fun: Whether whitewater rafting on the Hudson River, mountain climbing in the Himalayas, kayaking in Alaska, airboarding in Oregon's Cascade mountains, or bungee jumping in Australia, each story is an amazing sound adventure - and a great escape. The NPR Sound Treks series brings the outdoors to life with outstanding audio documentaries, stories, and commentary from the NPR archives.