A “well-written, engaging detective story” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) about a rogue who trades in rare birds and their eggs—and the wildlife detective determined to stop him. On May 3, 2010, an Irish national named Jeffrey Lendrum was apprehended at Britain’s Birmingham International Airport with a suspicious parcel strapped to his stomach. Inside were fourteen rare peregrine falcon eggs snatched from a remote cliffside in Wales. So begins a “vivid tale of obsession and international derring-do” (Publishers Weekly), following the parallel lives of a globe-trotting smuggler who spent two decades capturing endangered raptors worth millions of dollars as race champions—and Detective Andy McWilliam of the United Kingdom’s National Wildlife Crime Unit, who’s hell bent on protecting the world’s birds of prey. “Masterfully constructed” (The New York Times) and “entertaining and illuminating” (The Washington Post), The Falcon Thief will whisk you away from the volcanoes of Patagonia to Zimbabwe’s Matobo National Park, and from the frigid tundra near the Arctic Circle to luxurious aviaries in the deserts of Dubai, all in pursuit of a man who is reckless, arrogant, and gripped by a destructive compulsion to make the most beautiful creatures in nature his own. It’s a story that’s part true-crime narrative, part epic adventure—and wholly unputdownable until the very last page.

Struggling to cope with life after her parents' divorce, Falcon stumbles upon a mysterious, large, glowing, hot egg in Central Park and finds her world forever altered when a baby dragon hatches from the egg.

Before modern binoculars and cameras made it possible to observe birds closely in the wild, many people collected eggs as a way of learning about birds. Serious collectors called their avocation “oology” and kept meticulous records for each set of eggs: the bird’s name, the species reference number, the quantity of eggs in the clutch, the date and location where the eggs were collected, and the collector’s name. These documented egg collections, which typically date from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, now provide an important baseline from which to measure changes in the numbers, distribution, and nesting patterns of many species of birds. In Oology and Ralph’s Talking Eggs, Carrol L. Henderson uses the vast egg collection of Ralph Handsaker, an Iowa farmer, as the starting point for a fascinating account of oology and its role in the origins of modern birdwatching, scientific ornithology, and bird conservation in North America. Henderson describes Handsaker’s and other oologists’ collecting activities, which included not only gathering bird eggs in the wild but also trading and purchasing eggs from collectors around the world. Henderson then spotlights sixty of the nearly five hundred bird species represented in the Handsaker collection, using them to tell the story of how birds such as the Snowy Egret, Greater Prairie Chicken, Atlantic Puffin, and Wood Duck have fared over the past hundred years or so since their eggs were gathered. Photos of the eggs and historical drawings and photos of the birds illustrate each species account. Henderson also links these bird histories to major milestones in bird conservation and bird protection laws in North America from 1875 to the present.

"We all know what full-grown owls look like but how about when they're first born? Readers will learn about the life stages of an owl--starting inside a small egg and ending as an adult."--

"Published in Association with the Field Museum."

This first look at robins follows a full year of growth and change: how the birds develop inside their egg during the spring, how they mature from chicks into fledglings in the summer, how they learn to fly in the fall, and how they leave for warmer climes in winter—only to return when spring comes around again. 1995 Best Children’s Science Books (BL)

This monograph is the result of eight years of bibliographical and field research concerning several behavioural ecology aspects of the Palaearctic falcons. For a while, this book grew along with “The Lanner falcon” published in 2015 and revised in 2017. In both books the main aim was to provide a clear overview of the biology and ecology of these species. In fact in the last 20 years, the number of publications on falcons has grown tremendously and, in parallel, also those belonging to the so-called "grey literature". The number of people involved is also increased by including both academics and nature lovers. Many previously published books emphasized identification, and offered little insights on the behavioural and ecological aspects of the species. Very often, the research on behavioural ecology remains closed within the confines of academic community. By contrast, a multitude of basic data is scattered in countless articles published in local magazines. Many falcon species are easy to observe and study (such as kestrels) but others are more rare and localized. In order to understand the survival strategies adopted by this group of avian predators, it is necessary not to lose sight of the overall picture. This book tries to explain the different survival strategies by examining, through a few essential chapters, some crucial aspects for all species. The first chapter provides information on the genus Falco, its genetics, evolution and morphological peculiarities. The other chapters deal with reproductive strategies, competition, exploitation of resources, dispersal patterns, communication and sociality. One of the main objectives of this book is to produce an accessible but scholarly curated source of reference. By understanding the most common species, it is possible to provide a working framework for rarer, and especially threatened, falcon species.

From the brilliantly green and glossy eggs of the Elegant Crested Tinamou—said to be among the most beautiful in the world—to the small brown eggs of the house sparrow that makes its nest in a lamppost and the uniformly brown or white chickens’ eggs found by the dozen in any corner grocery, birds’ eggs have inspired countless biologists, ecologists, and ornithologists, as well as artists, from John James Audubon to the contemporary photographer Rosamond Purcell. For scientists, these vibrant vessels are the source of an array of interesting topics, from the factors responsible for egg coloration to the curious practice of “brood parasitism,” in which the eggs of cuckoos mimic those of other bird species in order to be cunningly concealed among the clutches of unsuspecting foster parents. The Book of Eggs introduces readers to eggs from six hundred species—some endangered or extinct—from around the world and housed mostly at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History. Organized by habitat and taxonomy, the entries include newly commissioned photographs that reproduce each egg in full color and at actual size, as well as distribution maps and drawings and descriptions of the birds and their nests where the eggs are kept warm. Birds’ eggs are some of the most colorful and variable natural products in the wild, and each entry is also accompanied by a brief description that includes evolutionary explanations for the wide variety of colors and patterns, from camouflage designed to protect against predation, to thermoregulatory adaptations, to adjustments for the circumstances of a particular habitat or season. Throughout the book are fascinating facts to pique the curiosity of binocular-toting birdwatchers and budding amateurs alike. Female mallards, for instance, invest more energy to produce larger eggs when faced with the genetic windfall of an attractive mate. Some seabirds, like the cliff-dwelling guillemot, have adapted to produce long, pointed eggs, whose uneven weight distribution prevents them from rolling off rocky ledges into the sea. A visually stunning and scientifically engaging guide to six hundred of the most intriguing eggs, from the pea-sized progeny of the smallest of hummingbirds to the eggs of the largest living bird, the ostrich, which can weigh up to five pounds, The Book of Eggs offers readers a rare, up-close look at these remarkable forms of animal life.

Skillful hunters beautiful in flight, Prairie Falcons inhabit the rocky cliffs of the American West. These raptors range from southern Canada and northern North Dakota to Baja California, Arizona, New Mexico, western and northern Texas, and southeastern Coahuila, Mexico. This is the first book for a wide audience devoted exclusively to the Prairie Falcon. Stanley Anderson and John Squires cover all aspects of the falcon's life history from mating and rearing young to hunting behaviors and the yearly migration cycle. They provide complete descriptive characteristics for identifying Prairie Falcons and also compare them to other raptors, especially the closely related Peregrine Falcon. In addition, the authors recount the long association of falcons with people, which may extend back as far as 2000 BC. They describe the practice of falconry from the Middle Ages until today. And they assess the threats to Prairie Falcons posed by human activities, from pesticide use and destruction of habitat to disruption of the breeding cycle by careless birdwatchers.

Old Babushka, known throughout all of Moskva for her beautifully painted eggs, is preparing her eggs for the Easter Festival when she takes in an injured goose. She names the goose Rechenka, and they live happily together until one day when Rechenka accidentally overturns a basket, breaking all of Babushka's lovingly crafted eggs. But the next morning Babushka has a surprise awaiting her in the basket. She cries: "A miracle!" It is one of many in this charmingly told tale of friendship and caring. With vibrant illustrations, Patricia Polacco has joyously re-created the flavor of Old Moscow and its festivals. The eggs, stunningly colored and intricately designed, are authentic reproductions of eggs painted in the Ukrainian style. Rechenka's Eggs is a timeless story of classic beauty.