Rich and strange from the tip of its title to its deep-sunk bones' Robert Macfarlane From the author of Leviathan, or, The Whale, comes a composite portrait of the subtle, beautiful, inspired and demented ways in which we have come to terms with our watery planet.
No other bird is quite so ever-present and familiar, so embedded in our culture, as the robin. At the same time we trace the robin's relationship with us: how did this particular bird - one of more than 300 species in its huge and diverse family - find its way so deeply and permanently into our nation's heart and its social and cultural history?
This is leading British sporting and wildlife artist Rodger McPhail's retrospective collection of his most accomplished paintings and portraits of the last 20 years, all of which have been selected to reflect his fondness and enthusiasm for the natural world.
Traditional ploughland is disappearing. The corncrake is all but extinct in England. And the hare is running for its life. This book tells the story of the wild animals and plants that live in and under our ploughland, from microbes to the patrolling kestrel above the corn, from the linnet to seven-spot ladybirds that eat aphids that eat the crop.
Beginning in summer with clouds of breeding seabirds in Shetland and ending with nightjars like giant moths in the heart of England, the author maps his encounters with birds. He covers birds like sparrows, starlings and ravens, and exotic species like electrically coloured hummingbirds in California and bee-eaters in Africa.
From the author of Addlands, an immersive and evocative non-fictional journey through Wales and a revelatory meditation on the nation's past, present and future.
This is a radical new look at the Common Swift - a numerous but profoundly un-common bird - by Charles Foster, author of the New York Times Bestseller, Being a Beast. Foster follows the swifts throughout the world, manically, lyrically, yet scientifically.
A collection of true first-person stories about cats rescuing people and people rescuing cats, providing heartwarming tales for those looking for a feel-good read.
But owls - with the sapient flatness of their faces, their big, round eyes, their paternal expressions - are also reassuringly familiar. We see them as wise, like Athena's owl, and loyal, like Harry Potter's Hedwig. In The Secret Life of the Owl, John Lewis-Stempel explores the legends and history of the owl.