2015 Natural History Gift Guide

Natural History 2015 Holiday Gift Guide Colleen Gibson | Marketing & Publicity Assistant | colleen.gibson@bloomsbury.com | (212) 419-5336 NEXTINCTION

By Ralph Steadman and Ceri Levy The Boids are back in town . . .

The follow-up to the award-winning Extinct Boids, this book features more of the incredible art of cartoonist Ralph Steadman. This time, the focus is not on the birds that are gone, but on the ones still have time left to be saved. These are the 192 critically endangered birds on the IUCN Red List, species such as the Giant Ibis, the Kakapo, the Sumatran Ground-cuckoo and the iconic Spoon-billed Sandpiper. These, along with a number of classic Steadman creations such as the Unsociable Lapwing, are the Nearly-Extinct Boids.

Woids are again by author, conservationist, and filmmaker Ceri Levy.

Together, Ceri and Ralph are the #GONZOVATIONISTS. (ISBN: 9781472911681 | Hardcover | September 15, 2015 | $50)

WILD CATS OF THE WORLD

By Luke Hunter, Illustrated by Priscilla Barrett Cats can survive in virtually any habitat from the Sahara desert to the sub-Antarctic islands, and are found on every continent aside from Antarctica. Supremely adapted for the kill, they are one of evolution’s most successful lineages of predatory mammals, yet their futures are in doubt.

WILD CATS OF THE WORLD, features some of the most beautiful, ferocious, and imperiled carnivores on the planet. Written by Luke Hunter, president of wild cat conservation organization, PANTHERA, and a world leader of the movement, this astonishing collection explores the spectacular Cat Family in unprecedented depth, detailing each cat — from the largest (the tiger) to the smallest (the rusty-spotted cat).

(ISBN: 9781472912190 | Hardcover |October 13, 2015 |$40) (over)

METAMORPHOSIS Astonishing Insect Transformations

By Rupert Soskin Insects truly are the ugly ducklings of the natural world. How does something as beautiful as a butterfly begin life as little more than a fancy maggot? Or something as elegant and delicate as a lacewing hatch like a minuscule escapee from a horror movie? What are the circumstances that require a creature to transform from one body shape into another, a shape that is often so utterly different from the first that you would be forgiven for thinking they were completely unrelated organisms?

This book illustrates some of the dramatic transformations insects undergo in their life cycles and explores why evolution has arrived at these remarkable solutions to survival. The aim of the book is to show remarkable transformations, most of which have never before been seen.

(ISBN: 9781408173756 | Hardcover | October 27, 2015 | $50) TALES OF REMARKABLE BIRDS

By Dominic Couzens Throughout the bird world, examples of strange and seemingly inexplicable behavior abound. Why do gangs of White-winged Choughs “kidnap” their neighbors’ fledglings and then keep them in their “gang?”

Which bird is so big, strong, and fierce that stories of it killing humans abound?

TALES OF REMARKABLE BIRDS divides the world by continent and takes a series of extraordinary stories from each to illustrate a great diversity of bird behavior, each examining the truths and the mythology behind each example. Explore behaviors such as songs, calls, parasitism, nest-sharing, feeding adaptations, breeding display, and mating. Lavishly illustrated in full-color, this is an intriguing look at a number of familiar—and many more less well-known birds—and why they behave as they do.

(ISBN: 9781408190234 | Hardcover | 2015 | $25) HORSES

By Bob Langrish and Nicola Jane Swinney This stunning new gift book, photographed by one of the world’s most respected equestrian photographers, covers the world’s most charismatic and iconic breeds, from the noble Arab and Akhal-Teke, to working breeds such as the mighty Percheron and diminutive Fell pony, as well as 'primitive' equines such as Przewalski's Horse and the Polish Konik.

More than 70 entries showcase each unique and beautiful breed in magnificent full-color photographs, accompanied by a historical account of the breed's origins and history.

(ISBN: 9781472909848 | Hardcover | 2015 |$35)