Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia is a complete guide to Australia’s rich and varied herpetofauna, including frogs, crocodiles, turtles, tortoises, lizards and snakes. For each of the 1218 species there is a description of its appearance, distribution and habits. Each species is accompanied by a distribution map and, in many cases, one of the book’s more than 1000 colour photographs of living animals. The book also includes 130 simple-to-use dichotomous keys, accompanied by hundreds of explanatory drawings, that in most cases allow a specimen in hand to be identified. In addition, it ha... View More...
Excerpt from The Illustrated Australasian Bee Manual: And Complete Guide to Modern Bee Culture in the Southern Hemisphere So rapid is the present progress of commercial beekeeping, necessarily accompanied by frequent changes and modifications in apiary appliances and methods of management, that much of the practical instructions embodied in technical works on bee-culture published from time to time, soon become antiquated, and out of date. I realised this in the present case when commencing to revise the text matter of the last - in preparation for the new - Edition, and therefore I decided to... View More...
Many scientific bird names describe a bird's habits, habitat, distribution or plumage, while other birds are named after their discoverers or in honour of prominent ornithologists. This extraordinary work of reference lists the genus and species name for almost every species of bird in the world as well as information about its meaning and derivation. In the case of eponyms brief biographical details are provided for each of the personalities commemorated in the scientific names. This fascinating book is an outstanding information resource which will both educate and inform, and may even help ... View More...
Discover the beauty and diversity of Australia's native bees. Bees are the darlings of the insect world. It is a great joy to see these tenacious insects hard at work, peacefully buzzing from flower to flower on warm and sunny days. Many people recognise the worth of bees, as well as that they face many threats. But very few know about the diversity and importance of our native bee species. There are an estimated 2000 to 3000 bee species in Australia, yet we know very little about the vast majority of these and there are many that are yet to be described. Bees of Australia introduces some of... View More...
Australian Stingless Bees: a guide to Sugarbag beekeeping by John Klumpp is a 120 page book packed with over 200 photos and illustrations. It is easy to read, whimsical, engaging, sometimes amusing, and is crammed with useful information. The topics covered are: catching the bug - John's personal perspective; the different species of native social stingless bees; differences in lifestyle between honey bees and native social stingless bees (particularly Tetragonula carbonaria formerly Trigona carbonaria; life and lifecycle in a colony; castes; locating colonies in bushland; some different ... View More...
Since it was first published in 1984, Simpson & Day's Field Guide to the Birds of Australia has been one of the most - if not the most - respected bird guide in the country. It has sold over 500 000 copies. The guide contains 132 superb full-colour plates showing all Australian bird species; key points of identification using the latest classification system; distribution maps for all species; over 900 black and white line illustrations; breeding information; a vagrant bird bulletin; a core library list; and easy-to-use indexes. This eighth edition has been revised and updated, including some ... View More...
A wonderful introduction to Australian mammals, this guide is packed with information about the behaviour, development, food and habitat of Australia's remarkable mammals. Each entry fully describes the species and its way of life; it even includes clues for finding certain obscure, often nocturnal, creatures by the telltale traces they leave behind. Colourfully illustrated throughout with detailed artwork and with maps showing where each animal occurs, this is a handy family reference or a guide for the bushwalker or traveller. About the Author: Leonard Cronin is one of Australia's foremost... View More...
Cronin's Key Guide to Australian Reptiles and Frogs is an indispensable introduction to identifying Australian reptiles and frogs from the one of Australia's foremost natural historians. An indispensable guide to Australia's fascinating reptiles and frogs, packed with information about their behaviour, development, food and habitat. Each entry fully describes the species and its way of life. Colourfully illustrated throughout with detailed artwork and with maps showing where each animal occurs, this is a handy family reference or a guide for the bushwalker or traveller. About the Autho... View More...
Bats are an amazing group of animals they are the only mammals to have mastered true powered flight, yet they remain some of the most misunderstood and persecuted creatures. Author Les Hall shares his expert knowledge in this comprehensive and authoritative book, which was awarded best Pocket Guide in the 2010 Whitley Awards for natural history publishing. This Wild Australia Guide features information on habitats, breeding, predators and threats, the benefits from bats, bat conservation as well as caring for injured or orphaned bats. It aims to dispel the negative myths about these rema... View More...
Flying Foxes is an illustrated guide dedicated to Australia's thriteen species of Megachiroptera. These 'mega' bats do not comply with standard bat stereotypes: while they are nocturnal, they live in forests rather than caves, they navigate by sight rather than echolocation, and their long snouts and large ears and eyes give them a canine like look - hence the description of 'flying foxes'. Perhaps because of their appearance, as well as their intelligence, flying foxes are regarded with much affection in Australia and are sometimes kept as family pets. 135 pages. View More...
When Silvester Diggles arrived in 1855 there was little artistic or scientific talent in the small frontier town of Brisbane. By the time of his death in 1880, his paramount legacy was a large book on Australian birds, profusely illustrated with hand-coloured lithographs. Acting as his own publisher from 1865 onwards, Diggles produced the first substantial zoological work to commence publication in Australia. The compilation and content of this rare work of art and natural history is examined here in the light of Diggles' life and times, as well as his ornithological predecessors and contempor... View More...
"Ok, so you can tell a pigeon from a seagull but what about a Magpie from a Currawong? Or a native Noisy Miner from an introduced Indian or Common Myna? There are over 750 species of birds in Australia, so it's not surprising that most of us give up trying to know them all. Know Your Birds narrows the field to Australia's best known birds, those you are most likely to see around our towns and cities. Between the pages of this book - no matter where you live in Australia - you will find a great many familiar birds. Each of the 80 entries features a photographic portrait of a well-known bird. Fr... View More...
Enjoy the sweet rewards of keeping your own honey bees. Learn how to plan a hive, acquire bees, install a colony, keep your bees healthy, and harvest honey. Full of practical advice on apiary equipment and tools, this comprehensive guide also includes an overview of colony life and honey bee anatomy. Whether you're just getting started or are managing dozens of hives, Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees will help you successfully manage a thriving beekeeping operation. 244 pages. View More...
A new title in our existing popular series of the Reed Concise Field Guides to Australian Wildlife. This is the ultimate pocket guide to the country's frogs. It may be diminutive in size but it punches well above its weight in terms of usefulness, jam packed with more than 200 images of all the species most likely to be encountered in Australia. For each of the 180 species accounts there is at least one photograph for identification and a brief written account listing key ID features, range and habitat, behaviour and call. The book covers all of the most common and widespread species likely t... View More...
Tadpoles and Frogs of Australia by Marion Anstis is stunning, comprehensive, one-of-a-kind reference work on the life histories of Australian frogs. The eggs and tadpoles of Australian frogs has been a study waiting to happen for a very long time. Tadpoles and Frogs of Australia provides us with a unique, complete coverage of the life histories of the entire frog fauna of the Australian continent which will become a lasting contribution to frog conservation both nationally and globally. This 832 page book, with hard cover and dust jacket includes prolifically illustrated descriptions of all cu... View More...
"If 70 percent of all cattle or 30 percent of all chickens were to die annually, states of emergency would be declared everywhere. The death of bees is at least that dramatic and with even more far-reaching consequences." More Than Honey, the book based on the award-winning documentary of the same name, takes us on a global tour of the world of bees, introducing us along the way to "killer bees," Frankenbees, beekeepers, and human pollinators. Markus Imhoof and Claus-Peter Lieckfeld examine both the history and current status of our relationship to and reliance on bees, and expose the human be... View More...
This book shows you the beauty, speed and power of these graceful creatures and their relatives, with 190 exciting pictures. You can investigate the wild world of feral horses such as the mustangs of America, Australian brumbies, the white horses of the Carmargue in France, and many more. Special features focus on particular aspects of equine existence, such as the birth of a foal or the migration of a herd of zebras. Myth boxes introduce folk tales and legends about horses from diverse cultures. There are stunning wildlife photographs, plus illustrations and detailed cross-sections. Horses, z... View More...
A new edition of the bestselling guide to Australian butterflies. As fascinating as they are beautiful, butterflies are a pleasure to watch and an important group of invertebrates to study. This second edition of the award-winning book The Complete Field Guide to Butterflies of Australia is a fully updated guide to all butterfly species on Australia's mainland and remote islands. Written by one of Australia's leading lepidopterists, the book is stunningly illustrated with colour photographs, many of which are new, of each of the 435 currently recognised species. There is also a distribut... View More...
Field Guide to the Frogs of Australia by Michael J. Tyler and Frank Knight. Throughout much of the world, frog populations are declining and some species are disappearing totally. In Australia, several species have become extinct in the past 25 years. This revised and updated guide provides concise accounts of all the known frogs of Australia. There are 230 species within the five native frog families:Hylidae, Limnodynastidae, Microhylidae, Myobatrachidae and Ranidae. Also included are the introduced Cane Toad and nine stowaway species that have arrived in Australia. The text for ea... View More...
An Introduction to Keeping and Breeding Australian Reptiles is the perfect all-round introductory guide for newcomers to the reptile keeping hobby. It covers a huge range of basic reptile species, which makes it much more convenient than buying individual beginners guides to each species of basic reptile. It includes a skill level rating for each species, distribution maps, suggested enclosure sizes, egg incubation times, heating techniques and temperatures, lighting, cager furnishings and much more. Published by Mike Swan Publishing, it is produced with the same quality as the first two tit... View More...
