Curtle Mead Books (17 results)

Condition: Very good. Dust Jacket Condition: good +. Carol Ogilvie (illustrator). First printing. Slight lean to spine, name and address on FEP, DJ one small tear and some general wear at edges, 206pp The forty-two species or subspecies of ducks which occur in Europe, including eleven vagrants from North America or Asia are the subject of this book. its author is an accepted authority on ducks and geese, and was a member of the research staff at Slimbridge.

Seller Inventory # 36

Hardcover. Condition: Very good. Dust Jacket Condition: very good. Robert Gillmor and others (illustrator). First printing. some dusting on top edge, Jacket design by R Gillmor. There are line drawings of all 221 species by 5 well known artists including R Gillmor. Previous owners signature on FEP, 335pp Dr Sharrock is well placed to write about the rare birds of Britain and Ireland. He is a member of all three bodies which adjudicate oFirst printingn such records - honorary secretary of the British Ornithologists Union's Records Committee and a member of both the British Birds Rarities Committee, and the Irish Records panel. This book is the result of the collation of over 8000 records and textural and visual analysis dealing with 221 species.

Seller Inventory # 37

Hardcover. Condition: Very good. Dust Jacket Condition: good. Eric Hosking (illustrator). First Edition. DJ price clipped, spine faded, several nicks and chips on top of DJ front and front edge of spine - largest 1.4cm. Cloth cover has gilt tiger on front and spine lettering. Inscription from/to and date on the inner front paste down endpaper. Dust staining on top edge. Many photographs throughout both B/W and colour. Colour maps of 'West Pakistan' and 'East Pakistan' on the endpapers. Fully indexed 286pp. These two expeditions were basically to assess the extent of the disappearance of the wilderness and wildlife in what was then West and East Pakistan. The many adventures are described, often accompanied by photographs.

Seller Inventory # 169

Hardcover. Condition: Very good. Dust Jacket Condition: very good. Ian Willis (illustrator). First printing. a very little dusting top edge and previous owners signature on FEP, 351pp This book is, in essence, six 'years' of bird activity and behaviour as recorded , month by month, by six experienced birdwatchers and ornithologists. The result is a fascinating compilation as seen and noted by the authors. The habitats are the Brent Reservoir, a Kentish woodland, the Ouse Washes, Derbyshire farmland, mountain region in SW Scotland and an Island, the Calf of Man.

Seller Inventory # 38

Hardcover. Condition: Very good. Dust Jacket Condition: very good. First printing. some light dusting top edge , price clipped, 292pp An account of the history and work ( including access and accommodation) of each of the fourteen observatories. The emphasis is on birds with details of passages and records in typical months and throughout the year but flora and fauna are also given space. There is a tabular index for all species recorded for each of the observatories.

Seller Inventory # 35

Hardcover. Condition: Good. First Edition, first reprint. This book is cocked and the green cloth cover is intact but faded especially on the spine and top front and back boards. There is dust staining on all edges. with some foxing scattered throughout. On page 3 there is a correction noted in the margin, bacteria crossed out and algae inserted - the erratum has been printed on page x. The fold out map of Rona at the back is in good condition. There are 28 B/W photographic plates. x, 137pp This is a narrative of the life of Fraser Darling who lived on North Rona detailing the seasons and the wildlife.

Seller Inventory # 305

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: very good +. First printing. some dusting to top edge , price clipped, 154pp An account of the recent history of the Hawaiian Goose or Nene, its descent to near extinction, its eleventh hour rescue and current restoration to the wild.

Seller Inventory # 39

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good +. Dust Jacket Condition: very good. John Busby (illustrator). First printing. Price clipped, 215pp Clive Hutchinson, a leading Irish ornithologist, compiled this comprehensive review of birds in the Republic and Northern Ireland to coincide with the 21st anniversary of the Irish Wildbird Conservancy's foundation having had the IWC's support throughout. This book also covers Irelands topography, climate and habitats, a review of ornithology and ornithologists in Ireland over the past 100 years. He provides detailed species accounts which form the greater part of the book.

Seller Inventory # 42

Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Dave Nurney (illustrator). 1st Edition. slight marking and dent on bottom edge back cover of dust jacket. xx, 694pp This is a thorough examination of the status and distribution, past and present, of every species on the English list. The fortune of each species in England is discussed in detail, referring to historical records and current research to assess the present status of the species and its likely future population trends, and to provide recommendations for conservation strategies. For vagrants, all records are listed and patterns of vagrancy are discussed. An essential reference work for anyone with an interest in the birds of England, it is also a fascinating and enlightening read. Sponsored by English Nature. This is a very heavy book and will require extra postage.

Seller Inventory # 44

Hardcover. Condition: Very good +. Dust Jacket Condition: very good. Sir Peter Scott et al (illustrator). Reprint. This is a very good+ copy except for very slight sunning on the DJ spine, as usual. There is a comprehensive bibliography and index. This is a very heavy book and will require extra postage. Oxford University Press Ed ( not the RSPB Ed ). vii, 722pp. This is the standard work on the birds of the Western Palearctic. This volume contains descriptions of 122 species, 93 of them breeding in the Western Palearctic. There are specially commissioned colour plate illustrations of each species showing normal plumage as well as distant flight views. Also there are colour plates of eggs as well as other B/W illustrations and comprehensive information about each species.

Seller Inventory # 96

Hardcover. Condition: Very good. Dust Jacket Condition: very good. John Peterson (illustrator). First Edition. The unclipped DJ has a 3cm tear at the front crease and a very small (3x3mm) deep dent, not punctured, near the spine at the front. No damage to book or cover. There are 16 B/W photographs and some text figures and maps scattered throughout. There is a systematic list of the birds of Fair Isle by Peter Davis and a selected bibliography and full index. xvi, 311pp This book details not only the life and trials of the bird observatory but also the life of the first Director of the observatory and his field work amongst the breeding birds and the migrants.

Seller Inventory # 172

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. Ian Jones (illustrator). 1st Edition. small dent in front cover xviii, 249pp. An excellent copy Anthony Gaston has carried out the only detailed study of the Ancient Murrelet in the fine mature coastal forest of the Queen Charlotte Islands. This is his book revealing their complex social behaviour, the song behaviour of the males and the species' response to the variety of predators that they face- from peregrines to deer mice. They have become a focus of a conservation debate which resulted in a new national park in the Queen Charlotte Islands where half the worlds population breeds. 36.

Seller Inventory # 41

Hardcover. Condition: Very good +. Dust Jacket Condition: very good. Second printing. This is a very good+ copy except for slight sunning on the DJ spine, as usual. There is a comprehensive bibliography and index. This is a very heavy book, and will require extra postage. Oxford University Press Ed ( not the RSPB Ed ). vi, 695pp. This is the standard work on the birds of the Western Palearctic. This volume contains descriptions of 97 species. There are specially commissioned colour plate illustrations of each species showing normal plumage as well as distant flight views. Also there are colour plates of eggs as well as other B/W illustrations and comprehensive information about each species.

Seller Inventory # 97

Hardcover. Condition: Good +. Dust Jacket Condition: good +. Donald Watson (illustrator). First printing. h A detailed study of the Scottish pine-feeding crossbills (which are very different to the spruce feeding crossbills of the English Breckland ) and have since been recognised as an endemic British species.

Seller Inventory # 40

Hardcover. Condition: Very good. First edition. 19 B/W photos and 24 text illustrations. 239pp, fully indexed. There are several different school labels, one on the front inside cover, another on the FEP ( given by the RSPB for a bird and tree competition in 1956), the last on the back FEP. However, the rest of the book is in excellent condition. The blue cloth cover is in very good+ condition and unfaded. This book is based on 10 years observations of swifts from 1946. Firstly with their home life then with life in the air. The first two years of observations were made in two villages near Oxford, but in 1948 studies continued in the University Museum of Natural History tower in Oxford. The original ventilation holes in the tower had glass backed nesting boxes substituted and hence direct observations were possible at close range. Their flights, courtship, nesting behaviour and also behaviour in the air was studied in great detail. Their adaptations to this life in the air is also discussed with reference to Darwin's treatise on natural selection. This famous book is written in nontechnical language for the general reader, but remains a scientific and authoritative monograph.

Seller Inventory # 102

Hardcover. Condition: Near fine. Robert Gillmor (illustrator). First Edition, First Printing. In a plastic cover, lovely copy.This is the scarce first edition though sadly with no dust jacket.206pp 'The primary purpose of this book is to summarise the results and achievements of the first 11 years ' work by Cape Clear Observatory'. So says Sharrock, the Editor, who has collated and guided the various specialist authors throughout this book. Although most is devoted to birds, along with lists of birds summarising the status of every species recorded on the island and with histograms showing seasonal patterns, there are many other short chapters written by experts in their field on other aspects of the natural history. These include slugs and snails, dolphins, butterflies, mosses and seaweed etc.

Seller Inventory # 45

Condition: Very good +. Dust Jacket Condition: very good +. RSPB Edition. This is the scarcest volume of the series and is the standard work on the birds of the Western Palearctic. This volume of Sylviinae (Old World warblers and allies) contains descriptions of 63 species. It is a very good+ copy with only one 5mm clean tear at the top front of the DJ. Both the book spine and the DJ have the RSPB logo at the bottom. There are specially commissioned colour plate illustrations of each species showing normal plumage. Also there are colour plates of eggs as well as other B/W illustrations and comprehensive information about each species. Maps of the Western Palearctic across both endplates and a comprehensive bibliography and index. vi, 728pp. This is a very heavy book, and will require extra postage.

Seller Inventory # 273