{"title":"Alexander F Skutch","description":"\u003cp\u003eDelve into the world of Alexander F. Skutch, a renowned ornithologist and naturalist. Explore his detailed studies and engaging narratives that bring the avian world to life. Perfect for nature enthusiasts.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"origins-of-nature-s-beauty-book-alexander-f-skutch-9780292760370","title":"Origins of Nature's Beauty","description":"In this era of global competition, the demands of customers are growing, and the quest for quality has never been more urgent. Quality has evolved from a concept into a strategy for long-term viability. The third edition of \u003cb\u003ePrinciples of Total Quality\u003c\/b\u003e explains this strategy for both the service and manufacturing sectors. \u003cp\u003eThis edition addresses the theme of reliability against the backdrop of increasing litigation in the area of product performance. 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Skutch, a well-known ornithologist who has studied birds for more than sixty years, makes a case for believing that birds' mental capacities have been grossly underestimated. Lacking hard scientific proofs of what birds think and feel, we are left, Skutch argues, with inferences gleaned from observation of their behavior. His intimate, six-decade study of tropical and north temperate birds and his wide survey of the literature inform this remarkable review of the psychic life of birds. Although varying widely by species, many birds have a striking ability to recognize as individuals not only other birds of their own kind (which all look alike to humans), but also familiar humans, even after a long absence. They have good memories and give indications of forethought. Only humans take more elaborate care of their offspring than most birds do, and few animals of any kind live in such closely united families as those of cooperatively breeding birds, which carefully avoid incest. The diverse play of birds suggests their capacity for enjoyment. They can be taught to count up to eight, and some are known to use tools. The tastefully adorned constructions of bower birds and the songs of many other species also point strongly to an aesthetic sense. The journeys of migrants between known breeding and wintering territories separated by thousands of miles speak of memory and navigational skills that baffle human observers. True, Skutch concludes, inferential evidence only suggests hypotheses and cannot offer scientific proof. Nonetheless, his carefully gathered and documented observations, delightfully reported, accord with the strong intuition of many bird lovers that birds are not unfeeling automata but sensitive creatures, aware of what they do. Birders and behaviorist ornithologists alike will find Skutch's work provocative and rewarding-no more easily dismissed than the apparently purposeful behavior of the birds he describes. A timely and useful contribution to the debate on animal intelligence, this book offers--with precision, force, clarity, and a wide range of examples--a challenge to the longstanding mechanistic view of nonhuman life.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50564047044881,"sku":"GOR008331794","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51371728077073,"sku":"GOR009611442","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53434230898961,"sku":"CIN0890966710G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0890966710.jpg?v=1750883840"},{"product_id":"naturalist-in-costa-rica-book-alexander-f-skutch-9780813011486","title":"A Naturalist in Costa Rica","description":"A Naturalist in Costa Rica picks up Alexander Skutch's story when he went to that country in 1935, the year \"\"The Imperative Call\"\" ends. There his dream of establishing a permanent homestead in the unspoiled tropical forest of Central America in time became the reality of a simple farmhouse in the Valley of El General. The book records his life, work, observations and reflections during 35 years in that southern Pacific portion of Costa Rica. First published in 1971 (and long out of print), the book expresses a personal concern for spiritual and ecological balance that continues to engage us in the final decade of the 20th century. Appendices contain an annotated list, updated for this edition by the author, of more than 300 species of birds that he has identified near his home, an up-to-date bibliography of his writings, and a list of his awards and honours.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50888030290193,"sku":"CIN0813011485G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51008204800273,"sku":"NIN9780813011486","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52331542511889,"sku":"NLS9780813011486","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52802900590865,"sku":"GOR014624516","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0813011485.jpg?v=1763114416"},{"product_id":"antbirds-and-ovenbirds-book-alexander-f-skutch-9780292777057","title":"Antbirds and Ovenbirds","description":"Western Books Exhibition, Rounce and Coffin Club  Antbirds and ovenbirds, two of the five largest families of birds found only in the Western Hemisphere, have been among Alexander Skutch's favorites for more than six decades. In this book, he draws on years of observations to describe the life cycle of these fascinating birds, which inhabit Latin America from tropical Mexico to Tierra del Fuego.  Skutch covers all aspects of the birds' lives, including the various species in each family, food and foraging, daily life, voice, displays and courtship, nests and incubation, and parental care. He also recounts anecdotes from his own experiences, creating vivid pictures of antbirds foraging for the insects Skutch stirs up on walks through the rainforest and of ovenbirds repairing the observation holes that he opens in their elaborate nests.  As some of tropical America's least studied birds, antbirds and ovenbirds surely merit the extensive treatment given them here by one of our most distinguished senior ornithologists. Over fifty line drawings by noted bird artist Dana Gardner make this book a delight for both armchair and field naturalists.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51320882594065,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51320884625681,"sku":"CIN0292777051VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52071538393361,"sku":"CIN0292777051G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0292777051.jpg?v=1763476773"},{"product_id":"minds-of-birds-book-alexander-f-skutch-9780890967591","title":"Minds of Birds","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51416639602961,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51416640684305,"sku":"CIN0890967598G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0890967598.jpg?v=1750850976"},{"product_id":"bird-watcher-s-adventures-in-tropical-america-book-alexander-f-skutch-9780292707221","title":"A Bird Watcher's Adventures in Tropical America","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51595240636689,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51595240833297,"sku":"GOR005378347","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51595240931601,"sku":"CIN0292707223G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0292707223.jpg?v=1750973977"},{"product_id":"life-of-the-tanager-book-alexander-f-skutch-9780801422263","title":"Life of the Tanager","description":"Alexander F. Skutch has spent more than 40 years studying Neotropical birds, mostly in southern Costa Rica, where he makes his home. In this charming book he observes the habits of the tanagers, a family of some 230 species of brightly colored, predominantly fruit-eating birds of the New World.Skutch describes many of the unusual things he has seen tanagers do, and details their behavior: how they forage and feed, vocalize, interact with one another, court, and breed. He tells how they nest, care for their young, and defend against predators, and shows them in such daily activities as grooming and sleeping. His final chapter is devoted to the present status of tanagers in relation to humans and the destruction of their physical environment. Dana Gardener has provided 19 black-and-white drawings of various species, and a set of 24 of his watercolors illustrate the brilliant colors of the birds and of the tropical vegetation they inhabit..Written in Skutch's inimitable style, Life of the Tanager conveys eloquently his views on conservation, ecology, and evolution. It is sound natural history, sprinkled with a unique blend of personal observation and theoretical reflection. 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