Famous for their size and elegance in flight, albatrosses are familiar to anyone who has travelled through the southern oceans, and are a flagship family of conservation concern. However, albatrosses are just one of several groups of 'pelagic' birds - those that visit land only to breed, and spend the rest of their lives far from the coast, soaring from ocean to ocean in a never-ending search for food. Mysterious and graceful, these birds can present a formidable identification challenge to even the most experienced birder. This fixed-format ebook provides the answer - the first comprehensive guide to pelagic birds, the albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, storm-petrels and diving petrels. Optimised for iPad, it features the book in crisp, clear high-resolution. A total of 46 detailed, fully zoomable colour plates highlight key ID criteria of the birds in flight, with close-ups of diagnostic regions of the plumage. The plates are accompanied by accurate distribution maps, while the sparkling text brings the world of these amazing birds to life. Sea-watchers all around the world will find this superb field guide indispensable – and no birder will want to be without it.

Famous for their size and elegance in flight, albatrosses are familiar to anyone who has travelled through the southern oceans, and are a flagship family of conservation concern. However, albatrosses are just one of several groups of 'pelagic' birds - those that visit land only to breed, and spend the rest of their lives far from the coast, soaring from ocean to ocean in a never-ending search for food. Mysterious and graceful, these birds can present a formidable identification challenge to even the most experienced birder. This book provides the answer - the first comprehensive guide to pelagic birds, the albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, storm-petrels and diving petrels. A total of 46 spectacular colour plates highlight key ID criteria of the birds in flight, with close-ups of diagnostic regions of the plumage. The plates are accompanied by accurate distribution maps, while the sparkling text brings the world of these amazing birds to life. Several extremely rare species, such as Beck's Petrel, are illustrated for the first time, while the New Zealand Storm-petrel, rediscovered as recently as 2004, is also included. Sea-watchers all around the world will find this superb field guide indispensable.

Visiting all the world's seas, the 125 species of albatross and petrel are the most oceanic and widespread of all seabirds. The nesting islands tenanted by these remarkable birds include some of the remotest atolls and some of the bleakest ice-bound Antarctic islands on the planet. Despite their penchant for the remote, petrels are now well studied ashore during breeding and, thanks to the rapid development of satellite tracking and similar techniques, when they roam the high seas. In this comprehensive and elegantly written book, Michael Brooke, who has visited some 40 countries in pursuit of birds, has brought together a wealth of information on all aspects of the biology of the species. He considers why Short-tailed Shearwaters nesting off Australia make regular 10,000 km round trips to Antarctica to harvest a single meal for their chicks, and he discusses the fearsome threat posed to most of the world's 21 albatross species by modern fishing techniques, especially long-lining. Following the ten introductory chapters come 125 individual species accounts, each accompanied by a detailed distribution map. These accounts are the most accessible and up-to-date summaries of each species' biology currently available. The book is enhanced by 16 color plates and many delightful line drawings by John Cox, and the text is also liberally illustrated with photographs. Albatrosses and Petrels Across the World will appeal to all seabird enthusiasts, whether non-specialists keen to learn more of the species that can be seen on a pelagic cruise, or professionals eager to discover how the extraordinary lifestyles of albatrosses and petrels are adaptations to a life on the ocean waves.

A state-of-the-art photographic field guide to the world's oceanic birds Oceanic birds are among the most remarkable but least known of all birds, living at sea, far from the sight of most people. They offer unusual identification challenges—many species look similar and it can be difficult to get good views of fast-flying birds from a moving boat. The first field guide to the world's oceanic birds in more than two decades, this exciting and authoritative book draws on decades of firsthand experience on the open seas. It features clear text filled with original insights and new information and more than 2,200 carefully chosen color images that bring the ocean and its remarkable winged inhabitants to life. Never before have oceanic birds been presented in such an accessible and comprehensive way. The introduction discusses the many recent developments in seabird taxonomy, which are incorporated into the species accounts, and these accounts are arranged into groups that aid field identification. Each group and species complex has an introductory overview of its identification challenges, illustrated with clear comparative photos. The text describes flight manner, plumage variation related to age and molt, seasonal occurrence patterns, migration routes, and many other features. The result is an indispensable guide for exploring birding's last great frontier. A comprehensive, authoritative, and accessible guide to oceanic birds Covers more than 270 species Includes more than 2,200 color photos with concise captions noting key features Features careful species comparisons, overviews of the latest taxonomy, tips on how to observe and ID birds at sea, and much more

The first comprehensive guide to pelagic birds, the albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, storm-petrels and diving petrels. Famous for their size and elegance in flight, albatrosses are familiar to anyone who has travelled through the southern oceans, and are a flagship family of conservation concern. However, albatrosses are just one of several groups of 'pelagic' birds - those that visit land only to breed, and spend the rest of their lives far from the coast, soaring from ocean to ocean in a never-ending search for food. Mysterious and graceful, these birds can present a formidable identification challenge to even the most experienced birder - this book provides the answer. A total of 46 spectacular colour plates highlight key ID criteria of the birds in flight, with close-ups of diagnostic regions of the plumage. The plates are accompanied by accurate distribution maps, while the sparkling text brings the world of these amazing birds to life. Several extremely rare species, such as Beck's Petrel, are illustrated for the first time, while the New Zealand Storm-petrel, rediscovered as recently as 2004, are also included. Sea-watchers all around the world will find this superb field guide indispensable.

Seabirds evoke the spirit of the earth's wildest places. They spend large portions of their lives at sea, often far from land, and nest on remote islands that humans rarely visit. Thanks to increasingly sophisticated and miniaturized devices that can track their every movement and behavior, it is now possible to observe the mysterious lives of these remarkable creatures as never before. This book takes you on a breathtaking journey around the globe to provide an extraordinary up-close look at the activities of seabirds. Featuring stunning illustrations by renowned artist Bruce Pearson, Far from Land reveals that seabirds are not the aimless wind-tossed wanderers they may appear to be, and explains the observational innovations that are driving this exciting area of research.