Far from Land: The Mysterious Lives of Seabirds

by Bruce Pearson (Author), Michael Brooke (Author), Bruce Pearson (Author), Michael Brooke (Author)

New
Illustrated
2018
$28.66

The lives and activities of seabirds as you've never seen them before
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 beautiful and remote islands that humans rarely visit. Thanks to the development of 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 beautifully illustrated book takes you on a breathtaking journey around the globe to reveal where these birds actually go when they roam the sea, the tactics they employ to traverse vast tracts of ocean, the strategies they use to evade threats, and more.
Michael Brooke has visited every corner of the world in his lifelong pursuit of seabirds. Here, he draws on his own experiences and insights as well as the latest cutting-edge science to shed light on the elusive seafaring lives of albatrosses, frigatebirds, cormorants, and other ocean wanderers. Where do puffins go in the winter? How deep do penguins dive? From how far away can an albatross spot a fishing vessel worth following for its next meal? Brooke addresses these and other questions in this delightful book. Along the way, he reveals that seabirds are not the aimless wind-tossed creatures they may appear to be and explains the observational innovations that are driving this exciting area of research.
Featuring illustrations by renowned artist Bruce Pearson and packed with intriguing facts, Far from Land provides an extraordinary up-close look at the activities of seabirds.

Synopsis

The lives and activities of seabirds as you've never seen them before

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 beautiful and remote islands that humans rarely visit. Thanks to the development of 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 beautifully illustrated book takes you on a breathtaking journey around the globe to reveal where these birds actually go when they roam the sea, the tactics they employ to traverse vast tracts of ocean, the strategies they use to evade threats, and more.

Michael Brooke has visited every corner of the world in his lifelong pursuit of seabirds. Here, he draws on his own experiences and insights as well as the latest cutting-edge science to shed light on the elusive seafaring lives of albatrosses, frigatebirds, cormorants, and other ocean wanderers. Where do puffins go in the winter? How deep do penguins dive? From how far away can an albatross spot a fishing vessel worth following for its next meal? Brooke addresses these and other questions in this delightful book. Along the way, he reveals that seabirds are not the aimless wind-tossed creatures they may appear to be and explains the observational innovations that are driving this exciting area of research.

Featuring illustrations by renowned artist Bruce Pearson and packed with intriguing facts, Far from Land provides an extraordinary up-close look at the activities of seabirds.

$28.66

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More Information

Format: Illustrated
Pages: 264
Edition: Illustrated
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 16 Feb 2018
ISBN 10: 0691174180
ISBN 13: 9780691174181

Media Reviews

[Brooke] shares his encyclopedic knowledge with dry wit and fine attention to detail in this absorbing book. . . . His enthusiasm is so infectious that Far from Land is bound to hatch some much-needed new devotees.---Adrian Barnett, New Scientist
If you thought you knew all about seabirds, then think again. This book is absolutely packed with new information.---John Miles, Bird Watching Magazine
His tour of the ecological highlights is gripping in scope and in granular detail gleaned from observations of puffins, penguins, fulmars and more.---Barbara Kiser, Nature
Written with passion and knowledge in equal doses. It is beautifully written, immediately captures interest, is erudite, avoids jargon, and is entertaining with a fair peppering of humour. . . . I cannot think of one good reason why any seabirder - field birders and researchers alike - would want to skip this book. Buy it.---Bob Flood, Birdwatch Magazine
Cutting-edge technology has at last enabled scientists to solve the riddle of what seabirds do in winter--far from the eyes of human observers. Michael Brooke writes with passion, humor, and a lifetime's experience, superbly evoking all the mystery and romance of these most alluring of birds. --Katrina van Grouw, author of The Unfeathered Bird
An amazing journey over the horizon with one of our greatest seabird biologists. These new discoveries will be vital for conservation efforts to ensure we continue to share the seas with these magnificent ocean wanderers. --Nick Davies, University of Cambridge
Knowledge about the lives of seabirds has taken a quantum leap in the past two decades, with technological advances providing details of seabird activity when they are far from land. Brooke's book engagingly discusses how these recent findings have transformed our understanding of seabird natural history. --George Divoky, founder and director of Friends of Cooper Island
A milestone that fills an important gap in the available literature on this rapidly expanding field. --Christopher Perrins, editor of The Princeton Encyclopedia of Birds
[A] marvellous new study.---John Burnside, New Statesman
For centuries, seafarers have marveled at the ability of seabirds to survive in some of the remotest of the world's oceans. How do these birds find their food? How do they migrate thousands of miles each year? What adaptations and strategies allow them to live in challenging marine environments around the world? These are just some of the questions Brooke answers in this insightful and compelling book. --Dr. Eric Woehler, University of Tasmania
Michael Brooke's eminently readable book simply and clearly explains how the digital revolution has transformed our knowledge of the once mysterious lives of seabirds at sea. I'm confident that this entertaining and wide-ranging book will appeal to a broad audience, from the lay public to seabird biologists. --Peter Ryan, director of the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town
Seabirds are foragers who venture to sea in search for food. Increasingly, we are learning about their quests thanks to exciting new methods like microelectronic biologging, which Michael Brooke summarizes beautifully in the context of seabirds' natural-history patterns. --David G. Ainley, coeditor of Seabirds of the Farallon Islands
This is among the best written popular science books on birds I have come across. Anyone interested in birds will enjoy Far from Land. --Tim Birkhead, coauthor of Ten Thousand Birds: Ornithology since Darwin
A thoroughly enjoyable and illuminating survey of the world of seabirds - made all the more enjoyable by Bruce Pearson's lovely pen-and-wash illustrations.---Nigel Andrew, Literary Review
The most up-to-date picture of how seabirds behave when we aren't watching. . . . Beautifully written.---Joe Culley, Irish Times
In a very approachable and often dazzling book, Michael Brooke blends the seemingly incompatible worlds of romance and science. The book almost reads like a collection of fairy tales, stories from lands far away of almost-mythical creatures.---Mihai Andrei, ZME Science
A brilliant global overview of seabird behaviour.---Kenny Taylor, BBC Wildlife Magazine
As an all-encompassing look at the lives of all sort of seabirds, this book would be hard to beat . . . a must-have book for anyone with an interest in the most mysterious of all birds.---Matt Merritt, Bird Watching Magazine
Michael Brooke has drawn on his knowledge of current science to give a timely summary of research so far and a brilliant global overview of seabird behaviour.---Kenny Taylor, BBC Wildlife Magazine
To read it is like encountering a new and unknown blue planet for the first time. . . . How much better to live now when the world of seabirds, even far from land, is chronicled in such magnificent detail by scientists such as Brooke.---Matt Ridley, The Times

Author Bio

Michael Brooke is the Strickland Curator of Ornithology at the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge. He is the author of Albatrosses and Petrels across the World and the coeditor of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Ornithology, and has written widely on science and travel for outlets such as the Daily Telegraph and the Guardian.