Annie Proulx one of Americas finest writers invites us to share her experience in the building of her new home on a rich plot of untouched unspoilt prairie & her pleasure in uncovering of the layers of American history locked beneath the topsoil. Bird Cloud is the name Annie Proulx gave to 640 acres of Wyoming wetlands & prairie & 400 foot cliffs plunging down to the North Platte River. On the day she first visited a cloud in the shape of a bird hung in the evening sky. Proulx also saw pelicans bald eagles golden eagles great blue herons ravens scores of bluebirds harriers kestrels elk deer & a dozen antelope. She knew she had to purchase the land then owned by the Nature Conservancy & she knew what she would build on it
- a house in harmony with her work her appetites & her character
- a library surrounded by bedrooms & a kitchen. Proulxs first non-fiction in more than twenty years Bird Cloud is the story of building that house
- solar panels a Japanese soak tub a concrete floor elk horn handles on kitchen cabinets
- & an enthralling natural history & archeology of the region inhabited for millennia by Ute Arapaho & Shoshone Indians. It is also a family history going back to nineteenth century Mississippi river boat captains & Canadian settlers & an illuminating autobiography. Proulx a writer with extraordinary powers of observation & compassion turns her lens on herself. We understand how she came to be living in a house surrounded by wilderness with shelves for thousands of books & long worktables on which to heap manuscripts research materials & maps & how she came to be one of the great American writers of her time.



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Bird Friendly Nest Boxes & Feeders" offers ten simple & classic designs for building traditional birdhouses & feeders plus valuable insights on creating the perfect backyard bird environment. More than just a set of plans it covers how to attract the right kinds of birds & ensure that they will keep coming back. This book

Includes:: complete plans for making basic practical bird welcoming structures accompanied by patterns illustrations & full colour photographs. Each project is perfect for individuals striving to create the most natural bird environment possible. Woodworkers from beginner to expert will find projects appropriate for their skill level. This book stands out from ordinary birdhouse titles with technical detail on subjects like cavity size proper hole size & the ideal distance from hole to cavity floor."

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There has until now been no proper study of the bird in art despite our fascination with birds & despite the wealth of complex meanings associated with them in different cultures. A number of pagan gods are linked with birds & dynasties & empires have adopted powerful birds as their symbols. Birds feature in numerous creation myths & represent the human soul in many religions. We can trace bird imagery from the cave paintings of the Paleolithic era to the present day & across all world cultures: there are painted drawn mosaic sculpted embroidered & ceramic birds & birds as marginal illuminations or the subject of meticulous ornithological studies. This exquisite new book investigates the significance of the bird in 250 beautifully reproduced works of art both ancient & modern. Nine chapters
- on such themes as the mythical bird the Eastern bird & the domestic bird
- explore in detail a rich & rewarding collection of paintings prints drawings & sculptures creating a book that will enchant art lovers & anyone interested in ornithology.

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What is it like to be a swift flying at over one hundred kilometres an hour? Or a kiwi plodding flightlessly among the humid undergrowth in the pitch dark of a New Zealand night? & what is going on inside the head of a nightingale as it sings & how does its brain improvise? Bird Sense addresses questions like these & many more by describing the senses of birds that enable them to interpret their environment & to interact with each other. Our affinity for birds is often said to be the result of shared senses
- vision & hearing
- but how exactly do their senses compare with our own? & what about a birds sense of taste or smell or touch or the ability to detect the earths magnetic field? Or the extraordinary ability of desert birds to detect rain hundreds of kilometres away
- how do they do it? Bird Sense is based on a conviction that we have consistently underestimated what goes on in a birds head. Our understanding of bird behaviour is simultaneously informed & constrained by the way we watch & study them. By drawing attention to the way these frameworks both facilitate & inhibit discovery it identifies ways we can escape from them to seek new horizons in bird behaviour. There has never been a popular book about the senses of birds. No one has previously looked at how birds interpret the world or the way the behaviour of birds is shaped by their senses. A lifetime spent studying birds has provided Tim Birkhead with a wealth of observation & an understanding of birds & their behaviour that is firmly grounded in science.


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What is it like to be a swift flying at over one hundred kilometres an hour? Or a kiwi plodding flightlessly among the humid undergrowth in the pitch dark of a New Zealand night? & what is going on inside the head of a nightingale as it sings & how does its brain improvise? Bird Sense addresses questions like these & many more by describing the senses of birds that enable them to interpret their environment & to interact with each other. Our affinity for birds is often said to be the result of shared senses
- vision & hearing
- but how exactly do their senses compare with our own? & what about a birds' sense of taste or smell or touch or the ability to detect the earth's magnetic field? Or the extraordinary ability of desert birds to detect rain hundreds of kilometres away
- how do they do it? Bird Sense is based on a conviction that we have consistently underestimated what goes on in a bird's head. Our understanding of bird behaviour is simultaneously informed & constrained by the way we watch & study them. By drawing attention to the way these frameworks both facilitate & inhibit discovery it identifies ways we can escape from them to seek new horizons in bird behaviour. There has never been a popular book about the senses of birds. No one has previously looked at how birds interpret the world or the way the behaviour of birds is shaped by their senses. A lifetime spent studying birds has provided Tim Birkhead with a wealth of observation & an understanding of birds & their behaviour that is firmly grounded in science.


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It was Felix who named it The Birdcage
- the tall house in Bristol where Miss Pidgeon lived with her tenant the beautiful & talented
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This stylish & practical fabric notebook will make a great gift for an avid writer or student. It's elegant birdcage design combined with it's extensive writing space make this notebook a must buy. Features include: pink page marker & linen birdcage notebook with lined A5 paper. ...

This trendy concealed spiral bound birthday & address book has an elegant birdcage design that will make a great gift for a style conscious friend or relative. This organiser is handy for those who like to keep track of their friends family & birthdays. Features include: alphabetised address book & a chronological birthday list. ...

This quirky birdcage writing set will make a perfect gift for those who love to write. This set comes with beautifully designed paper & envelopes that are encased in a breathtaking keepsake box. Features include: keepsake box 30 A5 sheets 30 envelopes 12 address labels & 48 patterned stickers. ...

This playful storage file will keep your magazines safe & secure
- meaning you will never misplace your favourite glossy again.
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