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Nature Birdwatching Guides

Penguins of the World

photographs by Wayne Lynch

Publisher
Firefly Books
Initial publish date
Aug 2007
Category
Birdwatching Guides, Environmental Conservation & Protection
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781554073344
    Publish Date
    Aug 2007
    List Price
    $34.95
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781554072743
    Publish Date
    Aug 2007
    List Price
    $24.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781552091807
    Publish Date
    Oct 1997
    List Price
    $35.00

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Out of print

This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.

Description

The internationally successful movie March of the Penguins showcases the life of these fascinating flightless birds that have become such prominent symbols of the fragile nature of our ecosystem. Faced with global warming, invasive tourism, pollution and loss of habitat, penguins -- if they are to survive -- need protection more than ever.

Over the past 18 years, Wayne Lynch has traveled to Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand and a dozen remote island clusters in the tempestuous Southern Ocean, studying and photographing all 17 species of penguins in their natural habitats. In Penguins of the World, he documents the extraordinary life cycles of these tough, resourceful and beautiful animals in the harshest environments imaginable.

This second edition has been revised, redesigned and expanded, with detailed information and the latest facts and statistics on:

  • Anatomy
  • Egg and chick development
  • Mating and feeding habits
  • Predators
  • Habitats
  • Climate change
  • Changes to food levels.

Through his engaging text and on-location photographs, Wayne Lynch captures these birds in their wide variety of activities and behaviors. Penguins of the World will appeal to anyone interested in birds, nature and science.

 

About the author

Wildlife photographer and science writer Dr. Wayne Lynch has dedicated almost three decades to learning everything he can about these powerful mammals. In his quest for bears, he has crawled inside the winter dens of black bears and polar bears, held squirming grizzly cubs in his arms, sailed along the coastal rainforests of British Columbia, hiked the cloud forests of the Andes Mountains in South America and ridden elephants through the jungles of Nepal and India.

In Bears, Bears, Bears for Kids, his engaging guide to the world's eight bear species, Lynch introduces us to the strange and wonderful natural histories of these magnificent wild animals.

For more than 40 years, Dr. Wayne Lynch has been writing about and photographing the wildlands of the world from the stark beauty of the Arctic and Antarctic to the lush rainforests of the tropics. Today, he is one of Canada's best-known and most widely published nature writers and wildlife photographers. His photo credits include hundreds of magazine covers, thousands of calendar shots, and tens of thousands of images published in over 80 countries. He is also the author/photographer of more than 45 books for children as well as over 20 highly acclaimed natural history books for adults including Windswept: A Passionate View of the Prairie Grasslands; Penguins of the World; Bears: Monarchs of the Northern Wilderness; A is for Arctic: Natural Wonders of a Polar World; Wild Birds Across the Prairies;Planet Arctic: Life at the Top of the World; The Great Northern Kingdom: Life in the Boreal Forest; Owls of the United States and Canada: A Complete Guide to their Biology and Behavior; Penguins: The World's Coolest Birds; Galapagos: A Traveler's Introduction; A Celebration of Prairie Birds; and Bears of the North: A Year Inside Their Worlds.In 2022, he released Wildlife of the Rockies for Kids and Loons: Treasured Symbols of the North. His books have won multiple awards and have been described as "a magical combination of words and images."

Wayne Lynch's profile page

Editorial Reviews

Excellent quality, real life photos ... a great deal of interesting biology.... Two thumbs up.

Canadian Camera

[starred review] Beautifully illustrated and delightfully written ... The best parts of [the] book are the photographs. Lynch's gorgeous and gorgeously printed images...display such a refined visual sensibility that even without accompanying text, the images would still achieve Lynch's goal of presenting "the scientific and aesthetic appeal of this unique family of birds."

Publishers Weekly

A classic coffee-table book ... Penguins of the World is both well researched and visually attractive, while the charm and downright strangeness of penguins' lives are brought into focus through the numerous colour photos and firsthand testimony of a top polar expert.

The Guardian

Penguins of the World is filled with striking photos depicting the birds, from downy chicks to sleek adults.... Lynch's highly readable text draws on his travel journals as well as historical documents and current research about the seabird that, as he writes, has "become a symbol of all that is special and valuable in nature."

Canadian Geographic

Very nicely illustrated with numerous photos by the author .... Anyone planning a trip to the Southern Ocean, especially to experience its natural world, shousld read this book from cover to cover.

ARCTIC

[starred review] Combining detailed information with personal anecdotes and quotes from other scientists/researchers makes the text very engaging.... The abundant colour photographs are absolutely amazing, vibrant and crystal-clear in focus.... Thoroughly researched, Penguins of the World is a tribute to the resilience and the remarkable ability of penguins to survive in harsh climates.

Canadian Materials

[Lynch] seems to know everything there is to know about penguins.

www.Ralph.mag (Review of Arts, Literature, Philoso

Enlivened with the author's anecdotes and well illustrated with his clear and intimate photographs, this will undoubtedly be a go-to book for penguin-loving patrons. An easy and fun read.

Booklist

(starred review) This beautifully illustrated and delightfully written [book] look[s] at Lynch's discoveries about these "flightless seabirds" in the field and in scientific journals, during day-to-day as well as birth-to-death observations, and from the smallest to the largest type. While Lynch presents detailed descriptions of everything from mating rituals to eating habits, the best parts of his book are the photographs. Lynch's gorgeous and gorgeously printed images--such as that of the head of a young penguin chick disappearing inside the throat of a parent as it reaches for a meal--display such a refined visual sensibility that even without accompanying text, the images would still achieve Lynch's goal of presenting "the scientific and aesthetic appeal of this unique family of birds."

Publishers Weekly

A delightfully and brilliantly photographed book about these most unique and endearing of birds... this informative book will charm penguin lovers of all ages.

The Chronicle Herald (Halifax)

Penguins of the World is a fascinating introduction written in a style which holds the reader's interest. It is an attractive large format softcover sold at a very modest price. Highly recommended.

Wildlife Afield, Biodiversity Centre for Wildlife

[Lynch] has transformed his fascination with these adorable creatures into a delightful book filled with 130 of his color images and plenty of scientific facts that reveal that humans penguins have much in common.

Shutterbug

From sex to family life, from feeding to predators the author weaves a delightful tale of the delightful creatures... The photographs are wonderful... If you have never seen wild penguins and are not likely to do so, then this book is the next best thing. Buy it and enjoy it, for only the smell is missing.

Canadian Field Naturalist, vol. 12, no. 4, Oct-Dec

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