The Wingless Crow joins together thirty-three superb short essays on nature, science, country living, and self. They are written by a man who-watchful, inquisitive, at times prickly-is animated by delight, wonder, and love for the rural places and wildlife of Pennsylvania.Charles Fergus wrote these insightful pieces for his monthly column, "Thornapples," which ran in Pennsylvania Game News magazine from the late 1970s until the early 1990s. They are based on many hours spent hiking, skiing, botanizing, and observing wild creatures, as well as trips to libraries and hours spent with books, teasing out information about the objects of his interest. The writing is simple and vivid, rendered dramatic through the delivery of carefully chosen details. Fergus scrutinizes a captured dragonfly and sees "a bubble of a hide through which organs glimmer." He recalls a night in a tent when lightning shook the ground. He tells about topographic maps and deerflies and auctions and poisonous mushrooms and crows.Propelled by an unrelenting curiosity, a wry sense of humor, and the tough heart of a born curmudgeon, Fergus is astonished at how little he sees at first-and how much, with care and dedication, there is to see. Readers will delight in his observations of and insights into the everyday life, both human and wild, animating the wooded mountains and farmed valleys of the author's central Pennsylvania home."Charles Fergus is a watcher, a listener. That he thinks of nature as gift, and that he wants us to share his enthusiasm, is communicated on every page. . . . He possesses a child's Sense of wonder, an adult's ability to assemble matter into perspective, and a craftsmanlike prose that has rendered it all into a very fine book." -James Kaufmann, Christian Science Monitor

The Wingless Crow

Fergus, Charles

Reference

Penn State University Press

The author tells of his summer spent in an isolated Icelandic farmhouse with his wife and young son, where he learns of his mother's murder at her home in Pennsylvania

Summer at Little Lava: A Season at the Edge of the World

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Mystery

North Point Pr

A beautifully written natural history of the more than seventy tree species that grow in New England. Includes detailed illustrations and range maps.

Trees Of New England: A Natural History

Science & Math

Hansen, Amelia

Biological Sciences

Falcon Pr Pub Co

<li>Common and uncommon tree species described in engaging detail</li>
<li>Covers trees found in small woodlots, deep forests, backyards, and reverting fieldsWith populations of both northern and southern trees, Pennsylvania is home to a truly diverse array of species. This book describes more than 60 species of trees found in Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States in a straightforward, informative style. Includes identification details, range, growth patterns, seasonal adaptations, natural history, past and present uses, and current and future population trends, along with the author's personal observations of the trees themselves--what their nuts taste like, their barks feel like, or what it's like to see them in the wild. An invaluable addition to any nature-lover's library.
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Trees of Pennsylvania

Stackpole Books

<li>Handy in-the-field identification guide</li>
<li>Features the "Foolproof Five"</li>
<li>Includes a useful identification flowchartThe northeastern United States is home to an enormous variety of mushrooms--some delicious, some deadly. This handy in-the-field guide offers identification information for some 50 mushrooms that mushroom hunters are most likely to encounter in the wild: Parasol Mushroom, Delicious Lactarius, Sulphur Shelf, Giant Puffball. It also features detailed photographs illustrating the characteristics to look for when identifying mushrooms and natural history information--where they grow, when they appear, and the various forms they take.
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Common Edible & Poisonous Mushrooms of the Northeast

Fergus, C. Leonard

<li>Documents mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians </li>
<li>Includes over 100 line art illustrations Details the animals found in the remarkably diverse habitats throughout Virginia and Maryland: their life in the wild, what they look like, what and how they eat, and how they raise their young. Intended for a general audience with any level of knowledge, the material presented serves as an informative companion to a wide range of field guides. The introduction provides general information about the various types of landscape in these Mid-Atlantic states, and how they support wildlife populations.
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Wildlife of Virginia and Maryland

<li>Natural history narratives for more than 300 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians found in Pennsylvania and throughout the northeastern United States-written in an engaging, straightforward style.An invaluable addition to any nature-lover's library. Each narrative offers a species description as well as up-to-date information on habitat, breeding behavior, feeding habits, biology, migration, and current population status, as well as the author's personal observations of the animal's life in the wild. Includes game and nongame mammals, birds of prey, songbirds, waterfowl, snakes, turtles, frogs, toads, and more.
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Wildlife of Pennsylvania

For years, Charles Fergus chronicled his outdoor activities in the Pennsylvania Game News' popular "Thornapples" column and other magazines. Some of the best of his writings are now collected in this illustrated volume. Following a fox, gathering nuts, watching fireflies, tracking a bear, listening to peepers, hunting deer, searching for giant trees, camping alone-a year of adventures and rambles in the natural world, all described in vivid detail and filled with the timeless spirit of the great outdoors.

Thornapples: The Comings, Goings, and Outdoor Doings of a Naturalist

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

<li>A full-color guide to the world of bears </li>
<li>Includes black bears, polar bears, and grizzlies </li>
<li>Information on dealing with bears in the wild Feared and reviled by many, bears are woefully misunderstood creatures. This natural history guide clears up many of the misconceptions about the animals and offers a glimpse into their extraordinary lives. Covering everything from hibernation to their storied fishing abilities, the book also examines the difficulties that bears and humans often have coexisting and gives invaluable guidance on how to act should you encounter a wild bear. Illustrated throughout in full color.
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Bears (Wild Guide Series)

Make a Home for Wildlife helps you see your property in new ways and is the resource you need to take the sometimes daunting steps to improve the quality of your land. According to U.S. Forest Service, 250 million acres of woods and forests in the United States are privately held by 10 million individuals/families. Whether you live on a quarter-acre lot in the suburbs, own a 20-acre woodland retreat, run a farm of 100 acres, or belong to an outdoor club with hundreds or thousands of acres, you can make changes to the land—improvements that will turn your property into a better home for wildlife. Habitat projects can be simple or complex, short-term or spanning decades. Cost can be minimal—a few hours of your time spent doing pleasant work in the outdoors—or can run into the hundreds or thousands of dollars. And there is funding to help landowners make wildlife habitat. Focusing on the eastern US from Canada to Florida and west to the Great Plains, this book describes basic habitat types—forest, shrublands, grasslands, and wetlands—and highlights over 150 select native and introduced trees, shrubs, and plants, explaining how they are used—or not—by wildlife. The book includes more than 100 profiles of prominent and interesting species of insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals with information on animals and their habitat needs. Large and small mammals, resident and migratory birds, and insects are covered. Fergus relates stories of landowners who have made habitat in different states and regions in different ways.

Make a Home for Wildlife: Creating Habitat on Your Land Backyard to Many Acres

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Books by Fergus, Charles