The Mating Ritual
The Mating Ritual

Author: Bonnie Vanak

Publisher: Bonnie Vanak Publishing

Published: 2017-06-08

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13:

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Long ago, Unseelie Prince Gideon lost Lady Eleanor, princess of the rival Seelie kingdom, and vowed to never love again. Now the immortal Crimson Wizard, the handsome, sexy and lethal Gideon loses his powers as punishment for sharing magick to restore a fellow wizard’s life. But there are greater dangers at risk, for a terrible darkness threatens the peace treaty that Gideon died to implement. Glamoured as an Unseelie Prince, Gideon is pledged in marriage to Lady Alia, the curvy and lovely daughter of the Seelie king. Their marriage will keep the fragile truce. Princess Alia fights a battle of her own, for women are scorned and abused in her father’s kingdom. To spare her people from her father’s cruelty and save her little sister from slavery, she must assassinate her groom, which will start a war between the two rival kingdoms. But gentle-hearted Alia is falling in love with Gideon, who treats her with all the tenderness and concern she’s longed for her entire life. Little does she know she is the key to restoring Gideon’s broken heart, and helping him to stop the evil infiltrating both kingdoms and killing everything in its path…

The Love Lives of Birds
The Love Lives of Birds

Author: Laura Erickson

Publisher: Hachette UK

Published: 2020-10-27

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1635862760

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Ornithologist Laura Erickson combines her bird expertise with a touch of romance writing in this exploration of the courtship and mating rituals of 35 bird species, from the tiny ruby-throated hummingbird to the mighty great blue heron.

Wild Rituals
Wild Rituals

Author: Caitlin O'Connell

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Published: 2021-01-12

Total Pages: 234

ISBN-13: 1797201611

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Wild Rituals explores how embracing the rituals of the animal kingdom can make us more connected to ourselves, nature, and others. Behavioral ecologist and world-renowned elephant scientist Caitlin O'Connell dives into the rituals of elephants, apes, zebras, rhinos, lions, whales, flamingos, and many more. This fascinating read helps us better understand how we are similar to wild animals, and encourages us to find healing, self-awareness, community, and self-reinvention. • Filled with fascinating stories on 10 different animal rituals • Features original full-color photos, from the Caribbean to the African savannah • Demonstrates the profound way we are similar to the wild creatures who captivate us Wild Rituals journeys into the desert, tundra, and rainforest to reveal the importance of rituals and how they can help us find a simpler, more meaningful way of living. In a culture of technology where we find ourselves living at a greater distance from nature and each other, this remarkable book taps into the unspoken languages of creatures around the world. • Caitlin O'Connell is on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and an award-winning author who spent more than 30 years studying animals in the wild. • Makes a great gift for anyone curious about nature, animals, and how humans compare to and interact with both • Add it to the shelf with books like Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina; Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal; The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and Compassion—Surprising Observations of a Hidden World by Peter Wohlleben; and The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery.

The Mating Mind
The Mating Mind

Author: Geoffrey Miller

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2011-12-21

Total Pages: 530

ISBN-13: 0307813746

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At once a pioneering study of evolution and an accessible and lively reading experience, a book that offers the most convincing—and radical—explanation for how and why the human mind evolved. Consciousness, morality, creativity, language, and art: these are the traits that make us human. Scientists have traditionally explained these qualities as merely a side effect of surplus brain size, but Miller argues that they were sexual attractors, not side effects. He bases his argument on Darwin’ s theory of sexual selection, which until now has played second fiddle to Darwin’ s theory of natural selection, and draws on ideas and research from a wide range of fields, including psychology, economics, history, and pop culture. Witty, powerfully argued, and continually thought-provoking, The Mating Mind is a landmark in our understanding of our own species.

The World of All Souls
The World of All Souls

Author: Deborah Harkness

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2018-05-08

Total Pages: 503

ISBN-13: 0735220751

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From the author of The Black Bird Oracle comes a fully illustrated guide to the #1 New York Times bestselling All Souls series—“an irresistible . . . wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy” (People). Look for the hit series “A Discovery of Witches,” now streaming on AMC+, Sundance Now, and Shudder! A world of witches, vampires, and daemons. A manuscript that holds the secrets of their past and the key to their future. Diana and Matthew—the forbidden love at the heart of the adventure. In The World of All Souls, Deborah Harkness shares the rich sources of inspiration behind her bewitching novels. She draws together synopses, character bios, maps, recipes, and even the science behind creatures, magic, and alchemy—all with her signature historian's touch. Bursting with fascinating facts and dazzling artwork, this essential handbook is a must-have for longtime fans and eager newcomers alike.

The Dusky Dolphin
The Dusky Dolphin

Author: Bernd Würsig

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2009-07-17

Total Pages: 458

ISBN-13: 0080920357

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The Dusky Dolphin: Master Acrobat Off Different Shores covers various topics about the dusky dolphin, including its taxonomy, history and demography, ecology, and behavior. After introducing the dusky dolphin as a member of the genus Lagenorhynchus under the family Delphinidae, the book continues by describing its life history, its demographic patterns, and its role in the food web considering predation, parasitism, and competition. The book also includes chapters that discuss the interaction of the dusky dolphin with its habitats, such as the dusky dolphin's sound production, its foraging at night and in daylight, its survival strategies in response to predator threats, the mating habits of New Zealand duskies, calf rearing, sexual segregation, and genetic relationships. Other chapters address the interaction of dusky dolphins with humans. This book offers information about dusky dolphins off Southern Africa and discussions about the patterns of sympatry in Lagenorhynchus and Cephalorhynchus. Finally, comparisons between dusky dolphins and great apes as large-brained mammals are also reviewed in this book. - Only book fully devoted to the southern hemisphere "dusky" dolphin - Heavily illustrated with charts, figures, tables, and all color photos - Written by a cadre of experts intimately familiar with dolphin field work - Written in an accurate yet accessible style for the scientist and natural historian alike

The Mating Rituals of the Burning Giraffe
The Mating Rituals of the Burning Giraffe

Author: Morgan Benson

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2010-03-08

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 1450042929

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Set in a world where clocks melt and gentlemen rain from the sky, The Mating Rituals Of The Burning Giraffe is a grown-ups fable, inspired by the surrealist paintings, sculptures, and sketches of Magritte, Dal, and Monty Python. Its a brightly colored delirium, dedicated to the indomitable child. The story follows Billy Dada, a young man about to enter a state of higher learning where he will be taught the principles of categorizing biological diversity, from smelly wolves to cats with heads like mushrooms, from hares with fangs to enormous clams, but who, midst the books and lectures, nurtures a fascination with the giraffa infernalis, a pyring obsession thats about to turn into a scathefire. So begins a black-and-blue excursion into the brushstrokes on lifes canvas. Its a slab of confusion and desperation, a swirl of hardships and sorrowsinside a frame of meaning. The Mating Rituals of the Burning Giraffe is an adult fairytale about how fate tears us apart unless we move with it. Its a way to move with it. Move with it.

Sex in the Sea
Sex in the Sea

Author: Marah J. Hardt

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2016-02-09

Total Pages: 313

ISBN-13: 146687922X

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A marine biologist’s “funny and entertaining” look at the mating rituals of undersea creatures (Miami Herald). Forget the Kama Sutra. When it comes to inventive sex acts, just look to the sea. There we find the elaborate mating rituals of armored lobsters; giant right whales engaging in a lively threesome while holding their breath; full moon sex parties of groupers and daily mating blitzes by blue-headed wrasse. Deep-sea squid perform inverted 69s, while hermaphrodite sea slugs link up in giant sex loops. From doubly endowed sharks to the maze-like vaginas of some whales, Sex in the Sea is a journey unlike any other to explore the staggering ways life begets life beneath the waves. Beyond a deliciously voyeuristic excursion, the book also connects the timeless topic of sex with the timely issue of sustainable oceans—revealing how overfishing, climate change, and pollution are disrupting the creative procreation that drives the wild abundance of life in the sea, and how we can promote successful sex in the sea. “Hardt’s writing is often spectacular at describing the rituals and courtships of underwater reproduction.” —The New Republic “Weird [and] excellent.” —GQ “An oceanographic Kinsey Report.” —O, The Oprah Magazine “[Readers] will find much to learn in this well-written and delightful study.” —Library Journal (starred review)

Biological Exuberance
Biological Exuberance

Author: Bruce Bagemihl

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Published: 2000-04-10

Total Pages: 1549

ISBN-13: 1466809272

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A Publishers Weekly Best Book One of the New York Public Library's "25 Books to Remember" for 1999 Lavishly illustrated and meticulously researched, filled with fascinating facts and astonishing descriptions of animal behavior, Bruce Bagemihl's Biological Exuberance is a landmark book that will change forever how we look at nature. Homosexuality in its myriad forms has been scientifically documented in more than 450 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and other animals worldwide. Biological Exuberance is the first comprehensive account of the subject, bringing together accurate, accessible, and nonsensationalized information. Drawing upon a rich body of zoological research spanning more than two centuries, Bagemihl shows that animals engage in all types of nonreproductive sexual behavior. Sexual and gender expression in the animal world displays exuberant variety, including same-sex courtship, pair-bonding, sex, and co-parenting—even instances of lifelong homosexual bonding in species that do not have lifelong heterosexual bonding. Part 1, "A Polysexual, Polygendered World," begins with a survey of homosexuality, transgender, and nonreproductive heterosexuality in animals and then delves into the broader implications of these findings, including a valuable perspective on human diversity. Bagemihl also examines the hidden assumptions behind the way biologists look at natural systems and suggests a fresh perspective based on the synthesis of contemporary scientific insights with traditional knowledge from indigenous cultures. Part 2, "A Wondrous Bestiary," profiles more than 190 species in which scientific observers have noted homosexual or transgender behavior. Each profile is a verbal and visual "snapshot" of one or more closely related bird or mammal species, containing all the documentation required to support the author's often controversial conclusions.