The Well-read Naturalist

I'm very much looking forward to reading this new book.

Digital Microscopes Celestron manufactures telescope parts, optics, binoculars, spotting scopes and digital microscopes serious and amateur astronomers and hobbyists

As many who read my news and reviews of natural history books may also be interested in instruments such as microscopes, I thought the fact that my colleagues and I at @celestronuniverse.bsky.social have just introduced a new line of digital microscopes may be worth noting. #STEM #naturestudy

YouTube video by Ute Lemper - Topic Hollaender: Raus mit den Männern!

In honor of International Womens' Day, I present to you Ute Lemper superbly performing the classic Weimar song "Raus mit den Männern!"

youtu.be/vf-rmLdLFl0?...

The Princeton Field Guide to Sauropod and Prosauropod Dinosaurs Had a book existed such as "The Princeton Field Guide to Sauropod and Prosauropod Dinosaurs," it very likely would have been my most prized possession, and would have increased my already elevated lev...

Had a book existed such as “The @princetonupress.bsky.social Field Guide to Sauropod and Prosauropod Dinosaurs,” it very likely would have been my most prized possession, and would have increased my already elevated level of precociousness by at least an order of magnitude. #Booksky

I happened upon this photo of Caesar the Llama and myself at the @entsocamerica.bsky.social convention in Portland. That was a fine day indeed.

The Wake of HMS Challenger: How a Legendary Victorian Voyage Tells the Story of Our Oceans' Decline by Gillen D’Arcy Wood

Gillen D’Arcy Wood

Next week, March 12 at 7:00 pm EDT, Smithsonian Associates hosts a virtual event with Gillen D'Arcy Wood, author of The Wake of HMS Challenger! Tune in to hear about this legendary scientific odyssey and why, 150 years later, its legacy looms larger than ever.

Get your ticket here: buff.ly/ty8qHr5

New Study Busts Myths About Feared Recluse Spiders A new study shows brown recluse spiders and relatives are in fact scarce, reluctant to bite, and mostly unlikely to cause the severe harm often attributed to them.

I'm saving this to send in reply to everyone who tells me they were bitten by or simply saw a Brown Recluse in their home here in the Pacific Northwest.

New Study Busts Myths About Feared Recluse Spiders: entomologytoday.org/2026/03/05/s...

@entsocamerica.bsky.social @britishspiders.bsky.social

A Remarkable New Type of Field Guide Back in May of 2025, whilst attending The Biggest Week in American Birding, Dr. Robert Kirk, Princeton University Press' Publisher of the Press' Princeton Field Guides and Natural History categories, ...

"Habitats of the World: A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists" (@princetonupress.bsky.social) is both a remarkably new type of field guide as well as a gateway to a truly innovative series of books that everyone going afield to observe and study the natural world should have.

I highly recommend browsing this catalogue.

@osupress.bsky.social, a similar volume for the Oregon Master Gardeners would make a very nice addition to your catalogue.

Butterflies of Britain and Western Europe and Their Caterpillars For those aurelians who have been eagerly awaiting the publication of Jean-Pierre Moussus' "Butterflies of Britain and Western Europe and Their Caterpillars: An Identification Guide" to be published i...

For those aurelians who have been eagerly awaiting the publication of Jean-Pierre Moussus’ “Butterflies of Britain and Western Europe and Their Caterpillars: An Identification Guide” to be published in the United States following its publication last December in the U.K., the wait is finally over.

Bats of the World Newly published in the U.S. as of March 2026, "Bats of the World: A Guide to Every Family" by Winifred Frick and M. Teague O'Mara offers a richly illustrated profile of every family of the Order Chiro...

Newly published in the U.S. by @princetonupress.bsky.social as of March 2026, “Bats of the World: A Guide to Every Family” by Winifred Frick and M. Teague O’Mara offers a richly illustrated profile of every family of the Order Chiroptera.

The Inheritors William Golding's 1955 novel "The Inheritors" has been added to the list of works available in the famous Penguin Classics series. For those unfamiliar with this lesser known work of Mr. Golding, this...

William Golding’s 1955 novel “The Inheritors” has been added to the @penguinclassicsusa.bsky.social series. For those unfamiliar with this lesser known work of Mr. Golding, the new edition offers a fine opportunity to read an engaging story that takes a band of Neanderthals as its main characters.

blue background, ocean sciences meeting 2026, book covers left to right titled deep water, the best science stories and how they work, get 30% off and free domestic shipping

white background, book cover top center titled shell day, book cover bottom left titled the evolution of cetacean societies, book cover bottom right titled principles of animal behavior fifth edition

purple background, book cover top left titled the pale blue data point, book cover top right titled is anyone listening?, book cover bottom center titled fascinating shells

Even though #OSM2026 is coming to a close, there's still time to visit our virtual exhibit! Don't forget, our 30% discount and free shipping with code EX58246 is still available. Explore more here: bit.ly/UCPOSM

From Victorian voyages to vanishing maps: Books in brief Andrew Robinson reviews five of the best science picks.

Just spotted in @nature.com: a brilliant roundup of fascinating science books, including The Wake of HMS Challenger by Gillen D’Arcy Wood! This book is out now. Read the full review here:

Ancient by Luke Barley review – the secret history of Britain’s woodlands A former ranger tells the story of how the UK’s forests intimately shaped – and were shaped by – its people

'Luke Barley sets out to tell a more complex and fascinating tale of our forests and the people that have lived with and made use of them'

#Ancient by forester Luke Barley is the @theguardian.com's Book of the Day!

Step into the woods and discover the trees that made Britain 🌳

💧‘It falls in a moment. When the heaviest droplets of ice can no longer be held, the first slips from the sky and plunges, down through the damp, cold air, thawing as it falls. Once one slips, the others come. The earth inhaling rain, again.’

📕 #TheWaterlands by @steverutt.bsky.social, out 26 March

I did, so I will. Thank you very much for making it available!

"An excellent book that will have wide appeal. Summing Up: Highly recommended." —Choice Connect
Just saying.... 🌊

Human Dispersal, Human Evolution, and the Sea: The Palaeolithic Seafaring Debate by John F. Cherry and Thomas P. Leppard

In the nude. ;-)

Know your enemies.

“Why Study Biology By The Sea” is a favourite of mine.

A pink silhouette of a stork on a green background. Text over the image is an endorsement from Irby Lovette, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Director: "Professor Gibson invites us to marvel at birds anew, unpacking the astonishing adaptations behind the creatures we love. Her lively explorations show why they so deserve our astonishment."

"What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears ... as universal as a bird?" — David Attenborough

Lorna Gibson's "Birds Up Close" explores the wonderful engineering that keeps our feathered friends aloft and alive. Out April 28th: mitpress.mit.edu/978026204989...

Butterflies of Britain and Western Europe and Their Caterpillars For those aurelians who have been eagerly awaiting the publication of Jean-Pierre Moussus' "Butterflies of Britain and Western Europe and Their Caterpillars: An Identification Guide" to be published i...

For those aurelians who have been eagerly awaiting “Butterflies of Britain and Western Europe and Their Caterpillars: An Identification Guide” (@princetonupress.bsky.social) to be published in the U.S. following its publication last December in the U.K., the wait is finally over.

This was a very informative and well presented lecture. It should be viewed by everyone as the rapid expansion of AI affects us all.

Will Life on Mars Require a Genetic Rewrite? Microgravity, radiation, and extreme climates pose ethical and biological challenges that researchers are racing to overcome.

"Like tortoises and finches on Earthly islands, the conditions on each of the cosmic islands will influence how the people there will evolve."

Everybody Is Interested in Pigeons Throughout history people have fancied pigeons for food, pharmaceuticals, and hobby breeding.

A new excerpt on pigeons, from Jones's 'Beastly Britain', has just been published in Plough! Read on below.

Mr. Southey clearly understood why those of us who prefer to spend so much time amongst "the dead" prefer to do so.

My hopes are with the Dead; anon
My place with them will be,
And I with them shall travel on
Through all Futurity;
Yet leaving here a name, I trust,
That will not perish in the dust.

My thoughts are with the Dead; with them
I live in long-past years,
Their virtues love, their faults condemn,
Partake their hopes and fears,
And from their lessons seek and find
Instruction with an humble mind.