Russia has the world's greatest lakes and inland seas, and rivers which flow for thousands of kilometres. All the world's climatic zones except for tropics are found between its northern and southern borders. There are magnificent and imposing mountain ranges, whose many peaks soar to the clouds, while in the east Kamchatka's volcanoes have earned it the name "Land of Fire". The fauna and flora are no less rich and varied, with about 100,000 plants, 140 species of reptiles, 30 amphibians, 1400 fishes and about 300 mammals. Some of the most wonderful creatures are the birds, of which about 800 species occur in Russia and nowhere else. Some of our familiar winter visitors, such as Beswick's swan, breed in Russia. This book takes the reader on a journey into Russia's natural world, showing, with the help of photographs, many of the country's birds.