Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion: A Comprehensive Resource for Identifying North American BirdsFrom the award-winning birder and author of Birds of Prey, an authoritative, information-packed guide to distinguishing North American birds. In this book, bursting with more information than any field guide could hold, the well-known author and birder Pete Dunne introduces readers to the “Cape May School of Birding.” It's an approach to identification that gives equal or more weight to a bird's structure and shape and the observer's overall impression (often called GISS, for General Impression of Size and Shape) than to specific field marks. After determining the most likely possibilities by considering such factors as habitat and season, the birder uses characteristics such as size, shape, color, behavior, flight pattern, and vocalizations to identify a bird. The book provides an arsenal of additional hints and helpful clues to guide a birder when, even after a review of a field guide, the identification still hangs in the balance. This supplement to field guides shares the knowledge and skills that expert birders bring to identification challenges. Birding should be an enjoyable pursuit for beginners and experts alike, and Pete Dunne combines a unique playfulness with the work of identification. Readers will delight in his nicknames for birds, from the Grinning Loon and Clearly the Bathtub Duck to Bronx Petrel and Chicken Garnished with a Slice of Mango and a Dollop of Raspberry Sherbet. |
From inside the book
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... commonly adopted by Trumpeter Swan. Birders have a term for this projection of posture or sense of shape: GISS (General Impression of Size and Structure, pronounced gizz or jizz). GISS is a subjective clue, and its primary usefulness is ...
... commonly mix with nonmarine geese except for the odd , individual bird that turns up in the Pacific Northwest , where it commonly joins flocks of Snow , Ross's , and Cackling Geese . Flies little , preferring to walk or swim to and from ...
... commonly among birds wintering along the Gulf Coast and lower Mississippi Valley, a certain percentage of dark individuals occur—so-called Blue Geese. Blue Geese have slate-dark bodies and white heads. In flight, the upper and lower ...
... commonly hold their necks more stiffly erect, with the head and bill meeting the neck at a right angle or only slightly angled down; the body language says alert, not demure. Mute Swan commonly cocks its long, pointed tail up, above the ...
... commonly found in pairs from late winter until young are hatched (an association that makes the identification of paired females easy). In the fall and winter, the birds form small flocks (fewer than 50) and also associate with larger ...
Contents
LOONS | |
ALBATROSSES | |
STORMPETRELS | |
PELICANS | |
HERONS EGRETS AND IBIS | |
STORKS VULTURES AND FLAMINGOS | |
RAILS COOTS LIMPKIN AND CRANES | |
SHOREBIRDSPLOVERS AND SANDPIPERS | |
SKUAS AND JAEGERS | |
TERNS AND SKIMMER | |
ALCIDSAUKS MURRES AND PUFFINS | |
Other editions - View all
Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion: A Comprehensive Resource for ... Pete Dunne No preview available - 2013 |