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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... contrast with the tawny body. The white U at the base of the tail is visible at great distances. Appears overall gangly in flight, with paddle-shaped wings down-drooped. Flight is slow, with steady floppy wingbeats that are all down ...
... Contrast. STATUS: Uncommon West Coast winter resident; regular but rare along the Atlantic Coast; very rare inland. DISTRIBUTION: Winters coastally and modestly inland from B.C. to s. Calif. On the Atlantic, most common between coastal ...
... contrast with the brown body. The blue speculum may be hidden when the bird is sitting on the water, but a hint of the white border usually peeks through. In flight, the female's underwing linings are pale, but the contrast between the ...
... contrast markedly with the darker body (like American Black Duck), but the contrast between face and body, again, is not as pronounced. Flight is direct and steady, and possibly not as fast or strong as American Black Duck ...
... contrasts with the bird's blackish bill. (Green-winged Teal's bill is about the same tone as the face so shows less contrast.) Highlighting white eye-arcs make the eyes of Bluewinged Teal easy to see, whereas on female and immature ...
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 |