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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... flying downhill may glide extensively but then flap almost continuously, of necessity, when flying uphill. Birds heading into a wind will flap more (and glide less) than birds flying with a light tail wind. Courting birds exhibit all ...
... fly in what might generously be called a loose formation . Birds stay , for the most part , on the same horizontal ... flying , they are almost certainly vocalizing . VOCALIZATIONS : Very vocal , but not necessarily loud . Call is a ...
... flying geese and can't find them, chances are they are Snow Geese. VOCALIZATIONS: Classic call is a rough-sounding single-note bugle “Wha!” sometimes given with a compressed two-note quality: “W'rah!” Call is higher-pitched, less ...
... flying low over the Rio Grande early in the morning or in the evening. Perches on sturdy tree limbs. Feeds by upending, but may also graze on shorelines. Shy Muscovy flushes easily, flying out of sight. Usually silent. FLIGHT: This big ...
... fly in oval clusters with little or no shifting or maneuvering; birds flying through woodlands, however, maneuver very well through trees and branches. VOCALIZATIONS: The female's distinctive alarm call—a wailing, high-pitched, two-part ...
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 | |
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Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion: A Comprehensive Resource for ... Pete Dunne No preview available - 2013 |