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
Results 1-5 of 77
... late February to late April ; fall from late August to late October . Wanders in summer and fall , so may turn up well north of its normal range . VI : 3 . DESCRIPTION : A duck of a different color - the only native tawny orange duck in ...
... late March to mid - June ; arrives on breeding grounds mid- to late May . Movement to molting / staging areas begins in midsummer ; true migration begins in mid - August . By late September , birds are most concentrated on the northern ...
... late February to early June; fall from late September to early January. VI: 2. DESCRIPTION: This husky, clannish, salt-water-loving diving duck is a street brawler of a scaup. Medium-sized (larger and overall bulkier than Lesser Scaup ...
... late-fall migrant (late September to mid-December) and late returnee in the spring (mid-February to late May). It is not uncommon to find wintering birds still present in mid-May. VI: 2. DESCRIPTION: A dapper and gentrified diving duck ...
... late April to early July ; fall from late June to mid - October . VI : 1 . DESCRIPTION : A small , oblong - billed , stiff - tailed dabbling duck of an eider . A medium- sized diving duck but a small eider ( much smaller than other ...
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 |