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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... northern wetlands and bogs (often surrounded by timber) and in tidal marshes; in winter, may be found in a variety of freshwater habitats, but shows a particular penchant for coastal estuaries, rivers, impoundments, and bays (will even ...
... Northern Shoveler (but favors shoveler). Small, longish duck (larger than Green- winged Teal; smaller than Northern Shoveler; similar in size and shape to Blue- winged Teal), with a large somewhat ovalshaped head, fitted with a long ...
... Northern Shoveler is absent where fresh and salt water are frozen for much of the winter. HABITAT: Breeds in shallow, mostly open wetlands. In winter and migration, prefers large shallow fresh- and saltwater lakes, wetlands ...
... Northern. Pintail,. Anas. acuta. A. Duck. Painted. by. El. Greco. STATUS: Common and widespread breeder (more local in the East) and wintering species; occurs almost everywhere as a migrant. DISTRIBUTION: Northern and western breeder. Nests ...
... Northern Pintail is a very nervous duck, and often the first species in a mixed flock to spook. Suspicious birds raise their heads high, accentuating their long-necked appearance. FLIGHT: Northern Pintail loses none of its slender ...
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 |