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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... Wingbeats are rapid and steady , and the flap is more vertical , not angled back . Paler flight feathers contrast ... wingbeat for distant identifications . Black Scoter rises from the surface quicker and with less running takeoff than ...
... wingbeats and then an ungraceful plopping crash to the surface. VOCALIZATIONS: Noisy. The male's call, frequently heard in late winter, is a comical braying chant—as if a duck were singing opera: “ah, ahna-lee,” or “ah, ah, ahna-lee ...
... wingbeats are extremely rapid (almost as fast as Hooded Merganser), with wingtips reaching well down. Wingbeats are audible, but not as shrill and not as far- reaching as Common Goldeneye. Small groups may fly in a loose string or ...
... wingbeats are so rapid they blur . Wings produce a high - pitched trill . VOCALIZATIONS : Usually silent ( except at ... wingbeat , and both flock . Both are dark above and light below . Teal is compact and has a heads - up or angled ...
... wingbeats are steady, shallow, and stiff, with much of the motion relegated to the wingtips. Common Merganser's wingbeats are somewhat like a loon's, but without the elastic quality. VOCALIZATIONS: Usually silent. Females make a soft ...
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 |