Product Description

Completely revised, with range maps throughout. Includes 153 color plates with multiple illustrations - Flexi-bound.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4677 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-04
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Turtleback
• 450 pages

About the Author
Virginia Marie Peterson worked with her husband, Roger Tory Peterson, to research and create three-color range maps for several books in The Peterson Field Guide Series(R).

Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world's greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars, and the Peterson Field Guides® are credited with helping to set the stage for the environmental movement.

Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world's greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars, and the Peterson Field Guides® are credited with helping to set the stage for the environmental movement.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
CHIMNEY SWIFT Chaetura pelagica Common
5–51?2" (12–14 cm) Like a cigar with wings. A blackish
swallowlike bird with long, slightly curved, stiff wings and stubby tail. It
appears to beat its wings not in unison but alternately (actually
this is an illusion); effect is more batlike, unlike skimming of
swallows. They seem to fairly twinkle, gliding between spurts,
holding wings bowed in a crescent. Voice: Loud, rapid, ticking or
twittering notes. Range: S. Canada to Gulf of Mexico. Winters in
Peru. Habitat: Open sky, especially over cities, towns; nests and
roosts in chimneys (originally in large hollow trees and cliff
crevices).

Text copyright © 2002 by the Marital Trust B u/a Roger Tory Peterson
and the Estate of Virginia Peterson. Reprinted by permission of
Houghton Mifflin Company.

Excerpted from A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America by Roger Tory Peterson, Virginia Marie Peterson. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
CHIMNEY SWIFT Chaetura pelagica Common 5-51?2" (12-14 cm) Like a cigar with wings. A blackish swallowlike bird with long, slightly curved, stiff wings and stubby tail. It appears to beat its wings not in unison but alternately (actually this is an illusion); effect is more batlike, unlike skimming of swallows. They seem to fairly twinkle, gliding between spurts, holding wings bowed in a crescent. Voice: Loud, rapid, ticking or twittering notes. Range: S. Canada to Gulf of Mexico. Winters in Peru. Habitat: Open sky, especially over cities, towns; nests and roosts in chimneys (originally in large hollow trees and cliff crevices). Text copyright © 2002 by the Marital Trust B u/a Roger Tory Peterson and the Estate of Virginia Peterson. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.

Customer Reviews

extremely helpful for the new birder
I have been watching the birds play around in my back yard all my life, but I am brand new at identifying them. It is much more challenging than I expected; I had no idea how many species there are or how complex their markings and other identifiers are. I've always considered myself to be a fairly quick learner, but bird watching nearly stumped me ... until I found this field guide. Those little arrows pointing to pertinent details on the illustrations seem so simple, and yet they make all the difference--especially when I'm in a hurry (which I always am because those bratty birds always flit away before I can take note of the coloring, the beak size and shape, the shape of the tail, etc. etc.). I have a couple field guides that use photos rather than illustrations, and though the books are beautiful, they are not very helpful. I can't wait for Peterson's new North America field guide which will release soon!

Birds, birds, birds
For someone getting more into birdwatching (like me - not a birder yet!), this is an absolute must have. It distills an overwhelming amount of information into an extremely simple-to-use guide. Find "that bird" quickly through pictures or text. Arrows point out sometimes small, distinguishing characteristics that could be overlooked. All text is clear and concise. Flight style descriptions and silhouettes are extremely helpful. Range maps help clarify where you'd see each bird. Small enough to fit in the car's glovebox, a backpack or purse.

Guidebook info aside, the paintings of the birds themselves are breathtaking. To complete one or two bird paintings like those here would be an accomplishment; to complete all of the paintings for this guide, in addition to the other works he created, is stunning. To Roger Tory Peterson was an amazing artist and true genius.

Birds of Eastern and Central North America
Contains detailed information and pictures. Also includes a section of range maps outlining the range of each species during each season. Very interesting!