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Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, Charles Harper's Birds and Words, and Best-Ever Backyard Birding Tips
Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, Charles Harper's Birds and Words, and Best-Ever Backyard Birding TipsBookshelf -- October 2008
Published: August 22, 2008
Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America by Roger Tory Peterson, foreword by Lee Allen Peterson, Houghton Mifflin, 2008, 527 pages, $26, flexible binding.
Eighteen years have passed since Roger Tory Peterson published the third edition of his Field Guide to Western Birds. And it was six years ago that Houghton Mifflin published the posthumous fifth edition of his eastern guide.
So much has happened in field guides in the meantime that the older Peterson guides feel - I hate to say it - quaint. David Sibley gave us extraordinary paintings and clean design. Kenn Kaufman produced the hands-down-best photographic guide with clear-as-day text. National Geographic upped the ante by including every bird ever reported north of Mexico. Pete Dunne turned the concept on its head in his Essential Field Guide Companion, omitting pictures and describing birds only in words. And recently, Ted Floyd offered up multiple photos of most species along with a CD of bird songs and photos.
Now, I'm happy to report, the Peterson guide is back, and in a big way. For starters, it's no longer two books. All of North America north of Mexico is covered in one volume. At 6 by 9 inches, it's also larger than earlier editions, a change that made it possible to put range maps next to species entries. The maps also appear in the back in a larger size, making them easier to read. And Paul Lehman, our leading expert on bird distribution, has updated them all with the latest range information.
The book directs readers to a new website, www.petersonfieldguides.com, where they can download up to three hours' worth of video podcasts that compare common and similar species, offer tutorials on the guide, and showcase songs and calls. The podcasts play on iTunes, QuickTime, or an MP3 video player.
Cape May birder and artist Michael O'Brien painted 40 new birds for the guide, including recently split species (Dusky and Sooty Grouse) and birds that turn up in our area more frequently than they did in Peterson's day (Fea's Petrel, La Sagra's Flycatcher). Many other paintings have been digitally enhanced to produce clearer field marks. All together, the book describes 811 species.
A hallmark of all Peterson guides - concise, easily understood descriptions - has been retained and, believe it or not, improved. American Redstart, for example, is now "butterfly-like" instead of fluttering "like a falling leaf." We can thank Lehman, O'Brien, and Bill Thompson III, editor of Bird Watcher's Digest, for the revisions.
Perhaps most enjoyable is the three-page foreword by Peterson's son Lee. It's quite touching to read the words of a person who calls the father of the modern field guide "Dad."
The new Peterson will be in bookstores on August 28, which would have been Roger's 100th birthday. Do yourself a favor and celebrate the big day with your own copy. - Matt Mendenhall
Matt Mendenhall is associate editor of Birder's World. |
Charles Harper's Birds and Words by Charley Harper, Ammo Books, 2008, 151 pages, $27.95, hardcover.
No one painted birds like the late Charley Harper, so we were thrilled when his long-out-of-print Birds and Words was republished this year. It's an extraordinary compilation of 61 paintings with accompanying one-paragraph descriptions that are more poetry than prose. Harper's birds look nothing like field-guide illustrations, but they are instantly recognizable nonetheless. The flamingo's neck does a figure eight (page 69), the Snowy Owl wears glasses (page 113), and a flock of cardinals is a stunning mix of red, black, and orange (page 147). Harper's insights on bird behaviors and humanity's behaviors toward birds, which he comments on throughout the book, provide an even deeper glimpse into his singular worldview.
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Best-Ever Backyard Birding Tips: Hundreds of Easy Ways to Attract the Birds You Love to Watch by Deborah L. Martin, Rodale, 2008, 356 pages, $19.95, softcover.
The title of this book is no exaggeration. It covers virtually every aspect of attracting birds to backyards: seeds, feeders, trees, flowers, shrubs, birdhouses, and water. The author devotes a chapter to hosting hummingbirds and another to hawks, owls, and other big birds - a subject most other backyard guides leave out. Want to get birds to eat from your hand? See pages 276-77. Looking for solutions to pest birds? Turn to chapter 11. So much information could overwhelm the reader, but the book's design - crisp illustrations, lots of sidebars - makes it easy to digest. |
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