Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion: A Comprehensive Resource for Identifying North American Birds

Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion: A Comprehensive Resource for Identifying North American Birds
by Peter Dunne

Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion: A Comprehensive Resource for Identifying North American Birds
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Book Summary Information

Author: Peter Dunne
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2006-05-11
ISBN: 0618236481
Number of pages: 736
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Book Reviews of Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion: A Comprehensive Resource for Identifying North American Birds

Book Review: A Refreshing Primer for Bird ID
Summary: 5 Stars

When I bought this book, I thought it was an identification key. It is not nor does it need to be. Especially in the field where markings are difficult to see. I really enjoyed his emphasis on habitat and "vocalizations". Very thorough. It's not an exciting read but it sure is informative. Experienced birders could supplement their knowledge with this different approach. Novices would certainly benefit by having a fresh start with birding techniques. Using the "Cape May" approach might make a birder out of anybody.

Summary of Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion: A Comprehensive Resource for Identifying 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.

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