The Shorebird Guide [B1300]

2006 turtleback (reinforced PB) in nice clean condition. Focus is on North American shorebirds. When many birders go out looking at shorebirds, they see a distant mud flat full of grayish brown birds in various shapes and sizes and have no idea where to begin the identification process. When advanced birders look at that same flock of shorebirds, they can identify the vast majority of birds with a quick binocular scan. Experts use the simplest, most easily observed characteristics--size, structure, behavior, and general color patterns--almost subconsciously, and can identify most birds even before looking carefully at plumage details. Now birders of all levels can learn how to identify these wildly popular birds quickly and with much less effort. This guide provides more than 870 stunning color photographs, sequenced to give a general impression of a species first and progressing to a more detailed image of the bird throughout its life cycle. Captions list characteristics in order of importance, reflecting the thought process that experts use to identify birds.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "An absolutely definitive guide to North American shorebirds, with some nice bonus entries on some vagrant species from other continents. I have learned SO much from this book--rather than illustrations there are full color photographs of each species in (close to if not all) different plumages and ages. I always bring it with me when I lead birding trips to the coast so I can show it to the learners I have with me. Really a slamming book and a great book for birders of all ability levels to have."; "Incredibly comprehensive collection of pictures on each species, with detailed species accounts that leave almost nothing wanting. The only problem is that these two great features are separated (the plates and some basic information at the front of the book, and the species accounts are at the back of the book). That said, the quality and quantity of the pictures are really astounding, as are the very helpful captions. I find the "quizzes" to be especially helpful when navigating the nuances of shorebird identification. Overall, this is probably the best book to have on shorebirds."; "These guys are not screwing around. This book will take you totally down the rabbit hole and tell you things like how to distinguish between a short-billed and a long-billed dowitcher based on how they lean when they are sleeping. Shorebirds are awesome but an absolute nightmare, at least for me, to differentiate in certain circumstances. This book seems like it will help. Very informative pictures."