Better Birding reveals the techniques expert birders use to identify a wide array of bird species in the field--quickly and easily. Featuring hundreds of stunning photos and composite plates throughout, this book simplifies identification by organizing the birds you see into groupings and offering strategies specifically tailored to each group. Skill building focuses not just on traditional elements such as plumage, but also on creating a context around each bird, including habitat, behavior, and taxonomy--parts so integral to every bird's identity but often glossed over by typical field guides. Critical background information is provided for each group, enabling you to approach bird identification with a wide-angle view, using your eyes, brain, and binoculars more strategically, resulting in a more organized approach to learning birds.  Better Birding puts the thrill of expert bird identification within your reach.  Reveals the techniques used by expert birders for quick and easy identification Simplifies identification with strategies tailored to different groupings of birds Features hundreds of photos and composite plates that illustrate the different techniques Fosters a wide-angle approach to field birding Provides a foundation for building stronger birding skills

BETTER BIRDING: TIPS, TOOLS & CONCEPTS FOR THE FIELD

Science & Math

Sullivan, Brian L.

Armistead, George L.

Nature & Ecology

Princeton University Press

How to go from a beginner to an expert birder
Better Birding reveals the techniques expert birders use to identify a wide array of bird species in the field―quickly and easily. Featuring hundreds of stunning photos and composite plates throughout, this book simplifies identification by organizing the birds you see into groupings and offering strategies specifically tailored to each group. Skill building focuses not just on traditional elements such as plumage, but also on creating a context around each bird, including habitat, behavior, and taxonomy―parts so integral to every bird's identity but often glossed over by typical field guides. Critical background information is provided for each group, enabling you to approach bird identification with a wide-angle view, using your eyes, brain, and binoculars more strategically, resulting in a more organized approach to learning birds.
Better Birding puts the thrill of expert bird identification within your reach. 
<ul>
<li>Reveals the techniques used by expert birders for quick and easy identification</li>
<li>Simplifies identification with strategies tailored to different groupings of birds</li>
<li>Features hundreds of photos and composite plates that illustrate the different techniques</li>
<li>Fosters a wide-angle approach to field birding</li>
<li>Provides a foundation for building stronger birding skills</li>
</ul>

Better Birding: Tips, Tools, and Concepts for the Field

Reference

A revolutionary, comprehensive, and authoritative photographic guide to North America's raptors
Part of the revolutionary Crossley ID Guide series, this is the first raptor guide with lifelike scenes composed from multiple photographs―scenes that allow you to identify raptors just as the experts do. Experienced birders use the most easily observed and consistent characteristics―size, shape, behavior, probability, and general color patterns. The book's 101 scenes―including thirty-five double-page layouts―provide a complete picture of how these features are all related. Even the effects of lighting and other real-world conditions are illustrated and explained. Detailed and succinct accounts from two of North America's foremost raptor experts, Jerry Liguori and Brian Sullivan, stress the key identification features. This complete picture allows everyone from beginner to expert to understand and enjoy what he or she sees in the field. The mystique of bird identification is eliminated, allowing even novice birders to identify raptors quickly and simply.
Comprehensive and authoritative, the book covers all thirty-four of North America's diurnal raptor species (all species except owls). Each species is featured in stunning color plates that show males and females, in a full spectrum of ages and color variants, depicted near and far, in flight and at rest, and from multiple angles, all caught in their typical habitats. There are also comparative, multispecies scenes and mystery photographs that allow readers to test their identification skills, along with answers and full explanations in the back of the book. In addition, the book features an introduction, and thirty-four color maps accompany the plates.
Whether you are a novice or an expert, this one-of-a-kind guide will show you an entirely new way to look at these spectacular birds.
<ul>
<li>The most complete guide to North American raptors, written by some of the foremost experts</li>
<li>The first raptor guide using Richard Crossley's acclaimed, innovative composite images that show birds as they actually appear in the field</li>
<li>101 stunning color plates―including thirty-five double-page layouts―composed from thousands of photographs</li>
<li>Comparative, multispecies plates and photos of mystery species that allow readers to test their growing identification skills</li>
<li>Complete with introduction, 34 color maps, and detailed species accounts</li>
</ul>

The Crossley ID Guide Raptors (The Crossley ID Guides)

Crossley, Richard

Liguori, Jerry

The first compact field guide to offshore sea life of the West Coast
Two-thirds of our planet lies out of sight of land, just offshore beyond the horizon. What wildlife might you find out there? And how might you identify what you see? This Offshore Sea Life ID Guide, designed for quick use on day trips off the West Coast, helps you put a name to what you see, from whales and dolphins to albatrosses, turtles, and even flyingfish. Carefully crafted color plates show species as they typically appear at sea, and expert text highlights identification features. This user-friendly field guide is essential for anyone going out on a whale-watching or birding trip, and provides a handy gateway to the wonders of the ocean. 
<ul>
<li>First state-of-the-art pocket guide to offshore sea life</li>
<li>Over 300 photos used to create composite plates</li>
<li>Includes whales, dolphins, sea lions, birds, sharks, turtles, flyingfish, and more</li>
<li>Accessible and informative text reveals what to look for</li>
<li>Great for beginners and experts alike</li>
</ul>

Offshore Sea Life ID Guide: West Coast (Princeton Field Guides)

Howell, Steve N.G.

The first compact field guide to offshore sea life of the East Coast
Two-thirds of our planet lies out of sight of land, just offshore beyond the horizon. What wildlife might you see out there? This handy guide, designed for quick use on day trips off the East Coast, helps you put a name to what you find, from whales and dolphins to shearwaters, turtles, and even flying fish. Carefully crafted color plates show species as they typically appear at sea, and expert text highlights identification features. Essential for anyone heading out on a whale-watching or birding trip, this guidebook provides a handy gateway to the wonders of the ocean.
<ul>
<li>Over 100 color photos and composite plates</li>
<li>Includes whales, dolphins, birds, sharks, turtles, flying fish, and more</li>
<li>Accessible and informative text reveals what to look for</li>
<li>Great for beginners and experts alike</li>
</ul>

Offshore Sea Life ID Guide: East Coast (Princeton Field Guides)

Identifying birds can be overwhelming. Where and how do you start? The good news is that most people already know more than they realize about birds, which can greatly simplify the identification process. Written in a helpful, conversational style and illustrated with numerous photos, this “12-step program” starts with the basics and builds logically into a manageable framework that enables anyone to get into, or get more out of, the world of watching, identifying, and enjoying birds. “Identifying birds is a science and an art. These leading masters of the craft share a wealth of inside knowledge in this gem of a book. If you’re a birder at any level of experience, I guarantee this book will improve your skills in the field.” —Kenn Kaufman, author of the Kaufman Field Guide to Advanced Birding “The birding equivalent of having Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking teach you how to count, add, subtract, multiply, and comprehend quantum mechanics. Bird watchers at every skill level will garner insights from this book.” — Pete Dunne, author of Birds of Prey STEVE N. G. HOWELL is an international bird tour leader with WINGS, a popular speaker and trip leader at birding festivals, and author of numerous books and articles. He lives in California. BRIAN SULLIVAN works on eBird and digital publications at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He lives in California.

Peterson Guide To Bird Identification―in 12 Steps (Peterson Field Guides)

Mariner Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Sullivan, Brian L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.