When it comes to people I’d want standing beside me in the field when the identification of a bird was needed, two of those in the top ten of my list would be Steve N.G. Howell and Brian Sullivan. I’ve been afield with both these gentlemen and I can say from experience their respective skills in putting names to most anything with feathers passes “uncanny” and approaches “supernatural.”
For those birds that are particularly tricky to distinguish from others due to their having a very similar appearance and often an overlapping geographic range (the “confusion species”), having the learnéd guidance of someone highly skilled in making such identifications is of inestimable value.
Whenever one hears about bees these days, it is almost invariably to the European honey bee, Apis mellifera, that the reference is being made. Indeed, the health of this species is of justifiably great concern, but it is by no means the only species of bee on the planet. Among the approximately 20,000 species of […]
The latest addition to the Backyard Bird Guides collection of the eminent Peterson Field Guide series, Identifying and Feeding Birds presents all the essential information needed to establish a bird-friendly backyard in a style that is wonderfully conversational without sacrificing any of the basic scientific information in the process.