Raptors of Eastern North America--together with its companion volume, Raptors of Western North America--are the best and most thorough guides to North American hawks, eagles, and other raptors ever published. Abundantly illustrated with hundreds of full-color high-quality photographs, they are essential books for anyone seeking to identify these notoriously tricky-to-identify birds.
The Wheeler Guides will help birders and biologists navigate the pitfalls of raptor identification, including raptors' often extreme variation by age and sex as well as the existence of numerous "confusion" species. The plumage section discusses more plumage variations--and in greater consistency, depth, and clarity--than any previously published guide. The text--informed by years of study and consultation with local, state, provincial, and regional experts--covers all aspects of raptor biology in an easy-to-read and consistent format. It provides the most up-to-date information available on status and distribution, taking into account the recent alteration of some species' ranges due to pesticide bans and introduction programs. The range maps--which include "city" plotting--are the most accurate and largest ever produced for North American raptors.
Review:
... The new Wheeler guides are, by far, the best guides for field identification and general reference for North American raptors that I have seen. The photos are both plentiful and stunning. . . . The new Wheeler guides, like the birds they elucidate and display, are gems for us all. They are well worth having. Donald Sweig(Audubon Naturalist News)
... Let me begin by saying this is a wonderful book. . . . This is easily the best photographic-style guide I have seen and is a real testament to the autho''s dedication. Thus it is the most thorough guide to this group of North American birds you can purchase. The full-color, superb photographs alone are worth the price of the book. Roy John(The Canadian Field Naturalist)
Table of contents:
Forward by (i>Clayton M. White ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Abbreviations xv
Chapter I Introduction 1
Key to Maps 9
Chapter II Genral Glossary 10
Chapter III Anatomy and Feather Glossary 15
Chapter IV Plumage, Molt, and Age Glossary 20
Chapter V Flying and Perching Displays Glossary 24
Chapter VI Perching and Flying Attitudes 28
Chapter VII Photography 33
"Raptor Music" a poem by Steve Millard 35
SPECIES ACCOUNTS
Black Vulture 39
Turkey Vulture 47
California Condor 57
Osprey 57
Swallow-tailed Kite 68
White-tailed Kite 78
Snail Kite 85
Mississippi Kite 100
Bald Eagle 118
Northern Harrier 145
Cooper's Hawk 179
Sharp-shinned Hawk 158
Northern Goshawk 193
Red-shouldered Hawk 195
Broad-winged Hawk 208
Short-tailed Hawk 228
Swainson's Hawk 228
Red-tailed Hawk 253
Ferruginous Hawk 296
Rough-legged Hawk 311
Golden Eagle 332
Crested Eagle 345
American Kestrel 350
Merlin 361
Peregrine Falcon 374
Gyrfalcon 403
Prairie Falcon 418
Bibliography 429
Index 439
The Wheeler Guides will help birders and biologists navigate the pitfalls of raptor identification, including raptors' often extreme variation by age and sex as well as the existence of numerous "confusion" species. The plumage section discusses more plumage variations--and in greater consistency, depth, and clarity--than any previously published guide. The text--informed by years of study and consultation with local, state, provincial, and regional experts--covers all aspects of raptor biology in an easy-to-read and consistent format. It provides the most up-to-date information available on status and distribution, taking into account the recent alteration of some species' ranges due to pesticide bans and introduction programs. The range maps--which include "city" plotting--are the most accurate and largest ever produced for North American raptors.
Review:
... The new Wheeler guides are, by far, the best guides for field identification and general reference for North American raptors that I have seen. The photos are both plentiful and stunning. . . . The new Wheeler guides, like the birds they elucidate and display, are gems for us all. They are well worth having. Donald Sweig(Audubon Naturalist News)
... Let me begin by saying this is a wonderful book. . . . This is easily the best photographic-style guide I have seen and is a real testament to the autho''s dedication. Thus it is the most thorough guide to this group of North American birds you can purchase. The full-color, superb photographs alone are worth the price of the book. Roy John(The Canadian Field Naturalist)
Table of contents:
Forward by (i>Clayton M. White ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Abbreviations xv
Chapter I Introduction 1
Key to Maps 9
Chapter II Genral Glossary 10
Chapter III Anatomy and Feather Glossary 15
Chapter IV Plumage, Molt, and Age Glossary 20
Chapter V Flying and Perching Displays Glossary 24
Chapter VI Perching and Flying Attitudes 28
Chapter VII Photography 33
"Raptor Music" a poem by Steve Millard 35
SPECIES ACCOUNTS
Black Vulture 39
Turkey Vulture 47
California Condor 57
Osprey 57
Swallow-tailed Kite 68
White-tailed Kite 78
Snail Kite 85
Mississippi Kite 100
Bald Eagle 118
Northern Harrier 145
Cooper's Hawk 179
Sharp-shinned Hawk 158
Northern Goshawk 193
Red-shouldered Hawk 195
Broad-winged Hawk 208
Short-tailed Hawk 228
Swainson's Hawk 228
Red-tailed Hawk 253
Ferruginous Hawk 296
Rough-legged Hawk 311
Golden Eagle 332
Crested Eagle 345
American Kestrel 350
Merlin 361
Peregrine Falcon 374
Gyrfalcon 403
Prairie Falcon 418
Bibliography 429
Index 439