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Index of Subjects --0015175df02e21501b04a11b27f5 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Hi, I recently bought 2 books - the Crossley ID Guide and Kenn Kaufman's Field Guide to Advanced Birding, which is an update of the 1st edition published 20 years ago. They couldn't be more different. Crossley is full of photos, and the way he has arranged them against a computerized background, and that many of them are distant shapes, just as one would see them in real life, is visually stunning. But for me it's increasingly obvious that it's more of a coffee table book than a field guide - lovely to have but not very practical in the field. The Kaufman guide has much text and very few pictures - and talks a great deal about the principles and the process of how to ID a bird, and about how trying to leaf through a bunch of pictures till you find one that matches (as would be the case using Crossley) is just the wrong way to go about it! Indeed there are 140 pages on the basics of bird ID before he even gets to a specific group of birds. It's not a field guide either, and IMHO is misnamed - it should be called a guide to Basic, not Advanced, birding. Indeed, it's very similar in its approach to Sibley's Birding Basics - another little but immensely valuable book published a few years ago. I haven't seen Liguori's latest, but from Liz's description it sounds as if it combines the 2 different approaches well. I do have Pete Dunn's Hawks in Flight, and that certainly does a good job of this. I think anyone interested in bird ID at more than a basic, casual level, should definitely read one or both of Kaufmann and Sibley. However, one point that Kaufmann makes is that there are millions of people who have a casual interest in birds, and there is no reason why they should ever become more expert than that. They add to the general pool of interest in nature, and should therefore be encouraged, and that that level of interest deserves our respect. Personally, if I'm out in the field and need to refer to a field guide, the one I find myself turning to 99% of the time is Sibley (the field guide, not the book referred to above), and nowadays, it's the version that's an app on my Iphone - I can listen to the vocalizations, and scroll around to compare the same plumages of 2 similar but different species (e.g. Yellow-billed and Common loons) on the same page. Just my 2 (or 4) cents worth! Rchard On Sun, Apr 17, 2011 at 6:33 AM, <duartess@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote: > Thank you, Liz, > > I do have the new impressive, Crossley ID Guide Eastern Birds which is > visually stunning and easy to follow but had not known about the works by > Jerry Liguori. Will want to definitely try to add those 2 to my nature > library. > > Gayle MacLean > Dartmouth > > ---- Elizabeth Doull <edoull@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote: > > An outstanding new field guide to raptor identification is now > > available. Some of you might be familiar with Jerry's Liguori's highly > > acclaimed Hawks From Every Angle. Jerry has now released a new book > > titled Hawks At A Distance. As the title suggests, this new book is > > specifically designed for hawk watchers attempting to identify distant > > raptors. This field guide picks up where his earlier book left off, is > > loaded with excellent photos of raptors at a distance, explains how > > light conditions and flight positions can trick the observer and is > > just the right size to carry into the field. The authors field > > identification skills are outstanding. His many years of first hand > > experience in identifying hawks at a distance and his efforts in > > writing this book have given us a book that will be valued by > > observers for many years. > > > > I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning to > > identify raptors. Those of you that are taking part in observations at > > the area's hawks watches will certainly benefit from reading it and > > using it in the field. Even the most experienced hawk watchers are > > likely to benefit from the knowledge contained in it's pages. My copy > > will likely be with me whenever hawk watching. > > > > Other books of value to hawk watchers are Jerry Liguori's Hawks From > > Every Angle, Brian K. Wheelers Raptors of Eastern and Western North > > America(two books), as well as Hawks in Flight by Pete Dunn, David > > Sibley and Clay Sutton. > > > > Another book that could be useful is The Crossley ID Guide, which was > > recently released. This book takes a different and perhaps much needed > > approach to bird identification. Instead of giving the reader one or > > two illustrations, the author nearly fills each page with photos of > > each species. These photos are taken from many angles and at many > > distances. These illustrations, like the illustrations in Hawks At A > > Distance, show birds as they are often seen. We all love to see birds > > conveniently perched a few meters away, but this is rarely what we get > > while in the field. Instead, we are often trying to identify a bird > > that is distant, at a odd angle, has just flown past us or is at a > > great distance. This books approach seems to have much promise. On the > > down side, it's size is greater than the average field guide making it > > somewhat impractical to be carried into the field. > > > > I hope these reviews will be helpful to at least a few readers. > > > > Good birding, > > > > Todd Watts > > Bocabec, NB > > > > -- ################# Dr.R.B.Stern, P.O. Box 300, Port Williams, N.S., Canada, B0P 1T0 Richard Stern, 317 Middle Dyke Rd. Port Williams, NS, Canada B0P 1T0 sternrichard@gmail.com ################### --0015175df02e21501b04a11b27f5 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi,<br><br>I recently bought 2 books - the Crossley ID Guide and Kenn Kaufm= an's Field Guide to Advanced Birding, which is an update of the 1st edi= tion published 20 years ago. They couldn't be more different. Crossley = is full of photos, and the way he has arranged them against a computerized = background, and that many of them are distant shapes, just as one would see= them in real life, is visually stunning. But for me it's increasingly = obvious that it's more of a coffee table book than a field guide - love= ly to have but not very practical in the field.<br> <br>The Kaufman guide has much text and very few pictures - and talks a gre= at deal about the principles and the process of how to ID a bird, and about= how trying to leaf through a bunch of pictures till you find one that matc= hes (as would be the case using Crossley) is just the wrong way to go about= it! Indeed there are 140 pages on the basics of bird ID before he even get= s to a specific group of birds. It's not a field guide either, and IMHO= is misnamed - it should be called a guide to Basic, not Advanced, birding.= Indeed, it's very similar in its approach to Sibley's Birding Basi= cs - another little but immensely valuable book published a few years ago.<= br> <br>I haven't seen Liguori's latest, but from Liz's description= it sounds as if it combines the 2 different approaches well. I do have Pet= e Dunn's Hawks in Flight, and that certainly does a good job of this.<b= r> <br>I think anyone interested in bird ID at more than a basic, casual level= , should definitely read one or both of Kaufmann and Sibley. However, one p= oint that Kaufmann makes is that there are millions of people who have a ca= sual interest in birds, and there is no reason why they should ever become = more expert than that. They add to the general pool of interest in nature, = and should therefore be encouraged, and that that level of interest deserve= s our respect.<br> <br>Personally, if I'm out in the field and need to refer to a field gu= ide, the one I find myself turning to 99% of the time is Sibley (the field = guide, not the book referred to above), and nowadays, it's the version = that's an app on my Iphone - I can listen to the vocalizations, and scr= oll around to compare the same plumages of 2 similar but different species = (e.g. Yellow-billed and Common loons) on the same page.<br> <br>Just my 2 (or 4) cents worth!<br><br>Rchard<br><br><div class=3D"gmail_= quote">On Sun, Apr 17, 2011 at 6:33 AM, <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"m= ailto:duartess@ns.sympatico.ca">duartess@ns.sympatico.ca</a>></span> wro= te:<br> <blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p= x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">Thank you, Liz,<br> <br> I do have the new impressive, Crossley ID Guide Eastern Birds which is visu= ally stunning and easy to follow but had not known about the works by Jerry= Liguori. Will want to definitely try to add those 2 to my nature library.<= br> <br> Gayle MacLean<br> Dartmouth<br> <div><div></div><div class=3D"h5"><br> ---- Elizabeth Doull <<a href=3D"mailto:edoull@ns.sympatico.ca">edoull@n= s.sympatico.ca</a>> wrote:<br> > An outstanding new field guide to raptor identification is now<br> > available. Some of you might be familiar with Jerry's Liguori'= s highly<br> > acclaimed Hawks From Every Angle. =A0 Jerry has now released a new boo= k<br> > titled Hawks At A Distance. As the title suggests, this new book is<br= > > specifically designed for hawk watchers attempting to identify distant= <br> > raptors. This field guide picks up where his earlier book left off, is= <br> > loaded with excellent photos of raptors at a distance, explains how<br= > > light conditions and flight positions can trick the observer and is<br= > > just the right size to carry into the field. The authors field<br> > identification skills are outstanding. His many years of first hand<br= > > experience in identifying hawks at a distance and his efforts in<br> > writing this book have given us a book that will be valued by<br> > observers for many years.<br> ><br> > I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning to<br> > identify raptors. Those of you that are taking part in observations at= <br> > the area's hawks watches will certainly benefit from reading it an= d<br> > using it in the field. Even the most experienced hawk watchers are<br> > likely to benefit from the knowledge contained in it's pages. My c= opy<br> > will likely be with me whenever hawk watching.<br> ><br> > Other books of value to hawk watchers are Jerry Liguori's Hawks Fr= om<br> > Every Angle, Brian K. Wheelers Raptors of Eastern and Western North<br= > > America(two books), as well as Hawks in Flight by Pete Dunn, David<br> > Sibley and Clay Sutton.<br> ><br> > Another book that could be useful is The Crossley ID Guide, which was<= br> > recently released. This book takes a different and perhaps much needed= <br> > approach to bird identification. Instead of giving the reader one or<b= r> > two illustrations, the author nearly fills each page with photos of<br= > > each species. These photos are taken from many angles and at many<br> > distances. These illustrations, like the illustrations in Hawks At A<b= r> > Distance, show birds as they are often seen. We all love to see birds<= br> > conveniently perched a few meters away, but this is rarely what we get= <br> > while in the field. Instead, we are often trying to identify a bird<br= > > that is distant, at a odd angle, has just flown past us or is at a<br> > great distance. This books approach seems to have much promise. On the= <br> > down side, it's size is greater than the average field guide makin= g it<br> > somewhat impractical to be carried into the field.<br> ><br> > I hope these reviews will be helpful to at least a few readers.<br> ><br> > Good birding,<br> ><br> > Todd Watts<br> > Bocabec, NB<br> ><br> <br> </div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear=3D"all"><br>-- <br>###########= ######<br>Dr.R.B.Stern,=A0=A0 <br>P.O. Box 300,<br>Port Williams,<br>N.S., = Canada,<br>B0P 1T0<br><br>Richard Stern, <br>317 Middle Dyke Rd.<br>Port Wi= lliams, NS, Canada<br> B0P 1T0<br><br><a href=3D"mailto:sternrichard@gmail.com">sternrichard@gmail= .com</a><br>###################<br> --0015175df02e21501b04a11b27f5--
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Index of Subjects