Good available reference-but need more(are publisher's looking?) (Rating 4 of 5)
» S. Hunt
I've had this book since it first got published in paperback (late 90's I think). As a forest biologist who often finds broken eggshells at the base of trees I need a reference like this. It is the first book I go to and the pictures are invaluable. Like other reviewers have already stated- I wish the pictures were all life size--I often hold up the egg fragments to the egg picture and for those that are shown lifesized- it's amazing how they match. I also agree with others that this is a reference and not a guide per se. It needs to be more complete to be a guide and needs more photos--especially of the nests which are hand drawn in this book-- It truly is a sorely needed reference book-but I'm hoping the publishers are reading---I've introduced this book to many biologist who upon first seeing it are in awe that there is such a book out there and we all found it useful- but after the initial puppy love syndrome is over, we're all left wishing there were a more complete book out there.
While I have the publisher's attention(I hope)- can we get a guide to feathers? If not of all birds....at least raptors (including owls)??
Thanks for reading
A great book for nest & egg I.D (Rating 5 of 5)
» John Doe
I find it hard to believe that anyone else out there could be as interested in nests and eggs as me, but if you are, this book is a wealth of information that must have taken quite a lot of research to compile.
I work as a biologist and sometimes do breeding bird surveys, and this book is my first stop for info on what a nest looks like, what an egg looks like, or the breeding biology and nesting behavior of certain birds.
I haven't yet tried to ID a nest by shape, size, and construction alone, and I'm a little leery of the idea that an inexperienced person could properly ID a nest without seeing the bird. I don't know if this book could really help you with that
Caveat emptor- a fine book in a new cover (Rating 4 of 5)
» Virgil Urp
For anyone who owns the second edition with the tern and chick on the white cover, this is just a re-covering of that book. Same good, useful, unchanged reference content, different cover
A Guide to the Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds, Second Editio (Rating 3 of 5)
» Charles R. Robertson
I was hoping for something that offer a greater selection of birds. Very limited on varities, species
A Good Reference Book, NOT a Field Guide (Rating 4 of 5)
» Tracy L. Powell
First of all, let me stress to potential buyers that this book is NOT a field guide. It is however a rather thourough reference book. The authors describe what kind of habitat the birds breed in, what the nests look like, the eggs, incubation, the nestlings, and nestling period. They also tell when the breeding season is. There are very, very few drawings of nests. There are sixteen pages of color plates showing paintings of nestlings. And another forty-seven pages of color plates showing photos of eggs. The smaller eggs are shown actual size, but the larger eggs are shown 3/4's or 9/10's of actual size. Why not go ahead and make them actual size even if it means adding a few more pages? I think this book is a good companion to the Peterson guides to bird nests (where you will see actual bird nests with eggs.) It would be great if David Allen Sibley would write or at least illustrate the ultimate guide to bird nests
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