The Art of Bird Identification: A Straightforward Approach to Putting a Name to the Bird

thorough and informative

At age 12, my daughter became a birder. After a few weeks reading through several birding guides, she was somehow able to ID and give accurate names to birds, and point out the field marks as well. I have not been able to keep up with her... she's 24 now... sigh!So I turned this book on the art of bird identification. Pete points out how much you already know and how to take a systematic approach to birding. Along the way he shares his own missteps as he became a world authority; very entertaining and reassuring. It's a great help. I now spend time looking at the bird rather than jumping to the field guide. My mental note taking is getting better and along with it my accuracy.Highly recommended ...

Like a lot of Pete Dunne's books, this provides some straight forward guidance and help in improving how you identify birds, and helps makes the keying through of the various probabilities more simple and diagnostic. I think it provides an approach that is adaptable to anyone's particular style of birding. I got serious late in the game, and I am hopeful this will help me this spring when I am out in the field. It is a book to read ahead of your field sessions and to review afterward and see what you have improved and what you can do better.

Excellent for beginning or less field-savvy birders, very beneficial for intermediate birders, and provides a number of nuggets of wisdom for those who have beaten more than a few paths searching for that next bird. Easy to read in the way a patient teacher helps students learn how to learn, and the closing chapter was the kicker, encouraging birders to become better aware that they are enjoying an activity that relies on a healthy environment. In fact, I've never met a birder who was not sensitive to the environment and impacts to habitats.

When you are in the early stages of learning to identify birds, it is difficult to make the little guys hold still long enough to see field marks and subtle colorations. It is much easier to look at where the bird is, what the bird is doing and how his actions and posture and overall shape hit your brain and come up with something at least close to what it is. Add in general coloration, and you have a ton of information. I have been birding for quite a while and think this book is just delightful.Try it! You will use it.

“The Art of Bird Identification”, by Pete Dunne.Pete Dunne has another winner with this book. It explains what is probably the shortest and easiest learning curve to acquire good, reliable bird ID skills, and, of course, it includes plenty of Dunne’s trademark amiable Humor. This book really is of great value, especially to new birders who are often overwhelmed by having a seemingly huge mass of data to absorb and no easy, organized method or process to digest it.

detailed

I've recommended this book to several of my friends now, when they say, "How can you tell what that bird is when it's so far away?! I can hardly even see it." This book talks through the process of identifying birds not just by feather color (like most ID books) but by a whole gestalt picture of where the bird is, what it's doing, its mannerisms, its overall shape, etc. Super duper useful.

Very engaging book that I found to be a nice read and good reminder of the enjoyment of watching birds simply to observe their daily activities in a holistic manner.

Thanks