It condenses a huge amount of information about tree identification--more than has ever been collected in a single book--into a logical, accessible, easy-to-use format.With more than 4,100 meticulous, exquisitely detailed paintings, the Guide highlights the often subtle similarities and distinctions between more than 600 tree species--native trees as well as many introduced species. No other guide has ever made field identification so clear.Features highlighted include: - leaves (including multiple leaf shapes and fall leaf color)- bark- needles- cones- flowers- fruit- twigs- silhouettesMore than 500 maps show the complete range, both natural and cultivated, for nearly all species.Trees are arranged taxonomically, with all related species grouped together. By focusing on the fundamental characteristics of, for example, oaks or chestnuts or hickories, the Guide helps the user recognize these basic species groups the same way birders recognize thrushes, warblers, or sparrows.In addition, there are essays on taxonomy, on the cultivation of trees, and on conservation issues, reflecting Sibley's deep concern with habitat preservation and environmental health.An important new contribution to our understanding of the natural world, The Sibley Guide to Trees will be a necessity for every tree lover, traveler, and naturalist. It is sure to become the new benchmark in field guides to trees.

    With conversational and witty prose, the book provides extensive detail on each edible species, including photographs of potential look-alikes to help you safely identify and avoid poisonous species. Mushroom lovers from Chicago to Cairo will find their favorite local varieties, including morels, chanterelles, boletes, puffballs, and many others. Veteran mushroom hunters Joe McFarland and Gregory M. Mueller also impart their wisdom about the best times and places to find these hidden gems.Edible Wild Mushrooms of Illinois and Surrounding States also offers practical advice on preparing, storing, drying, and cooking with wild mushrooms, presenting more than two dozen tantalizing mushroom recipes from some of the best restaurants and chefs in Illinois, including one of Food & Wine magazine's top 10 new chefs of 2007. Recipes include classics like Beer Battered Morels, Parasol Mushroom Frittatas, and even the highly improbable (yet delectable) Morel Tiramisu for dessert.As the first new book about Illinois mushrooms in more than eighty years, this is the guide that mushroom hunters and cooks have been craving.Visit the book's companion website at www.illinoismushrooms.com.

    Learn where to find lizards and how to identify them. Includes detailed information on habitat, natural history, taxonomy, viewing tips, plus hundreds of photos, illustrations, and maps.

    Learn what's edible and what to avoid with this easy-to-use field guide. The species in the book are organized by color, then by form, so when you see something in the field, you'll know just where to look. Full-page photos and insets show each plant's key identification points, while detailed descriptions give you the information you need to know. Teresa Marrone has been gathering and preparing wild edibles for more than 20 years. Let her share that experience with you.

    Dragonflies and damselflies are large, stunningly beautiful insects, as readily observable as birds and butterflies. This unique guide makes identifying them easy--its compact size and user-friendly design make it the only guide you need in the field. Every species is generously illustrated with full-color photographs and a distribution map, and structural features are illustrated where they aid in-hand identification. Detailed species accounts include information on size, distribution, flight season, similar species, habitat, and natural history. Dennis Paulson's introduction provides an essential primer on the biology, natural history, and conservation of these important and fascinating insects, along with helpful tips on how to observe and photograph them. Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West is the field guide naturalists, conservationists, and dragonfly enthusiasts have been waiting for. Covers all 348 western species in detail Features a wealth of color photographs Provides a color distribution map for every species Includes helpful identification tips Serves as an essential introduction to dragonflies and their natural history

    A must-have guide for mushroom hunters in the Pacific NorthwestMushrooms of the Pacific Northwest is a compact, beautifully illustrated field guide to 460 of the region's most common mushrooms. In addition to profiles on individual species, it also includes a general discussion and definition of fungi, information on where to find mushrooms and guidelines on collecting them, an overview of fungus ecology, and a discussion on how to avoid mushroom poisoning.More than 500 superb color photographsHelpful keys for identificationClear coded layoutCovers Oregon, Washington, southern British Columbia, Idaho, and western-most MontanaEssential reference for mushroom enthusiasts, hikers, and naturalists

     From the olive-and-black Pig Frog, which gets its name from its low-pitched, piglike grunt, to the X-marked and familiar-sounding Spring Peeper, frogs and toads are fascinating to casual nature lovers as well as expert herpetologists. Covering all 101 species in the United States and Canada, this book contains natural history information, identification tips, range and habitat information, and behavior profiles. It also includes detailed descriptions of calls that readers can listen to themselves on an accompanying 70-minute audio CD recorded by experts in the field, as well as sections on conservation issues, public participation in census programs, tips on photography and sound recording, and keeping frogs and toads as pets.

    Author David Spahr, a trained commercial photographer, here combines his mycological expertise and photographic skill to produce an attractive and detailed overview of his subject. Based on decades of practical experience and research, the book is written in a clear and forthright style that avoids the dry, generic descriptions of most field guides. Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms of New England and Eastern Canada also provides useful ideas for cooking mushrooms. Rather than simply providing recipes, the book discusses the cooking characteristics of each variety, with advice about matching species with appropriate foods. Many mushrooms contain unique medicinal components for boosting the immune system to fight cancer, HIV, and other diseases, and Spahr offers practical and prudent guidelines for exploration of this rapidly emerging area of alternative therapeutic practice.

    Shorebirds of North America, Europe, and Asia is an illustrated guide to all 134 shorebird species found in the Northern Hemisphere, written by one of the world's leading shorebird experts. It features more than 850 stunning color photographs and a color distribution map for every species. Detailed species accounts describe key identification features, age and sex differences, variations in plumage, similar species, status, habitat, and distribution. This easy-to-use guide also includes comprehensive primers on plumage patterns and terminology, molting, feeding and other behaviors, and much more. This premier illustrated guide is suitable for field use and a must-have for armchair naturalists.Covers all 134 shorebird species found in the Northern HemisphereFeatures more than 850 color photographs that make identification easyIncludes detailed species accounts that describe key identification features, status, habitat, distribution, and moreProvides a full-color distribution map for every species

    This award-winning book, which was first published in 2000, was fully updated in 2009 to include 76 new species for the region that were recent new discoveries for science, taxonomic 'splits' or had been recorded there for the first time. This comprehensive field guide to the birds of South-East Asia covers all of the 1,327 species recorded in the region and each has been fully illustrated. This edition has many new artworks and 16 more colour plates than the original guide, and the text has been meticulously updated to take in all the most recent information. The vast diversity of South-East Asian birdlife attracts increasing numbers of birdwatchers each year. Covering Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, this unique and indispensable guide covers in detail the identification, voice, breeding, status, habitat and distribution of all the species and distinctive subspecies of the region.

    Experienced biologists and novice flower enthuisasts alike will find much to enjoy and discover in this guide.

    Includes in-depth information on the three main families of these insects--the katydids, mole crickets, and true crickets--as well as full-color illustrations showing the unique features of each species. Readers will learn what colors and physical attributes are important, how species compare with one another, and how various sounds can help identify a particular insect. Complete with an audio guide and CD, this package is the only resource readers will need to study these small yet amazing insects of the night. Field guide to crickets, katydids, shieldbacks, coneheads, trigs, and angle-wings across the eastern United States Full-color illustrations depict each insect in extraordinary detail Enclosed audio CD features songs and calls of 68 species

    In Australia, several species have become extinct in the past 25 years.This revised and updated guide provides concise accounts of all the known frogs of Australia. There are 230 species within the five native frog families: Hylidae, Limnodynastidae, Microhylidae, Myobatrachidae and Ranidae. Also included are the introduced Cane Toad and nine stowaway species that have arrived in Australia.The text for each species includes details of size, status, distribution, habitat, behavior and advertisement call. Each species is accompanied by a map of Australia showing its known distribution, and a full-color painted illustration. Closely related frogs are shown in identical poses so that comparisons can be made readily. The introductory section of the book covers frog biology and habitats and includes notes on families and genera.KEY FEATURES * Revised and updated to include all known frogs of Australia * Covers 230 species within the five main frog families * Illustrations of species provide greater detail than photographs * Closely related frogs are shown in identical poses so that comparisons can be made readily

    Ridgely and Guy Tudor established themselves as the leading authorities on the songbirds of South America. Reviewers hailed the volumes as the essential reference works for professional ornithologists and avocational birders alike, and they remain the only volumes that provide full scientific coverage of the continent’s passerines. Recognizing the need for a more compact guide that birders can take into the field, Ridgely and Tudor have now extracted and updated the essential identification information from The Birds of South America to create the Field Guide to the Songbirds of South America. This definitive guide is filled with indispensable features:• 121 color plates that present Guy Tudor’s magnificently detailed paintings of more than 1,500 species of songbirds, including more than 400 that were not illustrated in BOSA• 160 additional color illustrations of subspecies and females• Extensively updated color range maps for all of the species in the field guide, prepared by Robert S. Ridgely with technical assistance from Maria Allen and Terry Clarke, appear opposite the plates for each bird family• Robert S. Ridgely’s authoritative accounts of nearly 2,000 species that cover each bird’s abundance, habitat, and range; elevational preference; taxonomic or nomenclatural changes; plumage description; general behavior and voice; and range beyond South America, if applicable

    Covering all the species of the northern hemisphere, this new photographic guide provides all the information a birder will need at a glance. Lavishly illustrated with colour photography by the author, Shorebirds of the Northern Hemisphere focuses on specific and subspecific separation and on ageing to provide a complete identification resource.