Best of
Field-Guides

2021

Celebrating Birds: The Wingspan Field Guide and Outdoor Birding Game


Natalia Rojas - 2021
    Celebrating Birds is the ultimate companion to the game for fans, as well as a beautiful and in-depth field guide for avian and nature enthusiasts.In addition to large-size representations of each bird and the most up-to-date bird descriptions provided by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Celebrating Birds includes a step-by-step guide that can be used to take the game into the real world. Players can collect points based on the birds, nests, and various habitat and feeding clues they find outside.Artists and best friends Natalia Rojas and Ana Maria Martinez collaborated to create the beautiful depictions featured in the original Wingspan board game. Celebrating Birds features larger illustrations of the 170 North American birds from the game, plus eleven exciting new birds.With Celebrating Birds, players and amateur naturalists can discover details about many of the birds currently at risk for extinction. As the number of birds in the United States and Canada has declined precipitously, Celebrating Birds is a fun way to raise awareness, educate, encourage activism, and provide resources on some of the most important ecological issues facing us today.

Wasps: Their Biology, Diversity, and Role as Beneficial Insects and Pollinators of Native Plants


Heather N. Holm - 2021
    Written with an ecological lens, this richly-illustrated book details wasp diversity and has full-page profiles for each wasp species that include identification tips, geographic range maps, biology, prey, natural history, and habitat. Five introductory chapters cover wasp taxonomy, nesting biology, prey-hunting behaviors, diet, anatomy, as well as wasp habitat enhancement and management, and the ecosystem services provided by wasps—insect pest population control and pollination. Profiles of each wasp species comprise the major part of the book and are organized by family, showcasing twelve families and sixty-eight wasp genera. Also included are eastern North American regional native plant guides, tips on wasp observation, and over 1000 stunning photographs. ​This is an essential book for conservationists, naturalists, insect enthusiasts, biologists, nature photographers, native plant aficionados, and anyone interested in beneficial insects and pollinators.

Rocks, Minerals, and Geology of the Pacific Northwest


Leslie Moclock - 2021
    Each entry has color photography that shows a range of possibilities in appearance and a description of the defining physical properties and textures. Lists of minerals organized by other physical properties like habit, hardness, and cleavage are included. Rocks, Minerals, and Geology of the Pacific Northwest also includes 40 landscape features viewable along trails in Washington and Oregon that will empower hikers to make observations and interpretations about how these features came to be. More than 400 photographs, illustrations, tables, and maps showcase and explain everything from minuscule crystals to planetary tectonicsInterprets the histories of dominant landscape features along regional hiking trailsProfiles more than 100 minerals and rocks in detailed entries with photos, descriptions, identification graphics, and mini indexesCovers the geologic composition and 13 physiographic regions of Washington and Oregon

Habitats of the World: A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists


Iain Campbell - 2021
    Habitats of the World is the first field guide to the world's major land habitats--189 in all. Using the format of a natural history field guide, this compact, accessible, and comprehensive book features concise identification descriptions and is richly illustrated--including more than 650 color photographs of habitats and their wildlife, 150 distribution maps, 200 diagrams, and 150 silhouettes depicting each habitat alongside a human figure, providing an immediate grasp of its look and scale. Each major habitat has an illustrated "climate box" that allows easy comparisons between habitats. Thirty other illustrated boxes present clear explanations of complex phenomena affecting habitats--from plate tectonics and mountain formation to fire regimes and climate change. Requiring no scientific background, Habitats of the World offers quick and reliable information for anyone who wants a deeper understanding and appreciation of the habitats around them, whether in their own backyard or while travelling anywhere in the world.Covers 189 of the world's major land habitatsProvides all the information you need to quickly and accurately identify and understand habitats anywhere in the worldFeatures concise text, more than 650 color photographs of habitats and their wildlife, an up-to-date distribution map for each habitat, and hundreds of helpful diagrams and illustrations

Britain's Insects: A Field Guide to the Insects of Great Britain and Ireland


Paul D Brock - 2021
    Featuring superb photographs of live insects, the guide covers the key aspects of identification and provides information on status, distribution, seasonality, habitat, food plants and behaviour. It also offers insight into the life history of the various insect groups, many of which are truly amazing. This is the go-to guide for entomologists, naturalists, gardeners, wildlife photographers and anyone else interested in insects, whatever their level of knowledge.More than 2,600 stunning photographs, carefully selected to show key identification featuresPhoto guides to every insect order, covering 316 families and almost 850 generaCovers 1,653 species, of which 1,476 are illustratedDesigned to allow easy, accurate comparison of similar speciesUp-to-date distribution maps and charts summarizing adult seasonalityQR codes that link to sound recordings of grasshoppers and cricketsInformation on photographing and recording insects to help conservation