The Complete Birder: A Guide to Better Birding

Houghton Mifflin, 1988. Trade paperback. Good. 88x8x132. Some light highlighting. One of this book's virtues is that it does not try to give a complete overview of birding. It concentrates effectively on selected subjects, describing how a complete birder masters, for example, recognition of the different plumages and identification of five difficult bird groups: warblers, hawks, shore birds, terns, and gulls. The chapter on optics, otherwise excellent, unfortunately omits mirror lens telescopes, but compares brands of other optics, which many other write-ups do not. Other sections detail acoustics, the seasons, and the psychology of birding. Entertaining anecdotes illustrate many of Connor's points, for he has associated with many leading birders. Anyone interested in birding should benefit from this thoughtful guide.