The complete outdoorsman's guide to birds of eastern North America

by John P.S. Mackenzie

First published in 1976 under title: The complete outdoorsman's guide to birds of Canada and eastern North America. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0889320276
• ISBN13: 9780889320277
• Release Date: January 1976
• Publisher: distributed in the U.S.A. and internationally by Publishers Marketing Group
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The following text is from the inside cover:

This book is the result of years of intense research and field work and offers precise and useful information on 270 common birds of eastern North America. It takes the reader further than standard identification guides are designed to do - the typical habitat of each bird is described, as well as the bird's relationship with its environment and man, followed by a physical description of both sexes and, in many cases, of juveniles in both spring and autumn plumage. The reader will find not only the important identification pointers, but also where to look for specific birds, their nesting and mating habits, and migration ranges. Each notation contains the bird's common and technical name and useful hints about spotting it. Enhancing the written information are the beautiful and accurate drawings of Terence Shortt, one of this continent's most skilled bird illustrators. Shortt not only renders the birds with unflagging accuracy, but puts them in their appropriate natural context. On the cover is the Great Horned Owl, and on the back is the Peregrine Falcon, reproduced from a drawing made at Fort Ross, Somerset Island, Northwest Territories on September 1, 1938. ABOUT THE AUTHOR John P. S. Mackenzie came to bird watching on a hunting trip when his companion corrected his misidentification of a dowitcher. From that moment he was transfixed, and in the last 20 years has traveled thousands of miles in various parts of the world collecting bird sightings. His intense interest led him to study the existing bird literature and this book is a result of his belief that what was needed was a volume offering more information than the standard field guides, but not as unwieldy as the academic texts. His description of the birds is illuminated by personal observations gleaned over the years and his practical experience in the field. The dry words of his official biography fail to do justice to John P. S. Mackenzie, a man who has achieved notable success in the worlds of finance, public service, and conservation. He is chairman of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, a director of Canada's National Ballet School and the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake, and a former director of many other major cultural institutions. Collaborating with him not only in his field work but in the preparation of this book is his wife, Lois Parkhill, a nature writer and bird watcher. ABOUT THE ARTIST Terence Shortt is one of North America's most distinguished bird illustrators. He has been with the Royal Ontario Museum for 46 years, first in the department of ornithology, then as head of the life sciences art and display department. In these capacities he has traveled extensively throughout North America and other parts of the world to collect specimens and to paint birds. The Winnipeg-born and trained artist has illustrated more than 20 books on birds and counts among his fans Roger Tory Peterson, the dean of American bird watchers. Terence Shortt is an elective life member