Raptors of Eastern North America

by Wheeler, Brian K.

• ISBN13: 9780691115986
• ISBN10: 0691115982
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-08-04
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

Raptors of Eastern North America--together with its companion volume,Raptors of Western North America--are the best and most thorough guides to North American hawks, eagles, and other raptors ever published. Abundantly illustrated with hundreds of full-color high-quality photographs, they are essential books for anyone seeking to identify these notoriously tricky-to-identify birds. The Wheeler Guideswill help birders and biologists navigate the pitfalls of raptor identification, including raptors' often extreme variation by age and sex as well as the existence of numerous "confusion" species. The plumage section discusses more plumage variations--and in greater consistency, depth, and clarity--than any previously published guide. The text--informed by years of study and consultation with local, state, provincial, and regional experts--covers all aspects of raptor biology in an easy-to-read and consistent format. It provides the most up-to-date information available on status and distribution, taking into account the recent alteration of some species' ranges due to pesticide bans and introduction programs. The range maps--which include "city" plotting--are the most accurate and largest ever produced for North American raptors.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Clayton M. White	ix
Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Abbreviations	xv
Chapter I Introduction	1	(9)
Key to Maps	9	(1)
Chapter II General Glossary	10	(5)
Chapter III Anatomy and Feather Glossary	15	(5)
Chapter IV Plumage, Molt, and Age Glossary	20	(4)
Chapter V Flying and Perching Displays Glossary	24	(4)
Chapter VI Perching and Flying Attitudes	28	(5)
Chapter VII Photography	33	(2)
"Raptor Music" a poem by Steve Millard	35	(4)
SPECIES ACCOUNTS
Black Vulture	39	(8)
Turkey Vulture	47	(10)
Osprey	57	(11)
Swallow-tailed Kite	68	(10)
White-tailed Kite	78	(7)
Snail Kite	85	(15)
Mississippi Kite	100	(18)
Bald Eagle	118	(27)
Northern Harrier	145	(13)
Sharp-shinned Hawk	158	(13)
Cooper's Hawk	171	(12)
Northern Goshawk	183	(12)
Red shouldered Hawk	195	(13)
Broad winged Hawk	208	(12)
Short-tailed Hawk	220	(8)
Swainson's Hawk	228	(25)
Red-tailed Hawk	253	(43)
Ferruginous Hawk	296	(15)
Rough-legged Hawk	311	(21)
Golden Eagle	332	(13)
Crested Caracara	345	(5)
American Kestrel	350	(11)
Merlin	361	(13)
Peregrine Falcon	374	(29)
Gyrfalcon	403	(15)
Prairie Falcon	418	(11)
Bibliography	429	(10)
Index	439