Bird Tracks & Sign : A Guide to North American Species [Paperback]

Mark Elbroch (Author), Eleanor Marks (Author), C. Diane Boretos (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2001

A sighting in the field is just one way birders can identify bird species. Observant nature-lovers can discover what birds are where by examining tracks, trails, and a variety of bird sign: discarded feathers, feeding leftovers and caches, pellets, nests, droppings, and skulls and bones. This fully illustrated guide-the first of its kind for North American birds-presents thorough and straightforward instruction for identifying bird families or individual species by careful examination of the unique sign they leave behind. It also offers keys to the birds' behavior in the wild. Includes songbirds, waterfowl, owls, shorebirds, warblers, woodpeckers, nightjars, and birds of prey. For trackers, birders, and nature-lovers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

An experienced birder and tracker, Mark Elbroch teaches tracking courses throughout the New England area. He is co-author of "Animal Tracks of New England." Eleanor Marks is an avid birder, veteran tracker, and writer. She lives in Massachusetts. Diane Boretos, a wetlands biologist, is a senior scientist with an environmental consulting service.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811726967
• ISBN-13: 978-0811726962
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #105,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Ornithology

More About the Author

NOBA award-winning author Mark Elbroch has contributed to numerous research projects in North America, from cougars to black bears. He lives in California. He maintains the website http://wildlifetrackers.com/.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great gift for that serious birder, November 6, 2003

By 

Peter V. Tamas (New Brunswick area, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bird Tracks & Sign : A Guide to North American Species (Paperback)

This is a guide to identifying bird families or individual species by clues they leave behind of their presence. The title may appear, at first glance, to be a typo. It is not. As the authors explain on the first page: "Sign refers to all the possible signs of their passing: sign of feeding, gathering material for nesting, the nests or cavity holes themselves, pellets, droppings, feathers lost during molt, or kill sites."

This book appears to be packed with too much information for a beginner to digest. But its actually quite good for anyone who is interested in birds and would use such a book more than once or twice. The information is organized by types of sign - tracks, feathers, feeding signs, droppings, nests and roosts, etc., rather than by species. This allows you to read about whichever subject you're interested in and to take in the basics behind, say, interpreting signs of feeding, rather than getting bogged down by details specific to a certain species.

Due to the nature of the topic, the squeamish may not enjoy all the pictures. However, the pictures are certainly not as gruesome as they could have been.

In the introduction, one of the authors writes: "real tracking is bigger than one lifetime. Tracking, as our ancestors knew it, was a body of knowledge handed down from generation to generation. Each person added to this knowledge..." The authors clearly see themselves as a continuation if this process, referring to and giving credit to other excellent books, such a Rezendes' "Tracking and the Art of Seeing".

To my knowledge, this is the only book like this specific to birds. I feel this would be an excellent gift idea for that hard-to-buy-for bird watcher.

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Filling a niche, December 10, 2001

By 

Kim Cabrera "Naturalist and Tracker" (Weott, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bird Tracks & Sign : A Guide to North American Species (Paperback)

As a tracker, I find this book to be an invaluable reference. I have long thought that there was a need for this type of book as bird tracks have not been the focus of past tracking books. I find the illustrations and photos clearly laid out and easy to use to see details. There are sections on feathers, nests, feeding signs, skulls, scat, and more. I highly recommend this book to all trackers and naturalists and anyone who wants to be more aware of the world of nature around them. No other skill can give you that awareness of the natural world. This book will help you on your way to being a better tracker.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For beginners too!, December 30, 2001

By 

Raychelle Harris (Riverside, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bird Tracks & Sign : A Guide to North American Species (Paperback)

I'm a beginner birder and tracker - When I first saw this book, I thought, fat chance, I probably can't even identify the birds' feathers or tracks because I'm still so new to the birding and tracking worlds. Still, I kept it around just in case - and when I found a feather or a track, I'd look up it in the book. It would take me less than a few minutes to discover the owner of the feather and tracks! That's thanks to the handy quick reference chart on the inside cover of the book! I now know I can go out and have fun with this book!