Birds of Prey in the American West [Paperback]

Tom Vezo (Author), Richard Glinski (Author)

Book Description

Series: Natural History Series | Publication Date: March 2003

The American West boasts the greatest variety of birds of prey in North America. In Birds of Prey in the American West acclaimed photographer Tom Vezo and raptor expert Clay Sutton celebrate the power and majesty of these remarkable creatures which include several that have been brought back from the brink of extinction and others that continue to be threatened by loss of fragile habitat. Vezo's extraordinary photographs and Sutton's authoritative text depict and describe more than 35 species of eagles, hawks, falcons, vultures, and owls indigenous to the West. They also share their personal experiences searching for these captivating birds in the wild, and include a recommended list of prime birding locations in parks and wildlife refuges. 80 color photographs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tom Vezo travels worldwide to capture his images in the natural environment. His first book, Wings In the Wild, was published in 2001, and his work also appears in Hummingbirds of the American West and Saguaro: The Desert Giant.

Product Details

• Paperback: 114 pages
• Publisher: Rio Nuevo Publishers (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887896384
• ISBN-13: 978-1887896382
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 9.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,005,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masters of the Sky, July 10, 2004

By 

Conrad J. Obregon (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Birds of Prey in the American West (Paperback)

This is a great book of bird photographs. There are many spectacular, and some astounding, pictures of the raptors. That Vezo was able to get so close to birds catching their prey; eating their prey; with their young; and feeding their prey to their young, is beyond my imagination. The title page shows a kestrel perched atop a cactus with a lizard in its claw; the next page a prairie falcon crying defiance over a just-killed dove in an arid western landscape, and the book goes on from there. Two to four pages are devoted to each bird. But this is not a birding guide. This is a book of photographs.

This is not to suggest that every photograph is a wonderful shot. There are many record shots of hawks gliding against a blue sky. While these are not as impressive as most of the pictures, I suppose they were necessary for a book dedicated to presenting views of all of the avian raptors of the American West.

One of the questions that this book raised for me is whether these photographs were art. There is certainly not the well-developed sense of line and color that the great bird photographer Arthur Morris presents in his pictures. But looking at Morris' work, I also notice that none of his raptor pictures are as arty (no pun intended) as his other work. Vezo has set himself a difficult task. These birds are handsome, not pretty, and their chicks are sometimes downright ugly. Most of them seem to be glaring at us with hostility. They don't have long sinuous necks whose curves can be emphasized. And yet as I looked at a picture of a perched zone-tailed hawk, against the blue western sky, with its tail feathers displayed, I certainly felt a sense of admiration for these birds, which appear to be so much more in control of their world than we mere human beings.

A brief narrative by Glinski accompanies each set of pictures of a particular species. The writing is romanticized and filled with varying amounts of information on the birds. No one would ever buy this book for the text, although it seems customary to provide this sort of thing. Instead what they would want is the striking pictures, and anyone looking at them will not be disappointed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning images from the best in bird photography, December 26, 2006

By 

Raymond Parsons (Issaquah, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Birds of Prey in the American West (Paperback)

In case you're not aware, Tom Vezo is one of the best bird photographers in the United States, and most likely the world. Right off the bat, that should set your expectations when you flip through this book. Quite simply, some of the images are truly amazing and you'll be wondering how Tom was able to "pull off" some of these shots.

If you have an interest in bird photography, more toward the serious side, I would strongly recommend that you purchase this book and study the pictures carefully. You'll immediately get a feel for what it takes to capture a wonderful image, although most people will probably never get even a quarter of the amazing shots contained in the book, and that's okay since Tom has dedicated his life to this stuff.

If you enjoy looking at amazing pictures of some of the birds of prey, like Bald Eagles, Falcons, Hawks, etc., then I'd also highly recommend this book. It will serve as a wonderful coffee table book given its oversized nature (roughly 9 inches X 10 inches).

Not only will the book delight you with wonderful photographs, but the accompanying text that describes the particular bird is very educational and easy to read.

All in all, I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stunning images of birds of prey.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!, July 10, 2003

By 

Lloyd Spitalnik "lloyd22" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Birds of Prey in the American West (Paperback)

Vezo does it again. No one captures the essence of the bird on film as does Tom Vezo. If you've never seen a bird in the wild, look at Vezo's pictures and you'll feel like you're there.