Peterson Reference Guides: Gulls of the Americas [Hardcover]

Steve N.G. Howell (Author), Jon Dunn (Author)

Book Description

Series: Peterson Reference Guides | Publication Date: June 13, 2007

This ambitious volume covers the 36 species of gulls that occur in North and South America, with detailed information to help you identify these fascinating but challenging birds in their many and varied plumages. With 1,160 carefully chosen color photographs, this new reference guide, written by two of North America's top gull experts, is the definitive new work on gulls of the Americas.

Peterson Reference Guides offer authoritative, comprehensive information, including detailed text, maps, and superior illustrations. Written by expert authors, the guides are an unparalleled resource for understanding specific groups of animals.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

STEVE N. G. HOWELL has written many books and papers on birds, including Hummingbirds of North America and A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. He has been affiliated with the Point Reyes Bird Observatory for twenty years and is currently a senior birding tour leader for WINGS, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (June 13, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618726411
• ISBN-13: 978-0618726417
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,816 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must For A Birder's Library, May 30, 2007

By 

Brooke A. Miller "idbirds956" (Los Altos, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Peterson Reference Guides: Gulls of the Americas (Hardcover)

Yesterday I received the brand new, "Gulls of the Americas" by Steve N.G. Howell/Jon Dunn, Peterson Reference Guide. This is quite a book! -- hard cover, definitely not a field guide as it is quite a bit larger and quite heavy, and with lots and lots of color photos inside. There are pages and pages of each bird in each cycle, standing, and flying, both from above and below. There are almost 300 pages of plates, each page having 4-5 pictures per page. For instance, Glaucous-Winged Gull pictures start on page 235 and ends on page 243. There are a total of 41 pictures of this species. Pages 300-500 are the Species Accounts. This includes range maps, identification summaries, and field identification sections. The book's Introduction is 46 pages which includes sections on field identification of gulls, and a lengthy section on topography and appearance.

The front inside flap says the guide "...brings together identification criteria for the 36 species of gulls that occur in the Americas - 22 that breed in North America, 10 that breed in South America, and another 4 that have occurred as visitors from the Old World. The 1,160 photographs were selected to show a representative range of plumages..."

I'm far from knowing much about gull identification, that is why I purchased this book, and so I won't weigh in on how accurate this book is. For everyone who has a birder's library, this should be your next addition. And at $23.10 at amazon.com, it is a steal!

And, maybe by this winter I will have enough time to study this book so I can actually identify some gulls !!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Valuable information but may be hard to digest, July 6, 2007

By 

Weatherbird (Hawaii) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Peterson Reference Guides: Gulls of the Americas (Hardcover)

"Gulls of the Americas" is packed with information, but this book isn't much fun. I suspect only hard-core gull watchers will want to use this book.

There is a very useful introductory section, and the authors encourage their readers to study the introduction before moving on to the rest of the book, but I suspect many readers will find their eyes glazing over before they get very far. The main part of the book is divided into a 251 page section of photos and a 192 page section of species accounts. The photos do a good job of illustrating the various plumages of the gulls, but the photos are small, and aren't really a lot of fun to look at. The species accounts are thorough and clearly written but rather dry. The photos and species accounts are separate, and it can be awkward to go back and forth between them. I expect this book will come in handy when I come across gulls that are difficult to identify, but I wish the people who put together the book had made it more user-friendly.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! So much information, so many pictures., June 10, 2007

By 

J. Clark (Fairfax, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Peterson Reference Guides: Gulls of the Americas (Hardcover)

Gull identification is complicated and difficult. This book is jam packed full of many, many details about Gull identification. It has exceeded my expectations with its wealth of information and excellent photos. The authors are clearly experts and have dedicated a significant portion of their lives to the sometimes esoteric and always intriguing world of gull identification. The book also provides an excellent introduction (which is a must read if you are to get the most out of it) that gives a background on the details of molt cycles, feather tract terms, etc...

This book is not a field guide, it is truly a reference guide as the title clearly states. It is a large format hardcover (with dust jacket) book printed on high quality glossy paper. This is a book that you study at home and maybe keep in the car as a reference.

In summary it is a worthy addition to any birders library and a book that would make its namesake (that is Roger not Rodger) Tory Peterson proud.