Customer Reviews

Raptors of the Rockies: Biology of the Birds of Prey and Species Accounts of the Raptors of the Rockies

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Raptors of the Rockies" provides basic introductory information about more than 30 birds of prey in the American mountain west. It is well organized, moving from the general function of raptors, their lifestyle and migration, to individual species accounts in order of taxonomial nomenclature.

The book concludes with a glossary, chart of bird structure and bird bios of the Raptors of the Rockies program in Montana - of which the author is director - and a moderate list of resources and references.

Species accounts are limited to one to two pages per species, and contain the essential facts re: habitat, behavior, nest and eggs, migration, interesting facts, and status of species survival at present. If there were a fault to this publication, it would be the brevity with which the individual species are covered. The facts given are more focused and relevant to raptor study than those in many of the larger and more expensive general bird guides, although the illustrations and bird descriptions are not as detailed as the field guides published by Sibley, Audubon, Petersen, and others.

At 87 pages, the book holds more information regarding birds of prey than many larger and more expensive bird books. However, it does not replace the field guide for identification of birds by gender, age, molt or morph. It contains more species than "Birds of Prey of the American West," although coverage is less detailed for each.

Overall a good reference book on raptor information, but not a field guide.