Good Birders Don't Wear White: 50 Tips From North America's Top Birders (Paperback)

~ Lisa White (Editor), Pete Dunne (Foreword)
Key Phrases: share your passion, stand your ground, wildlife sanctuary, Mangrove Cuckoo, Snowy Owls, The Joy of Birding (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This collection of essays, by 50 contributors (David Allen Sibley and Don and Lillian Stokes are probably the most well-known), supplies 50 tips for bird-watching, and here are a few: take field notes, hug your tour leader, think like a migrating bird, linger even after you have listed a bird, play fair when sharing a scope, go birding in bad weather, go birding with kids, learn birdssongs, and keep your binoculars clean. Experienced bird-watchers will be familiar with most of these tips, but the book is a delight to read and will generate new enthusiasm for the hobby. The 25 black-and-white line drawings are hilarious. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Description

In these 50 light and fun original essays, the biggest names in birding dispense advice to birders of every level, on topics ranging from feeding birds and cleaning binoculars to pishing and pelagic birding. Whether satirizing bird snobs or relating the traditions and taboos of the birding culture, each essay is as chock-full of helpful information as it is entertaining.

See all Editorial Reviews

---

Product Details Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (April 23, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 0618756426 ISBN-13: 978-0618756421 Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,054 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in these categories: (What's this?) #47 in  Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Ornithology #81 in  Books > Outdoors & Nature > Birdwatching

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

Search Inside This Book:

---

Inside This Book (learn more)

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
share your passion, stand your ground, wildlife sanctuary, pelagic birding, pod person, pod people, shift your focus, birding etiquette, good birder, best birders, birding tours, identifying birds

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mangrove Cuckoo, Snowy Owls, The Joy of Birding, Cape May, United States, North America, Nest Egg, Bird Brain, Come Fly, Come On-a My House, Peterson Field Guide, The Road Less Traveled, The Shorebird Guide, Bird Watcher, Great Plains, Born-Again Birder, New Jersey, Follow These Rules, Capturing the Moment, Duck Stamp, Recognize True Greatness, Feather Forecasting, Cultivate Good Birding Practices, Dave's Bird Bistro, Bad Weather

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!

Search Inside This Book:

---

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	68% buy the item featured on this page: Good Birders Don't Wear White: 50 Tips From North America's Top Birders 3.7 out of 5 stars (3) $8.95
	12% buy A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See It All 3.9 out of 5 stars (17) $10.20
	8% buy Fifty Places to Go Birding Before You Die: Birding Experts Share The World's Greatest Destinations 3.8 out of 5 stars (6) $16.47
	5% buy National Geographic Birding Essentials 4.7 out of 5 stars (7) $10.85

Explore similar items

---

Tags Customers Associate with This Product  (What's this?) Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people. Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.  birding(6) birdwatching(5) birds(4) peter dunne(2) bird identification(1) forest service(1) See all 7 tags... Your tags: Add your first tag

Search Products Tagged with   See most popular tags

---

 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 3.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 38 of 41 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars Good Birders Don't Wear White, April 24, 2007 By  Barney Considine (Missoula, Montana USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    Imagine someone, or a group, deciding that it would be a great idea to have a book containing essays by all of the really good contributors to the literature about birds. This is that book. There are fifty essays. The contributors have published books, written articles, edited magazines, photographed birds; in short, they are the cream of the crop. Several are represented on my bookshelves. The cartoonish illustrations in the book are fantastic and match wonderfully well with the text. The problem with the book is that the useable information content is very low. Regardless of whether you are a beginning birder, intermediate, or expert; you will find a small amount of useable information here while the rest you either knew or didn't want to know. Part of the problem is that there was too little space to develop a thought. Take 261 pages, subtract space for 24 full-page illustrations, take away enough lines for long paragraphs giving the awards and accomplishments of each writer, and provide a lot of white space. Divide that by fifty and you don't allow a writer room to say much. On the other hand, every reader will find something of value. The last two essays caused me to reflect on what it takes to be a good birder. And then, there are those delightful illustrations. 26 of 27 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Not a how-to book, but a delightful read with wonderful illustrations, August 15, 2007 By  forest historian (Durham, United States) - See all my reviews If you're looking for an encyclopedic how-to book on birding, this is not it. Rather, these essays by some of the top names in the business are reflections on birdwatching experiences with some lessons derived from those often hilarious experiences thrown in. There are some useful tips to be gleaned along the way, no doubt, but what you will really enjoy is discovering the sense of common experience with the writers even if you haven't been to these locales. I found myself chuckling throughout and thinking, "Oh, boy. Yep, that's happened to me." Or, "I've seen that too many times. When will people learn?" It's a good refresher on the do's and don't's, and a refreshing read on a wonderful avocation. I can't say enough about the illustrations--delightful, amusing, creative, and funny, for starters. They are an excellent addition to the essays. I hope we see more of Mr. Braunfield's work in other books soon. I'm giving the book 5 stars just for the illustrations alone. Lastly, this would make a great gift for the avid or amateur birder or birdwatcher in your life. You know the ones...they can be found with binoculars at the ready, decked out in white...or not, sometimes on private lands, sometimes on national forests and grasslands. What are those? Read The Forest Service and the Greatest Good: A Centennial History and see. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for stoplights?, August 12, 2009 By  D. Birchett - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    These are short vignettes (2 to 3 pages) by a very impressive group of bird experts that will help you with your techniques and etiquette. Although the etiquette is common sense the stories are applied with light humor making this a very easy and pleasant read.		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

---

Customer Discussions

This product's forum Discussion Replies Latest Post No discussions yet Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight Start a new discussion Topic: First post: Receive e-mail when new posts are made Prompts for sign-in   Guidelines Active discussions in related forums Discussion Replies Latest Post science intelligent design: hypothesis+mechanism+experi... = science 1085 31 minutes ago science GM crops will kill us all 2 32 minutes ago science Twin nested hierarchies-an issue that creationists refuse to address. 44 38 minutes ago science Why are people here so scientifically illiterate 836 1 hour ago science Are forum Darwinists really just a branch of ACORN? 15 1 hour ago science Global warming is nothing but a hoax and a scare tactic 3569 2 hours ago science Life's Irreducible Structure 20 2 hours ago Search Customer Discussions Search all Amazon discussions

The Birding community Latest activity 3 hours ago 1,239 customers have contributed 1,029 products, 60 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community The Birds community Latest activity 2 hours ago 1,994 customers have contributed 1,915 products, 108 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community The Science community Latest activity 1 hour ago 10,050 customers have contributed 9,391 products, 1,023 discussions and more... › Explore the community Related forums birding (3 discussions) birds (5 discussions) science (1023 discussions) Explore more › See all Customer Communities › Your communities

---

Listmania!

Birding in California and beyond: A list by David Carr "Biologist & DJ"   seriously into birding?: A list by dad_of_tutu   Explore nature. YouŽll enjoy it!: A list by Tony B. Create a Listmania! list

Search Listmania!

---

So You'd Like to...

Go outdoors more: A guide by Natasha   Bird the deserts and mountains of southeast Arizona: A guide by Carpalis Create a guide

Search Guides

---

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Be the first person to add an article about this item at Amapedia.com.

› See featured Amapedia.com articles

---

Look for Similar Items by Category

• Books > Outdoors & Nature > Birdwatching
• Books > Outdoors & Nature > Reference
• Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Ornithology

---

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:
Bird Watching
Nature
Nature/Ecology
Birds & Birdwatching - General
Nature / Birds & Birdwatching


i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Ad feedback

 

Feedback If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? Is there any other feedback you would like to provide? Your comments can help make our site better for everyone. Please note that we are unable to respond directly to all feedback submitted via this form, but we'll ask you to sign in so we can contact you if needed.

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

› View and edit your browsing history

Get to Know Us Careers Investor Relations Press Releases Amazon and Our Planet Make Money with Us Sell on Amazon Join Associates Self-publish with Us › See all Let Us Help You Shipping Rates & Policies Amazon Prime Returns Help

Canada | China | France | Germany | Japan | United Kingdom  And don't forget: Amazon Windowshop | AmazonWireless | Askville | Audible | DPReview | Endless | IMDb | Shopbop | SoundUnwound | Warehouse Deals by Amazon | Zappos Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice  © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (April 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618756426
• ISBN-13: 978-0618756421
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,054 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #47 in	Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Ornithology
  #81 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Birdwatching

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good Birders Don't Wear White, April 24, 2007

By	Barney Considine (Missoula, Montana USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Imagine someone, or a group, deciding that it would be a great idea to have a book containing essays by all of the really good contributors to the literature about birds. This is that book. There are fifty essays. The contributors have published books, written articles, edited magazines, photographed birds; in short, they are the cream of the crop. Several are represented on my bookshelves. The cartoonish illustrations in the book are fantastic and match wonderfully well with the text.

The problem with the book is that the useable information content is very low. Regardless of whether you are a beginning birder, intermediate, or expert; you will find a small amount of useable information here while the rest you either knew or didn't want to know. Part of the problem is that there was too little space to develop a thought. Take 261 pages, subtract space for 24 full-page illustrations, take away enough lines for long paragraphs giving the awards and accomplishments of each writer, and provide a lot of white space. Divide that by fifty and you don't allow a writer room to say much.

On the other hand, every reader will find something of value. The last two essays caused me to reflect on what it takes to be a good birder. And then, there are those delightful illustrations.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a how-to book, but a delightful read with wonderful illustrations, August 15, 2007

By	forest historian (Durham, United States) - See all my reviews

If you're looking for an encyclopedic how-to book on birding, this is not it. Rather, these essays by some of the top names in the business are reflections on birdwatching experiences with some lessons derived from those often hilarious experiences thrown in. There are some useful tips to be gleaned along the way, no doubt, but what you will really enjoy is discovering the sense of common experience with the writers even if you haven't been to these locales. I found myself chuckling throughout and thinking, "Oh, boy. Yep, that's happened to me." Or, "I've seen that too many times. When will people learn?" It's a good refresher on the do's and don't's, and a refreshing read on a wonderful avocation.

I can't say enough about the illustrations--delightful, amusing, creative, and funny, for starters. They are an excellent addition to the essays. I hope we see more of Mr. Braunfield's work in other books soon. I'm giving the book 5 stars just for the illustrations alone.

Lastly, this would make a great gift for the avid or amateur birder or birdwatcher in your life. You know the ones...they can be found with binoculars at the ready, decked out in white...or not, sometimes on private lands, sometimes on national forests and grasslands. What are those? Read The Forest Service and the Greatest Good: A Centennial History and see.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for stoplights?, August 12, 2009

By	D. Birchett - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

These are short vignettes (2 to 3 pages) by a very impressive group of bird experts that will help you with your techniques and etiquette. Although the etiquette is common sense the stories are applied with light humor making this a very easy and pleasant read.