Birding for the Curious

November 1, 2015

An experienced birder and editor of the American Birding Association Blog, Swick ably presents the basics of bird watching: simply using your senses of seeing, listening, and awareness of different kinds of habitat to spot and identify birds. The tools needed are few: binoculars, bird field guides, and notebook/sketchbook. Describing each of these skills and tools, Swick guides beginners through using size, color, shapes/silhouettes, habitat, behavior, and range to become comfortable with identifying the huge number and diversity of bird species. He includes basic color drawings so that beginners can place an unknown bird in its family grouping before trying to precisely identify it. Do not let the difficulty of identifying birds, he cautions, dampen the joy of observing them. Also introduced is the social world of bird watching, which can be found through in-person groups or on the Internet. For Swick, a world with birdwatchers is one that prioritizes the realm of the wild and its creatures. The book concludes with photos and descriptions of 50 difficult-to-find birds as a challenge. VERDICT This is the title for the complete novice who enjoys birds and wants to better identify the different types.--Mark Jones, Mercantile Lib., Cincinnati

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