Pete Dunne's essential field guide companion

the long version

In this book, bursting with more information than any field guide could hold, author and birder Pete Dunne introduces readers to the "Cape May School of Birding," an approach to identification that gives equal or more weight to a bird's structure and shape and the observer's overall impression (often called GISS, for General Impression of Size and Shape) than to specific field marks. After determining the most likely possibilities by considering such factors as habitat and season, the birder uses characteristics such as size, shape, color, behavior, flight pattern, and vocalizations to identify a bird. The book provides an arsenal of additional hints and helpful clues. This supplement to field guides shares the knowledge and skills that expert birders bring to identification challenges. Birding should be an enjoyable pursuit for beginners and experts alike, and Dunne combines playfulness with the work of identification.--From publisher description.