Comments on: A Passion For Field Guides: Updated

By: Loren Coleman

Loren Coleman — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:40:18 +0000

Thank you, Ben.

By: Benjamin Radford

Benjamin Radford — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:18:49 +0000

Hey Loren I put a plug in for your field guides in my recent LiveScience column. I was trying to help you out, though the LiveSci editors-- not me-- wrote the headlines and subheads, so it wasn't me who mentioned the word "fake." As you know from our discussions, I have long disputed the utility of a "field guide" to creatures not known to exist, but I wouldn't call any guide to cryptids as "fake."

By: red_pill_junkie

red_pill_junkie — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:21:44 +0000

Maybe someone should start converting all these valuable fieldguides into a digital format, so researchers can carry all the info inside PDAs or laptops. Imagine having you Ipod touch filled with all the images and info of a 1000-page book!

By: mystery_man

mystery_man — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:36:25 +0000

Well, if you are interested in reptiles or amphibians, and you ever plan on being out in the field in Japan, you can’t really go wrong with the “Field Guide to Japanese Reptiles and Amphibians” by Richard C Goris. It’s an English language guide and provides the Japanese (written in Romaji, or the roman alphabet, for those of you who can’t read Japanese) as well as the English names for the myriad species to be found throughout the Japanese islands, many of the species being endemic and found nowhere else on Earth. If you’ve ever been interested in seeing just how remarkably diverse the reptiles and amphibians are over here in Japan, I’d recommend giving it a look.

By: DWA

DWA — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 22:13:32 +0000

The Sibley Guide to Birds is the preeminent bird guide. I’ve never seen anything close. All the info, one page, with great illustrations and easy lookup. Now it’s a bit huge.

But I’ve found that I don’t carry guides into the field with me much anyway. With birds at least, I think it’s better to burn the image of the bird into your brain, scanning for anything that looks like a unique identifier, then look it up when you get home. Too often, before doing this, I went…it’s grey…[fumbles for guide]…it’s smalll…[flipflipflip]…it’s….gone….

I’m not a track person, not as a specialty, but the Olaus Murie track guide in the Peterson series, seen up there, is not only comprehensive but a lyrical read, with evocative illustrations of the trackmakers.

And, while I won’t be taking it with me in the woods for the same reason maslo63 cited here, Gordon’s “Field Guide to the Sasquatch” is a very good, albeit quick, read.

By: maslo63

maslo63 — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 01:46:17 +0000

In my opinion the Peterson guides are the best general guides around. Much better then Audubon. I compare the two because they are both popular and cover a range of subjects. The Audubon guides don’t cover all species. I realized this when comparing their guides to freshwater fishes. Audubon doesn’t have nearly as many species while the Peterson covers all the species in North America (north of Mexico). Audubon also neglects to cover differences between juveniles and adults and non-breeding versus breeding adults. I noticed this also when trying to ID waterfowl with my Audubon that they don’t cover all the various stages of molting or what have you. And some of the photographs don’t help you identify squat. As for other guides the Sibley guides are good, I have their guide to marine mammals and it covers all known species. If you can get them state specific guides are great. I cannot imagine not having my “Inland Fishes of NY State”.
As for cyptozoology guides they aren’t something I carry into the woods with me. If I see a sasquatch I don’t think I’ll need a book to figure out what it is! I do enjoy reading them though and have Loren’s mystery primate guide. I’m really looking forward to getting the lake monsters and sea serpents guide.

By: corrick

corrick — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 23:20:55 +0000

Loren,
Thanks for the article. You just sold one copy of the Exotic Animal Field Guide off Amazon to me. Hadn’t heard of it before. Looks really interesting. Thanks again.

By: Loren Coleman

Loren Coleman — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 22:10:49 +0000

I updated this entry with more info on the searchable University of Illinois-based website, International Field Guides.

By: Saint Vitus

Saint Vitus — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:33:38 +0000

For bird ID, I swear by the Sibley guide, but the Peterson and the National Geographic books are also excellent. For herps, my favorite is the Peterson (Eastern region), and I also have the Audubon Society guide, the Alabama guide by Robert H. Mount, and “Florida’s Snakes” by Bartlett and Bartlett. I also have the Peterson and Princeton mammal guides, the Peterson and Audubon butterfly guides, several fish guides including two huge volumes of Alabama freshwater fish (these are too big to really be considered field guides, however), and the Princeton guides to dragonflies and caterpillars. Oh, and last but not least, “The Field Guide to Bigfoot and Other Mystery Primates”!

By: mrbf2007

mrbf2007 — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:20:18 +0000

I have a late-’90′s edition of The Peterson Field Guide to North American Mammals, and it is absolutely invaluable for identifying different mammals AND their tracks. When I was a kid, my grandmother had some field guides to insects and reptiles, but I don’t remember if they were Peterson’s or not. Good article, Loren.