Bird guides inform beautifully
A decade ago, when it seemed print books might not be long for this world, few book lovers could have envisioned the renaissance of natural-history titles the coming years would bring. New or revised field guides to myriad topics have rolled off presses, from a fabulous new moth manual that revolutionized the way many of us look at moths to fabulous new habitat-focused guides such as Nancy Slack and Allison Bell’s much expanded, snazzy, and meticulously detailed third edition of their Field Guide to the New England Alpine Summits. Yet of all the new nature books that have come down the pike recently, none have impressed me more than the Peterson Reference Guide to Owls and the Peterson Reference Guide to Woodpeckers.
To make matters clear, the recent crop of Peterson
