Product Description

Roger Tory Peterson had already made his mark with his innovative field guide when he conducted DDT research during World War II. His friend and fellow naturalist Rachel Carson built on these efforts and eventually wrote Silent Spring, a landmark text that, along with Peterson"s field guide, jump-started the modern environmental movement.
By combining the tireless observation of a scientist with the imaginative skills of an artist and writer, Peterson created a field guide that Robert Bateman, in his foreword to the fifth edition, says was the doorway for millions of people into the wonderland of natural history.
The Peterson Identification System has been used in the more than fifty books that make up the Peterson Field Guide series. Peterson"s magnum opus, now in its fifth edition, created the trail for countless field guides to follow. They are still following year by year, but his is the standard by which all other field guides are judged.
On the morning of July 28, 1996, Roger Peterson was painting his final bird plate. He died peacefully in his sleep later that day. It is fitting that his final work—a culmination of more than sixty years of observing, painting, and writing—should be this one, a revision of the guide that started his legacy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7758 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Turtleback
• 450 pages

About the Author
Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world's greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars, and the Peterson Field Guides® are credited with helping to set the stage for the environmental movement.

Virginia Marie Peterson worked with her husband, Roger Tory Peterson, to research and create three-color range maps for several books in The Peterson Field Guide Series(R).

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
CHIMNEY SWIFT Chaetura pelagica Common 5–51?2" (12–14 cm) Like a cigar with wings. A blackish swallowlike bird with long, slightly curved, stiff wings and stubby tail. It appears to beat its wings not in unison but alternately (actually this is an illusion); effect is more batlike, unlike skimming of swallows. They seem to fairly twinkle, gliding between spurts, holding wings bowed in a crescent. Voice: Loud, rapid, ticking or twittering notes. Range: S. Canada to Gulf of Mexico. Winters in Peru. Habitat: Open sky, especially over cities, towns; nests and roosts in chimneys (originally in large hollow trees and cliff crevices). Text copyright © 2002 by the Marital Trust B u/a Roger Tory Peterson and the Estate of Virginia Peterson. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful companion
I bought this for my son and daughter-in-law who had just bought a new home and were interested in the bird life in their yard.
I have always bees RTP fan and this is a nice guide and perfect size for carrying arounsd

A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America
Just like the bird book my Granny had -- only better! Packed with beautiful color plates for easy identification and has a nice tough cover for a long life of frequent use.

The Best
Roger Tory Peterson has been synonymous with bird watching for decades. This book continues to provide an easy to use, understandable source for the casual observer as well as the birding fan with pictures, silhouettes and migration information that we have come to expect from a source with the Peterson name on it.