Terns of North America: A Photographic Guide

A full-color photographic guide to these captivating and challenging birds

This is the essential identification guide to the terns, noddies, and skimmers of North America. Covering every species and featuring hundreds of high-quality color images, this book is the ideal companion for anyone interested in this charismatic but sometimes challenging group of seabirds. Detailed species accounts describe the size of each bird as it appears in the field along with structure, behavior, flight style, vocalizations, subspecies, and North American and worldwide ranges. An incisive introduction lays out a remarkably simple approach to identification that focuses on key elements and addresses how to avoid getting bogged down in the variability of appearance. This state-of-the-art guide also provides additional in-depth coverage of the two most challenging groups of terns, Sterna terns and crested terns, aiding field identification while also highlighting the beauty and elegance of these marvelous seabirds.

    Features more than 325 stunning color photos, with side-by-side comparisons of similar species throughout

    Includes detailed captions for each image that describe age and key identification traits

    Covers 19 species found in North America, including the most frequent vagrants

    Presents a unique, simplified approach to field identification

    Explains the fundamentals of molts, plumages, and hybridization

    Provides in-depth coverage of Sterna terns and crested terns