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©2007 by Mike Habeck

      Reviews: Robert Michael Pyle

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies

cover photo of the NAS field guide to north american butterfliesThis is a handy little book that is chock full of information and more than one thousand color photographs. The photos are of living butterflies, not the pinned specimens often found in other guides. This kinder, gentler approach makes it more difficult to illustrate some of the key characteristics necessary to identify butterflies, but it has the advantage of presenting the specimens in the poses in which you are most likely to encounter them. There is a brief introductory section, and this is followed by the two major parts of the volume. First are the color photographs, and next are the individual species accounts. Each species is described and compared to similar species. Information is also provided on life cycles, habitats, and geographic range. The treatment of each species is not as detailed as that found in Scott, but this book is substantially smaller, lighter, and more portable. It is bound in a flexible cover that makes it easier to stuff into a pocket, though you'll probably want to remove the dust jacket before doing so.

Recommended, especially for field work. M. Habeck

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies
Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN 0-394-51914-0
Approx. 10cm wide X 20cm tall

Purchase online.