National Audubon Society Field Guide to California

by Peter Alden

Other authorsFred Heath (Author)
Paperback, 1998

Status

Available

Call number

QH105.C2 N356

Publication

Knopf (1998), Edition: 1st, 448 pages

Description

The most comprehensive field guide available to the flora and fauna of California--a portable, essential companion for visitors and residents alike--from the go-to reference source for over 18 million nature lovers. This compact volume contains: An easy-to-use field guide for identifying 1,000 of the state's wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, mosses, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, butterflies, mammals, and much more; A complete overview of California's natural history, covering geology, wildlife habitats, ecology, fossils, rocks and minerals, clouds and weather patterns and night sky; An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, beaches, forests, islands, and wildlife sanctuaries, with detailed descriptions and visitor information for 50 sites and notes on dozens of others. The guide is packed with visual information -- the 1,500 full-color images include more than 1,300 photographs, 14 maps, and 16 night-sky charts, as well as 150 drawings explaining everything from geological processes to the basic features of different plants and animals.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member banshea
This book is wonderful because it covers so many subjects. It's got sky charts, geological information, plants, fish, mammals, birds... The diversity of subjects is also its greatest weakness. It simply can't afford to go into great depth about any of them. I tried actually taking this book into
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the field and was sorely disappointed -- nothing that I needed to look up could be found in it. It's a wonderful book, but a poor field guide for anyone serious about the outdoors.
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LibraryThing member owlbeen
A good quick-reference for the more common types of plants and animals endemic to the state as a whole, but poor for identifying the many sub-species and local flora and fauna that exist in California's microclimates. Likely useful for a casual birder in Los Angeles or San Francisco, but not for a
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curious hiker on the Central Coast or Channel Islands.
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LibraryThing member amelia_bedelia
Pros: Beautiful pictures, well organized, pretty comprehensive
Cons: Pictures are small and hard to identify in varying seasons, not enough background info on individual species

Language

Original language

English

Physical description

448 p.; 7.64 inches

ISBN

0679446788 / 9780679446781
Page: 1.0184 seconds