Publisher Description

Warblers are among the most challenging birds to identify. They exhibit an array of seasonal plumages and have distinctive yet oft-confused calls and songs. The Warbler Guide enables you to quickly identify any of the 56 species of warblers in the United States and Canada. This groundbreaking guide features more than 1,000 stunning color photos, extensive species accounts with multiple viewing angles, and an entirely new system of vocalization analysis that helps you distinguish songs and calls. The Warbler Guide revolutionizes birdwatching, making warbler identification easier than ever before. For more information, please see the author videos on the Princeton University Press website.* Covers all 56 species of warblers in the United States and Canada* Visual quick finders help you identify warblers from any angle* Song and call finders make identification easy using a few simple questions* Uses sonograms to teach a new system of song identification that makes it easier to understand and hear differences between similar species* Detailed species accounts show multiple views with diagnostic points, direct comparisons of plumage and vocalizations with similar species, and complete aging and sexing descriptions* New aids to identification include song mnemonics and icons for undertail pattern, color impression, habitat, and behavior* Includes field exercises, flight shots, general identification strategies, and quizzes* A complete, page-by-page audio companion to all of the 1,000-plus songs and calls covered by the book is available for purchase and download from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library by using the link at

Back Cover

"The Warbler Guide arrived the other day and it is amazing! Such a complete compendium! [A]nd yet not daunting to someone just starting to love the 'jewels of the bird world' and getting past the 'all I can see is their bellies because they're up in the treetops!' . . . I can't wait to introduce it to my Illinois Audubon chapter members!" --Darlene Fiske "The whole book has a refreshingly fresh approach. The authors and illustrator have put a lot of thought into how really to help us identify these birds. This is definitely not 'just another field guide'." --Mark Avery

Author Biography

Tom Stephenson's articles and photos have appeared in Birding and Bird Watcher's Digest, at Surfbirds.com, and in the Handbook of the Birds of the World. He has guided groups across the United States and Asia. A musician, he has had several Grammy and Academy Award winners as clients, and was director of technology at Roland Corporation. Scott Whittle lives in Cape May, New Jersey, and has twenty years of experience as a professional photographer and educator. He holds an MFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York, is a fellow of the MacDowell Colony, and is a onetime New York State Big Year record holder.

Table of Contents

How to Use This Book 6 Icons and Key Terms 8 How to Use the Maps 10 Topographic Tour 12 What to Notice on a Warbler 16 Aging and Sexing Warblers 56 Understanding Sonograms 62 How to Listen to Warbler Songs 68 Learning Chip and Flight Calls 90 Visual Finder Guides 100 Warbler Song Finder Charts 116 Chip Call Finder 130 Flight Call Finder 134 Species Accounts 138 American Redstart Male 138 American Redstart F/1yM 146 Audubon's Bright 476 Audubon's Drab 480 Bay-breasted Bright 150 Bay-breasted Drab 156 Black-and-white 160 Blackburnian Bright 166 Blackburnian Drab 172 Blackpoll Spring 176 Blackpoll Fall 182 Black-throated Blue Male 186 Black-throated Blue Female 192 Black-throated Gray 196 Black-throated Green 202 Blue-winged 208 Brewster's 214 Canada 216 Cape May Bright 222 Cape May Drab 228 Cerulean 232 Chestnut-sided Bright 238 Chestnut-sided Drab 244 Colima 248 Common Yellowthroat AdM 254 Common Yellowthroat F/1yM 260 Connecticut Bright 264 Connecticut Drab 270 Crescent-chested 498 Fan-tailed 500 Golden-cheeked 274 Golden-crowned 502 Golden-winged 280 Grace's 286 Gray-crowned Yellowthroat 504 Hermit 294 Hooded 300 Kentucky 306 Kirtland's 312 Lawrence's 214 Louisiana Waterthrush 318 Lucy's 324 MacGillivray's Bright 330 MacGillivray's Drab 336 Magnolia Bright 340 Magnolia Drab 346 Mourning Bright 350 Mourning Drab 356 Myrtle Bright 476 Myrtle Drab 480 Nashville 360 Northern Parula 366 Northern Waterthrush 372 Olive Warbler 522 Orange-crowned 378 Ovenbird 384 Painted Redstart 390 Palm 396 Pine 402 Prairie 410 Prothonotary 416 Red-faced 422 Rufous-capped 506 Slate-throated 508 Swainson's 428 Tennessee 434 Townsend's 440 Tropical Parula 510 Virginia's 446 Wilson's 452 Worm-eating 460 Yellow 466 Yellow-breasted Chat 520 Yellow-rumped Bright 476 Yellow-rumped Drab 480 Yellow-throated 492 Similar Non-warbler Species 512 Hybrid Warblers 524 Quiz and Review 526 Warblers in Flight 534 North American Warbler Taxonomy 540 Measurements 542 Silhouettes 544 Habitat and Behavior 546 Glossary 549 Resources 555 Acknowledgments 557 Photo Credits 558 Index 559

Review

"The Warbler Guide is a reference book which you will want to have on your desk, your night stand or in your car, for contained within its pages is more treasure than any birder could ever hope for... Bravo to authors Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle for raising the bar by which we judge specialty guides."--Wayne Mones, AudubonMagazine.org "The Warbler Guide is a fine book crammed with photographs, tips, expert advice, innovation and information designed to help identify a unique and beautiful set of birds."--Phil Slade, Another Bird Blog "Fantastic and, yes, ground-breaking... There will be no birder north of the Rio Grande who would turn down this book. There will be few who intend to visit North America that would not want to spend time familiarising themselves with the Wood Warblers, and there is no better way for them than to open these pages and get lost in their cornucopia of detail... Everything from sonograms to seasonal variations, confusion species to aging and sexing and with pretty detailed distribution maps as well. The term 'tour de force' sits well upon its wide shoulders."--Fatbirder "The Warbler Bible has come forth! This is easily the most comprehensive and fantastic warbler specific guide covering North American Warblers. I am amazed and impressed with each of its features... [A] must-have book."--Robert Mortensen, Birding is Fun "A warbler feast for the eyes, the answer to the prayers of every birder who has seen a glimpse of yellow, black, and white and said, 'If only that leaf wasn't in the way, I'd know that warbler's name.'... The Warbler Guide, by Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle, is not just another bird identification book... The authors have thought long and hard about what makes an identification guide work and then approached it their own way. The auditory descriptions of bird song and chips, based on scientific analysis rather than a subjective translation of sound, present a very different approach to identifying birds by ear. The abundance of photographs, the plethora of charts and finding guides, all printed in brilliant color on lovely paper, the clarity of design, make this book a joy to look at and to use."--Donna Schulman, 10,000 Birds "Thoroughly detailed... I'll keep this guide close to me and make my warbler identification a lot more simple."--H.J. Ruiz, Avian 101 "The Warbler Guide is a must-have book for every birder. It is comprehensive, easy-to-use, and absolutely gorgeous."--Eddie Callaway, Birdfreak.com "Stupendous... Each of the 56 species accounts contain at least a dozen photographs, emphasizing various plumage variations--in all, over 1000 stunning color photos grace the book... One of the unique features of this book is that many of these photos are taken from below, which is how you really see warblers in the field... This relatively inexpensive book will aid birders of all abilities in identifying the warblers of America."--Dan Tallman's Bird Blog "The Warbler Guide is Music to My Eyes! ... By the coming fall migration The Warbler Guide 'will' be considered the ultimate, must-have guide for any birder serious about identifying the 'butterflies of the avian world.'"--Jerry Jourdan, Jerry's Birding/Digiscoping Blog "There's never been an ID guide quite like this one. It's as if the publisher told the authors to produce a book on warbler identification that includes everything a birder might ever need. But don't be misled by my enthusiasm for The Warbler Guide. It will not make identifying warblers easy, it just makes it possible. It's still up to every birder to find, see and hear the birds before they turn to this remarkable ID guide."--Scott Shalaway, Exponent Telegram "Extraordinary... Grab a copy of this guide in time to help with those confusing fall warblers."--Herb Wilson, Portland Press Herald "This is a beautiful book, chock full of pictures. The best part is that many of the pictures are what we usually see when we see a warbler--from underneath or in flight... An excellent work."--Penny Miller, A Charm of Finches "When I personally dove into Warbler identification (the species that helped bring me to birding in the first place! Could those colorful birds really be in my backyard in Central New Jersey?!) I pieced together multiple guides that had information on undertail covert colors and tail patterns, as well as song detail and plumage specification. I had to use multiple sources then for what this guide accomplishes itself. That, to be honest, is putting it mildly... I obviously recommend this guide about as highly as I could and I look forward to utilizing it in my future birding adventures!"--Dan Murray, Birding in New Jersey "This is one of the most remarkable books about bird identification that I've seen in recent years... At last, a field guide that gives bird sounds the attention they deserve! ... Groundbreaking... The visuals in this book are tremendous. The quantity and quality of the photographs outstrips anything I've seen in a field guide... Maybe the best part is the comparison pages, most of which are called 'finder guides'. You want all the warbler heads on one plate? All the undertails? All the side views? All the song spectrograms? All the flight shots? This book's got comparison plates for all of these and more. These pages alone are worth the cover price... This book is a must-have for serious birders. Beginning and intermediate birders should also check it out, and not be too discouraged by the sheer volume of information."--Nathan Pieplow, Earbirding "Once you own this book you will never need another reference on the North American wood warblers... Here the whole spectrum of our warblers is on display and wisely compared and contrasted in ways that will make field identification less of a trial for beginners or those seeing a warbler in new territory. In May I saw over 30 species in two weeks at Magee Marsh, Ohio. This book would have certainly helped me sort out what I was seeing, and what I probably missed."--Harry Fuller, Towhee Blog "Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle have covered everything you would ever need to identify any North American warbler from visual clues to songs and calls, and placed in a very easy to work with format."--David Lewis, Birds from Behind blog "Warblers are notorious for giving the observer fleeting and partial views. Field guides on the shelf today, regardless of the number of images offered, ultimately give you one option: extrapolate species from the fragments of information available. Stephenson and Whittle, using photos taken by dozens of photographers, offer you much better ID odds. They accompany the photos with clearly written descriptive text that focuses point-by-point on the major identification marks. Photos of and text describing similar species offer comparison assistance should confusion arise."--Jim Williams, Wingnut blog, Minneapolis Star Tribune "If you're a warbler aficionado, this is, quite simply, the best 36 bucks you'll ever invest. Stephenson and Whittle have produced a visually and aurally spectacular book--the first, and, just maybe, the last word on these intoxicating birds, at least for the foreseeable future. If previous guides get you into college, this one will take you all the way through graduate school. The Warbler Guide is your passport to a birding PhD."--Bruce Fellman, Southern Rhode Island Newspapers, A Naturalist's Journal "While I've been known to exaggerate for the sake of emphasis, I will swear under oath that my jaw literally dropped when I opened this book."--Kirby Adams, National Parks Traveler Magazine "My two hour old analysis of this guide is simple. Oh my gosh, get your hands on a copy! I'm a cynic and not easily impressed--this book has blown me away."--Chuck & Jaye Otte KS Birdlist "A book so good I'm almost at a loss for words (tough thing for a writer ...) The explanations [on vocalizations] are the best I've ever come across; about the visual aspects, what you offer the acolyte and expert alike is so visually rich as to make any remarks superfluous. Just get the book, I'd tell my readers, and be dazzled. And well-schooled."--Bruce Fellman, author of the syndicated The Naturalist's Journal "The greatest book ever invented... Ever... Really!"--BirdButtz Blogspot "Ok, there are bird guides and there are bird guides, but you have never seen anything like The Warbler Guide by Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle, published by Princeton University Press!"--Birder's Report.com "The Warbler Guide arrived the other day and it is amazing! Such a complete compendium! [A]nd yet not daunting to someone just starting to love the 'jewels of the bird world' and getting past the 'all I can see is their bellies because they're up in the treetops!' ... I can't wait to introduce it to my Illinois Audubon chapter members!"--Darlene Fiske "Wow! ... Understanding that many warblers are only seen during migration, they are quite small, and tend to inhabit the top of the tree canopy makes them a challenge for every birder from novice to the advanced. Even the experts need a reference source to confirm what they think they've seen--and this guide is it. The visual cues, song, flight patterns, even regional variations of different species are discussed in intricate detail and shown in every possible angle they might be seen in the field through more than 1,000 clear color photos."--Birding Business Magazine "Confusing fall warblers are arriving soon so be prepared with The Warbler Guide."--Kate St. John, Outside My Window "A comprehensive treatment of North America's favourite bird group."--Andy Stoddart, Rare Bird Alert "For the 'Big Week' at Magee Marsh I would want this book at my side... As you stare up into the branches, getting 'warbler neck', this book will ease the pain."--Mark Avery, author of Fighting for Birds "For help with things like weird plumages; details of age, sex, and molt; and bird sounds we're increasingly able to turn to focused guides that give in-depth treatment to a smaller group of species. The Warbler Guide, new this summer from Princeton University Press, has met that challenge brilliantly and innovatively, and for one of North America's most beloved and sought-after species groups... Spend time absorbing the hard-won knowledge on each page. Because there is a wealth of it here: field experience, museum research, observation, inference, all presented with remarkable creativity."--Hugh Powell, All About Birds "Immediately impressive... A book packed with information and really should be on every birder's book shelf. The Warbler Guide is highly recommended and the authors are to be congratulated on producing such a marvelous book that will be used by birdwatchers for many years."--TheBiggestTwitch.com "The most comprehensive catalogue of North American warblers... Keen birders will love this book."--Paul Nicholson, London Free Press "The whole book has a refreshingly fresh approach. The authors and illustrator have put a lot of thought into how really to help us identify these birds. This is definitely not 'just another field guide'."--Mark Avery "Once in a while a bird book comes along that makes you sit up and take note--this is one of those books... The concept here is so new that it is nothing like diving in to a copy of Sibley or The Collins Bird Guide."--Drunk Birder "If you've ever struggled with warbler identification, there won't be any more excuses if you use this book to its fullest potential."--Geoffrey Carpentier, Ontario Birding News

Prizes

Winner of National Outdoor Book Award in Nature Guidebooks 2014
Runner-up for Second Place for the 2013 BB/BTO Best Bird Book of the Year 2013
Commended for PROSE Award in Single Volume Reference/Science, Association of American Publishers 2013

Review Quote

"Wow! . . . Understanding that many warblers are only seen during migration, they are quite small, and tend to inhabit the top of the tree canopy makes them a challenge for every birder from novice to the advanced. Even the experts need a reference source to confirm what they think they've seen--and this guide is it. The visual cues, song, flight patterns, even regional variations of different species are discussed in intricate detail and shown in every possible angle they might be seen in the field through more than 1,000 clear color photos."-- Birding Business Magazine

Details