Review: 'The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors' by Richard Crossley, Jerry Liguori, and Brian Sullivan

The Crossley ID Guide: Raptors, by Richard Crossley, Jerry Liguori, and Brian Sullivan, 2013, Princeton University Press, $29.95, softbound, 285 pages. Category/Genre: reference. Cover: interesting. Where we got it: publisher. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million. 


This book starts out with a look at raptors in flight, then moves on to 'raptor topography,' which is the tracts of feathers and the anatomy of birds. This part is fascinating for anyone interested in the science of birds, and -- like the rest of the book -- is illustrated with clear colour photographs. If you don't know already, some of the things you will learn here are that the colour of the iris often changes with age, the nape is the back of the neck, and the uppertail coverts are the rump. 

After that are species accounts, and then mystery photo images. These are pictures of various raptors who the authors encourage you to identify and age; the answers are included later in the book. The species accounts include range maps, an overview, comments on flight style, the size and shape of the bird, plumage, and more. 

A terrific book for anyone interested in raptors. 

If you like this one, try: Hawks of North America, by William S. Clark and Brian K. Wheeler.