When it comes to people I’d want standing beside me in the field when the identification of a bird was needed, two of those in the top ten of my list would be Steve N.G. Howell and Brian Sullivan. I’ve been afield with both these gentlemen and I can say from experience their respective skills in putting names to most anything with feathers passes “uncanny” and approaches “supernatural.”
But there’s no actual magic involved; they’re as good as they are as the result of many years of study and experience in the field. In other words, such skills can be learned; and what can be learned can most often be taught. Thus, for those keen to improve their own field identification skills when it comes to birds, the publication this April of a guidebook to the subject written by Howell and Sullivan, the Peterson Guide to Bird Identification – In 12 Steps, should come as welcome news indeed.
