Ornithologist Bruce Beehler is a research associate in the Division of Birds of the National Museum of Natural History. He is the author of North on the Wing: Travels with the Songbird Migration of Spring. Renowned photographer Middleton Evans is the author of Rhapsody in Blue: A Celebration of North American Waterbirds and The Miracle Pond: Baltimore's Patterson Park, Wild beyond Imagination.

If you've never been able to fully appreciate the red poll, phoebe, towhee or great crested flycatcher, you might derive hours of pleasure from a new book from Johns Hopkins University Press, Birds of Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia. It's the size of a coffee table book and looks at first like one, heavily dependent on photographs. But it's far more than that. Part field guide, part birding atlas, part conservationist pleading, it is nearly 500 pages of photos by Middleton Evans and prose by ornithologist Bruce Beehler. It comes with charts, checklists and maps of birding hot spots . . . I can't imagine a more complete record of the birds of our region. It's an inspiration for anyone who has thought about — but never got around to — becoming a birder . . . The Beehler-Evans book is timely and important. It's an impressive accounting of what we have and what we could lose if we don't do more — and fast — to counter the effects of human behavior.—Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun

• Foreword, by Chandler S. Robbins Acknowledgments Terms, Abbreviations, and AcronymsPart I. Introduction 1. Appreciating Our Birdlife and the Gentle Art of Birding 2. Natural Geography and Local Bird Provinces 3. The Birding Seasons4. Birding in Urban, Suburban, and Agricultural Landscapes5. The Gift of Wild Places6. Landscaping for Birds and the Environment7. Feeding the Birds8. Conserving Birds and Their HabitatsPart II. Bird Group Accounts The Waterbirds 9. The Waterfowl 10. Marsh and Wading Birds11. Coastal Waterbirds12. Shorebirds13. Birds of the Open Ocean The Landbirds 14. Birds of Prey 15. Birds of Countryside, Farm, and Field16. Aerial Feeders17. Neighborhood, Backyard, and Feeder Birds18. Sparrows and Their Terrestrial Allies19. Warblers and Look-alikes20. Orioles, Blackbirds, and Colorful Fruit- and Seed-eatersPart III. Birding Tools 21. Best Birding Apps and Websites22. Necessary Birding Gear23. Planning Your Birding Field Trip24. Important Institutions for Birds and Birding25. Key Birding and Ornithological ReferencesPart IV. Bird-Finding Guide 26. Photographic Atlas and Finding Guide27. Birds Rarely Recorded in the Region28. Coded Regional Checklist and Seasonal Occurrence Chart29. Best Birding LocalitiesContributors Photography Notes Addendum Index

Ornithologist Bruce Beehler is a research associate in the Division of Birds of the National Museum of Natural History. He is the author of North on the Wing: Travels with the Songbird Migration of Spring. Renowned photographer Middleton Evans is the author of Rhapsody in Blue: A Celebration of North American Waterbirds and The Miracle Pond: Baltimore's Patterson Park, Wild beyond Imagination.

If you've never been able to fully appreciate the red poll, phoebe, towhee or great crested flycatcher, you might derive hours of pleasure from a new book from Johns Hopkins University Press, Birds of Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia. It's the size of a coffee table book and looks at first like one, heavily dependent on photographs. But it's far more than that. Part field guide, part birding atlas, part conservationist pleading, it is nearly 500 pages of photos by Middleton Evans and prose by ornithologist Bruce Beehler. It comes with charts, checklists and maps of birding hot spots . . . I can't imagine a more complete record of the birds of our region. It's an inspiration for anyone who has thought about — but never got around to — becoming a birder . . . The Beehler-Evans book is timely and important. It's an impressive accounting of what we have and what we could lose if we don't do more — and fast — to counter the effects of human behavior.—Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun

• Foreword, by Chandler S. Robbins Acknowledgments Terms, Abbreviations, and AcronymsPart I. Introduction 1. Appreciating Our Birdlife and the Gentle Art of Birding 2. Natural Geography and Local Bird Provinces 3. The Birding Seasons4. Birding in Urban, Suburban, and Agricultural Landscapes5. The Gift of Wild Places6. Landscaping for Birds and the Environment7. Feeding the Birds8. Conserving Birds and Their HabitatsPart II. Bird Group Accounts The Waterbirds 9. The Waterfowl 10. Marsh and Wading Birds11. Coastal Waterbirds12. Shorebirds13. Birds of the Open Ocean The Landbirds 14. Birds of Prey 15. Birds of Countryside, Farm, and Field16. Aerial Feeders17. Neighborhood, Backyard, and Feeder Birds18. Sparrows and Their Terrestrial Allies19. Warblers and Look-alikes20. Orioles, Blackbirds, and Colorful Fruit- and Seed-eatersPart III. Birding Tools 21. Best Birding Apps and Websites22. Necessary Birding Gear23. Planning Your Birding Field Trip24. Important Institutions for Birds and Birding25. Key Birding and Ornithological ReferencesPart IV. Bird-Finding Guide 26. Photographic Atlas and Finding Guide27. Birds Rarely Recorded in the Region28. Coded Regional Checklist and Seasonal Occurrence Chart29. Best Birding LocalitiesContributors Photography Notes Addendum Index

Ornithologist Bruce Beehler is a research associate in the Division of Birds of the National Museum of Natural History. He is the author of North on the Wing: Travels with the Songbird Migration of Spring. Renowned photographer Middleton Evans is the author of Rhapsody in Blue: A Celebration of North American Waterbirds and The Miracle Pond: Baltimore's Patterson Park, Wild beyond Imagination.

If you've never been able to fully appreciate the red poll, phoebe, towhee or great crested flycatcher, you might derive hours of pleasure from a new book from Johns Hopkins University Press, Birds of Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia. It's the size of a coffee table book and looks at first like one, heavily dependent on photographs. But it's far more than that. Part field guide, part birding atlas, part conservationist pleading, it is nearly 500 pages of photos by Middleton Evans and prose by ornithologist Bruce Beehler. It comes with charts, checklists and maps of birding hot spots . . . I can't imagine a more complete record of the birds of our region. It's an inspiration for anyone who has thought about — but never got around to — becoming a birder . . . The Beehler-Evans book is timely and important. It's an impressive accounting of what we have and what we could lose if we don't do more — and fast — to counter the effects of human behavior.—Dan Rodricks, Baltimore Sun

• Foreword, by Chandler S. Robbins Acknowledgments Terms, Abbreviations, and AcronymsPart I. Introduction 1. Appreciating Our Birdlife and the Gentle Art of Birding 2. Natural Geography and Local Bird Provinces 3. The Birding Seasons4. Birding in Urban, Suburban, and Agricultural Landscapes5. The Gift of Wild Places6. Landscaping for Birds and the Environment7. Feeding the Birds8. Conserving Birds and Their HabitatsPart II. Bird Group Accounts The Waterbirds 9. The Waterfowl 10. Marsh and Wading Birds11. Coastal Waterbirds12. Shorebirds13. Birds of the Open Ocean The Landbirds 14. Birds of Prey 15. Birds of Countryside, Farm, and Field16. Aerial Feeders17. Neighborhood, Backyard, and Feeder Birds18. Sparrows and Their Terrestrial Allies19. Warblers and Look-alikes20. Orioles, Blackbirds, and Colorful Fruit- and Seed-eatersPart III. Birding Tools 21. Best Birding Apps and Websites22. Necessary Birding Gear23. Planning Your Birding Field Trip24. Important Institutions for Birds and Birding25. Key Birding and Ornithological ReferencesPart IV. Bird-Finding Guide 26. Photographic Atlas and Finding Guide27. Birds Rarely Recorded in the Region28. Coded Regional Checklist and Seasonal Occurrence Chart29. Best Birding LocalitiesContributors Photography Notes Addendum Index