A softcover booklet by Richard LeMaster on Waterfowl Identification is the ideal companion for any waterfowl hunter or bird watcher. This handy little booklet ( 4"x7" approximately) with 75 pages full of color images of Ducks, Geese, Swans, Cormorants, Grebes, and Loons, covers many aspects of their plumage coloration, bill coloration and shape, leg and feet coloration.
Although primarily a duck identification booklet it does illustrate the differences between the other species of birds. For the duck hunter or bird watcher it has closeup images of the heads of a great variety of ducks from the Whistling Ducks, Harlequin Ducks, Barrow's and Common Goldeneye, through the Common Eider, Shovelers, Mergansers, Canvasbacks, Scoters, Black Ducks, Mallards, Pintails, Redheads, Gadwalls, Cinnamon, Blue-Winged and Green-Winged Teals, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Duck, Ring-Necked, Wigeon, Oldsquaw, Wood Duck, and Bufflehead.
The advantage of this booklet is that it illustrates both the plumage of the male and female of each species, it has images of their feet, the heads, and wing plumage as well as the bill shape, which is particularly handy for the waterfowl hunter, since it is imperative that they not only identify the species but also the sex of a bird.
Through his artwork LeMaster has illustrated birds in flight, such that the viewer can focus in on what is important to use to identify each species. An interesting addition to this aspect of identification is the discussion and illustration of the different flight levels of the various species.
This handy identification tool is available from Stackpole Books, costing $10.95 and carries an ISBN number of 978-0-8117-2982-6
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