Species Pages References
A very large array of reference materials were used to help in the construction of the individual species information pages. Other information incorporated includes my own experiences and conversations with other birders in the state. References below are listed roughly in order of most heavily used for species page compilation.
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Tallman, Dan A., D.L. Swanson, and J.S. Palmer, eds. 2002. Birds of South Dakota, The South Dakota Ornithologist's Union. Aberdeen, South Dakota: Midstates/Quality Quick Print Press.
NOTE: This book is a MUST HAVE if you are interested in birds and birding within South Dakota. It does a great job of detailing locations and dates of sightings for all species that have been found in South Dakota
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USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, 2002-2007. htttp://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/framlst.html. Accessed 2002-2007.
NOTE: Basic information for bird species in the United States. In addition to identification keys, the site also has available Breeding Bird Survey information, and Christmas Bird Count maps.
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Kaufman, K. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
NOTE: Definitely my favorite bird book. It provides just what the title suggests...details on how each North American species lives.
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Alsop III, F.J., 2001. Smithsonian Handbooks: Birds of North America. New York: DK Publishing.
NOTE: A rather thick book, with one entire page per species. It's kind of a mix between a field guide and a life description book, with some details on the birds' lives, and also photos, a few very simple illustrations, and identification keys.
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Sibley, D.A., 2000. National Audubon Society - The Sibley Guide to Birds. New York: Chanticleer Press Inc.
NOTE: This is probably the most widely used field guide in the United States. David Sibley wrote and illustrated the guide, and typically shows many plumage variations for each species, depending upon season and age. When I first started birding, I preferred a guide with actual photos rather than necessarily generalized illustrations or paintings. However, The Sibley Guide does such a great job in highlighting identification marks that it truly is a must-have book for the birder in the field.
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Kaufman, K., 2000. Kaufman Focus Guides - Birds of North America. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
NOTE: A small, very handy guide for the field. It uses photographs instead of illustrations, but tends to have fewer plumage variations than the Sibley's guide. A small quirk is that birds are in a different order than the standard family order that Sibley and most other guides use.
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InfoNatura: Birds, mammals, and amphibians of Latin America [web application]. 2004. Version 4.1 . Arlington, Virginia (USA): NatureServe. Available: http://www.natureserve.org/infonatura.
NOTE: A wonderful website with extremely detailed information for not only birds, but also other animals in North America. They provide free digital datasets on ranges for all Western Hemisphere birds, data that were used for the range maps found on the species pages. I discovered this site several years after starting my website, so at this stage, range maps are the only information I've used from the site.
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USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: The South Dakota Breeding Bird Atlas, South Dakota Ornithologist's Union, 1995. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/sdatlas/toc.htm (Accessed 2002-2007).
NOTE: Breeding bird survey maps from the 1990s for South Dakota. I just have links to BBS maps for South Dakota on the species pages, if they're available for that species.
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Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All About Birds. 2006-2007. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/ (Accessed 2006 - 2007).
NOTE: A nice website with information on nearly all North American bird species. The website usually has both a nice collection of photos and sounds for each species.
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National Wildlife Federation's eNature: American's Wildlife Resource, 2005-2007. http://www.enature.com/home/ (Accessed 2005-2007).
NOTE: A comprehensive website covering most animal species in the United States.
Please mail any comments/suggestions/additional links for this page to: Terry L. Sohl
This page was last edited on 01/26/08