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From: lgorbet@hydra.unm.edu (Larry P Gorbet ANTHROPOLOGY)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Bird feeding Station
Message-ID: <1991Apr22.120507.27130@ariel.unm.edu>
Date: 22 Apr 91 12:05:07 GMT
References: <1991Apr15.225115.3695@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov> <1991Apr21.142938.12830@yang.earlham.edu>
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
Lines: 18

In article <1991Apr21.142938.12830@yang.earlham.edu> dans@yang.earlham.edu writes:
>In article <1991Apr15.225115.3695@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov>, hastings@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov (Sheri Hastings) writes:
>> Sheri writes:
>> "...what is the best field guide for So. Calif (coast). ... "
>
>       I recomend the Peterson Field Guide to Western Birds, the new
>third edition.  It is organized by family, so you can generally find the
>right page quickly. ...

This is *not* a "flame the field guide" (in fact, about 3 or 4 days a week,
when I get up, I would make the same recommendation:-)), but Peterson is only
sorta "organized by family". E.g., he has the swifts buried with the
swallows, among a bunch of other passerine families; the family is intact
but in an odd location, away from the others (hummers) of its order. I
don't have my copy at hand, but I think there are actually one or two
birds that are not with their families. All for more-or-less defensible
reasons (on this I *do* disagree with RTP), but still not quite by family,
if you meant in pretty much taxonomic order.