26 TH EA UD U BOUIN) BiUvigL heii 
A Day with The Sandpipers 
By Ira and Jeffrey Sanders 
The following plovers and sandpipers were found at Dundee Mud Flats, 
Glencoe, Illinois on August 6, 1966: 
Species Numbers Species Numbers 
Killdeer 5 Least Sandpiper MS 
Spotted Sandpiper 1 Short-billed Dowitcher 7 
Solitary Sandpiper 1 Long-billed Dowitcher 1 
Greater Yellowlegs 48 Semipalmated Sandpiper 10 
Lesser Yellowlegs 47 Western Sandpiper 2 
Pectoral Sandpiper 8 Sanderling 8 
Baird’s Sandpiper 2 —-— 
Total 145 
Also found were 2 Black Ducks, 12 Blue-winged Teal, and one Wilson’s 
Warbler. On the same day at Summit, Illinois the escaped Flamingo was 
sighted. On June 11, also at Glencoe, a Dunlin was found. 
3126 W. Jarlath, Chicage, Ill. 60645 
BOOK REVIEWS 
BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA: A Guide to Field Identification, by Chandler 
S. Robbins, Bertel Brunn, and Herbert S. Zim. Illustrated by Arthur 
Singer. The Golden Press, New York City, 1966. Paper-back; 4% x 7% 
inches; 340 pages; about 160 color plates, with innumerable range maps 
in color, line drawings, and sonograms. $2.95. 
Any field guide for birds must stand or fall on the basis of comparison 
with the well-known Peterson’s guides. This one does not fare badly; it 
represents much that is new and experimental in the publishing field, and 
only time will tell whether this type of book will indeed be easier to use 
and more practical for field studies. It has some good points: 
Almost every right-hand page is a colored plate of a small group of 
birds (usually six to ten) in A.O.U. order, facing a page of text giving a ten- 
or-twelve-line description of each species — appearance, habitat, behavior, 
migratory status, etc. The paintings are very well done. A small map of 
North America, next to the description, shows the range as a colored area. 
Above may be a sonogram (a spectrogram graph of the recorded bird song) 
to indicate the voice. The book is extremely compact and may well prove 
more convient than the Peterson pair of volumes. 
Now the disadvantages: there are almost too many birds on a given 
page, and the descriptions are too sketchy. If you are a new birdwatcher, 
starting with this book, you may do well; I found the pages confusing, as 
eastern and western species are side by side, often with poor differentiation 
between the maps that apply. I’ve worked with scientific instruments all 
my life, and yet I found the sonograms virtually meaningless. Nevertheless, 
the book has some fine original techniques, and is a start in an interesting 
new direction. 
Paul H. Lobik, 22W681 Tamarack, Glen Ellyn, Ill. 
