Customer Reviews:
 Designed for beginners? June 22, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
So far, this the best field guide for amateurs and advanced naturalists alike. It contains many more species than seen in other books I have purchased on butterflies. It is is excellent that Kaufman and Brock gave their efforts to photograph so many specimens, even some of the rarest species. One the rare butterflies, the best descriptions to identify them are given. If you think you've found an uncommon butterfly, consult this book. You will know, believe me. Stating that this is geared toward amateurs only is a complete understatement. Butterflies Through Binoculars is great, but this equals the other one, in specifics, photo quality, and field identification! Thank you Ken Kaufman.
Helpful book May 11, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is very helpful for finding the names of the butterflies you find. It's color marked pages help you find them fast. It has range maps an colors on the range maps so you know what season thay fly. It tells you what larval food thay eat.The butterflies are listed in groups. If you want to know more about butterflies you will like this book. I use this book almost every day.
Excellent reference for identifying butterflies! October 7, 2003
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great reference book for identifying butterflies. I especially liked the detailed photos and illustrations that showed butterflies as they would generally appear in nature. Other books often show the butterfly with wings open, but not with wings folded up, for example. This book shows both, including the differences between male and female butterflies and other details, so it makes it easy to compare your photo with the book's. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who takes lots of butterfly photos and wants to identify what you've photographed.
Practical and well-designed June 23, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The latest Kaufman Focus Guide, designed for beginners, features a pictorial table of contents, a primer on identification and habitat, butterfly lifecycle and where to find the critters, other butterfly activities, such as gardening and photography, and further sources of information, such as books, websites and organizations. It concludes with an index of larval food plants, an index of scientific names, an index of English names which doubles as a life list and a final one-page quick-find, color-coded index.In between are 2,300 digitally edited photographs, which have the easy-comparison advantages of paintings, and concise descriptions, with range map and primary larval foodplant. Each page of illustrations also includes an "actual size" figure, which is amazingly useful in the field. Similar species are grouped together for convenient comparison. This is another practical, well-designed and beautiful addition to the Focus Guide series.
The best butterfly field guide to date.... March 24, 2003
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the best butterfly guide on the market. It's convenient, light-weight, and well illustrated. Kaufman has organized his butterfly images very well; the pictures are large enough to be useful while stilling keeping the guide compact. Each image is clear and concise, showing the field marks and vivid colors of various butterfly species. There are other features besides imaging that make this guide so handy. It's smaller than BUTTERFILES THROUGH BINOCULARS, which makes it easier to carry in the field. Secondly, it covers all of North America. Finally, there are silhouette style images provided on the plates, showing the actual sizes of the butterflies, which can be very useful for distinguishing one species from another. Some caterpillar images are also provided along with adult butterfly images. Despite all this, the authors have left plenty of space for useful texts that accompany each plate. Included in the text are notes on the butterflies' behavior and flight patterns, as well as the food preferences of their larva. The range map for each butterfly species is provided alongside the text. Overall, this is a great butterfly guide. Whether you just like identifying the butterflies in your yard or happen to be a serious butterfly-watching enthusiast, this guide is likely to be right up your alley.
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