Greetings... I thought I'd send along a quick note on "The Shorebird Guide" 
by O'Brien, Crossely, and Karlson. I've looked through it a little, and it 
is pretty much as advertised, in that it's a bit different from some of the 
guides we're used to. The format is consistent for each species and stays 
true to the authors' intentions of stressing size, shape, and behavior over 
plumage as initial ID starters. The photos are an interesting mix of 
standard field guide fare, wildlife "pin up" style pics, as well as some 
rather technically bad photos, which simulate some of the views we get of 
these birds in the field--too far away, a little blurry or poorly lit, 
overly lit, hiding behind vegetation, etc. There are also "quizzes" 
scattered throughout the book--pick out the lone nonbreeding plumaged 
Western Sandpiper in a photo filled with nonbreeding Dunlins, and that sort 
of thing. Answers in the appendix. I've found the few quizzes I took to be 
humbling.

There's also a conservation and habitat-preservation and creation stress in 
the book--not so much in the ID section, though there's a little there, but 
in the species accounts and opening of the book. It's an interesting book.

Take care,
---Mike Busam
West Chester, OH