"The most important requirement for becoming a proficient birdwatcher is something you have already: enthusiasm for the natural world," suggests Sheila Buff, who provides a step-by-step process to help novices of any age have a positive and informed birdwatching experience. Buff includes tips on equipment, identification techniques, and birding "by ear," as well as explaining how to select and use field guides. Along with color photographs of North American birds both familiar and uncommon, this portable guide features information on birds' typical feeding habits, flight, breeding, nesting, and migration patterns.