Peterson Field Guides
The Peterson Field Guides (PFG) are a popular and influential series of American field guides intended to assist the layman in identification of birds, plants, insects and other natural phenomena. The series was created and edited by renowned ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson (1908–1996). His inaugural volume was the classic 1934 book A Field Guide to the Birds, published (as were all subsequent volumes) by the Houghton Mifflin Company.
The PFG series utilized what became known as the Peterson Identification System, a practical method for field identification which highlights readily noticed visual features rather than focusing on the technical features of interest to scientists. The series both reflected and contributed to awareness of the emerging environmental movement.
The Peterson Field Guides
- PFG 1: A Field Guide to the Birds (1934), by Roger Tory Peterson
- Second edition (1939): A Field Guide to the Birds
- Third edition (1947): A Field Guide to the Birds
- Fourth edition (1980): A Field Guide to the Birds: A Completely New Guide to All the Birds of Eastern and Central North America
- Fifth edition (2002): A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America
- Sixth edition (2008): A Field Guide to the Birds of North America
- PFG 2: A Field Guide to Western Birds: Field marks of all Species found in North America West of the 100th Meridian, with a Section on the Birds of the Hawaiian Islands (1941), by Roger Tory Peterson and Virginia Marie Peterson
- Second edition (1961): A Field Guide to Western Birds: Field Marks of All Species Found in North America West of the 100th Meridian, with a Section on the Birds of the Hawaiian Islands
- Second edition (1990): A Field Guide to Western Birds: A Completely New Guide to Field Marks of All Species Found in North America West of the 100th Meridian and North of Mexico
- PFG 2A: Western Bird Songs (1962) by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
- PFG 3: A Field Guide to Shells of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and the West Indies (1947), by Percy A. Morris
- Second edition (1951)
- Third edition (1973)
- Fourth edition (1995), by R. Tucker Abbott and Percy A. Morris; Photos by R. Tucker Abbott
- PFG 4: Field Guide to the Butterflies of North America, East of the Great Plains (19??), by Alexander B. Klots
- PFG 5: A Field Guide to the Mammals: Field Marks of all North American Species found North of Mexico (1952), by William Henry Burt; Illustrated by Richard Philip Grossenheider
- Second edition (1964)
- Third edition (1976)
- Fourth edition (2006): A Field Guide to Mammals of North America, by Fiona Reid
- PFG 6: A Field Guide to Pacific Coast Shells, Including Shells of Hawaii and the Gulf of California (19??), by Percy A. Morris
- PFG 7: A Field Guide to the Rocks and Minerals of North America (19??), by Frederick H. Pough and Jeffrey Scovil
- PFG 8: A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe (1954), by Roger Tory Peterson, Guy Mountfort, and P.A.D. Hollom
- Second edition (1965), additional authors: I.J. Ferguson-Lees and D.I.M. Wallace
- Third edition (19??)
- Fourth edition (19??)
- Fourth edition, revised and enlarged (1983)
- Fifth edition (19??)
- Sixth edition (2004), ISBN 978-0007192342
- PFG 9: Animal Tracks (1954), by Olaus J. Murie
- Second edition (1974)
- Third edition (2005), by Olaus J. Murie and Mark Elbroch Murie
- PFG 10: A Field Guide to Ferns and their Related Families: Northeastern and Central North America with a Section on Species also found in the British Isles and Western Europe (19??), by Boughton Cobb and Laura Louise Foster
- Second edition (19??): A Field Guide to Ferns, Second Edition: Northeastern and Central North America by Boughton Cobb, Cheryl Lowe, and Elizabeth Farnsworth
- PFG 11A: A Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs: Northeastern and North-central United States and Southeastern and South-central Canada (1958), by George A. Petrides
- Second edition (1972): A Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs: Field Marks of All Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines That Grow Wild in the Northeastern and North-Central United States
- PFG 11B: PFG 11A revised as A Field Guide to Eastern Trees: Eastern United States and Canada (1988), by George A. Petrides; Illustrated by Janet Wehr
- First edition, expanded [sic]: A Field Guide to Eastern Trees: Eastern United States and Canada, Including the Midwest (1998)
- PFG 12: A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of the United States and Canada East of the 100th Meridian (1958) by Roger Conant; Illustrated by Isabelle Hunt Conant
- Second edition (1975): A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America
- Third edition (1991), additional author: Joseph T. Collins, and illustrator: Tom R. Johnson
- Third edition, expanded (1998)
- PFG 13: A Field Guide to Birds of Texas and Adjacent States (1960), by Roger Tory Peterson; Illustrations by Roger Tory Peterson
- PFG 14: A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North Central North America (19??), by Roger Tory Peterson and Margaret McKenny
- PFG 15: A Field Guide to the Stars and Planets (1964), by Donald Howard Menzel; Illustrations by Ching Sung Yu
- PFG 16: A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians: Field Marks of All Species in Western North America (1966), by Robert C. Stebbins
- Second edition (1985): A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians: Field Marks of All Species in Western North America, including Baja California
- PFG 17: A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers from Northern Arizona and New Mexico to British Columbia (19??), by John Craighead, Ray J. Davis, Frank C. Craighead, and Eduardo Salgado
- PFG 19: A Field Guide to the Insects of America North of Mexico (1970), by Donald J. Borror and Richard E. White
- PFG 20: Mexican Birds: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and El Salvador (1973), by Roger Tory Peterson and Edward L. Chalif
- PFG 21: Eastern Birds’ Nests: The United States East of the Mississippi River (19??), by Hal H. Harrison, Mada Harrison and Ned Smith
- PFG 22: A Field Guide to Wildflowers of the Pacific States (19??), by Niehaus and Ripper
- PFG 23: A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America (1977), by Lee Allen Peterson; Illustrated by Lee Allen Peterson and Roger Tory Peterson; Photos by Lee Allen Peterson
- PFG 24: A Field Guide to the Atlantic Seashore: Invertebrates and Seaweeds of the Atlantic Coast from the Bay of Fundy to Cape Hatteras (1978), by Kenneth L. Gosner; Illustrations by Kenneth L. Gosner
- PFG 25: Western Birds’ Nests: The United States West of the Mississippi River (19??), by Harrison
- PFG 26: A Field Guide to the Atmosphere (1981), by Vincent J. Schaefer and John A. Day; Illustrated by Christy E. Day
- PFG 27: A Field Guide to Coral Reefs of the Caribbean and Florida: A Guide to the Common Invertebrates and Fishes of Bermuda, the Bahamas, Southern Florida, the ... (1982), by Eugene H. Kaplan; Illustrations by Susan L. Kaplan
- PFG 28: A Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes: The Gulf of Alaska to Baja California (19??), by William N. Eschmeyer, Earl S. Herald, Howard E. Hammann and Katherine P. Smith
- PFG 29: A Field Guide to Beetles of North America (19??), by Richard E. White
- PFG 30: A Field Guide to Moths Eastern North America (19??), by Charles V. Covell
- PFG 31: A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers (19??), by Theodore F. Niehaus, Charles L. Ripper and Virginia Savage
- PFG 32: A Field Guide to Atlantic Coast Fishes of North America (1986), by C. Richard Robins and G. Carleton Ray; Illustrations by John Douglass and Rudolf Freund
- PFG 33: A Field Guide to Butterflies of Western North America (19??), by Tilden and Smith
- Second edition (19??): A Field Guide to Western Butterflies by Paul A. Opler and Amy Bartlett Wright
- PFG 34: A Field Guide to Mushrooms of North America (1987), by Kent H. McKnight and Vera B. McKnight; Illustrations by Vera B. McKnight
- PFG 35: A Field Guide to the Hawks of North America (19??), by William S. Clark and Brian K. Wheeler
- PFG 36: A Field Guide to Southeastern and Caribbean Seashores (19??), by Kaplan
- PFG 37: A Field Guide to the Ecology of Eastern Forests: North America (1988), by John C. Kricher; Illustrated by Gordon Morrison
- PFG 38: Birding by Ear: Eastern and Central North America (19??), by Richard K. Walton and Robert W. Lawson
- Birding by Ear: Eastern and Central North America (2002) (Audiocassette)
- More Birding By Ear: Eastern and Central North America: A Guide to Bird-song Identification (2002) by Richard K. Walton and Robert W. Lawson (Audiocassette)
- PFG 40: A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants: Eastern and Central North America (1990), by Steven Foster and James A. Duke; Illustrated by Lee Allen Peterson, Jim Bleakfeather Rose and Roger Tory Peterson; Photos by James A. Duke
- PFG 41: Birding by Ear: Western (19??), by Walton and Lawson
- PFG 42: A Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of North America North of Mexico (1991), by Lawrence Page and Brooks Burr; Illustrations by Eugene C. Beckham, III, John Parker Sherrod and Craig W. Ronto
- PFG 43: Backyard Bird Song (19??), by Richard K. Walton, Robert W. Lawson and Roger Tory Peterson
- PFG 44: A Field Guide to Western Trees: Western United States and Canada (1992), by George A. Petrides; Illustrated by Olivia Petrides
- PFG 45: A Field Guide to the Ecology of Western Forests (1993), by John C. Kricher and Gordon Morrison (See PFG 50 and 51)
- PFG 46: A Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants of North America North of Mexico (1994), by Roger Caras and Steven Foster
- PFG 48: A Field Guide to Geology: Eastern North America (1996), by David C. Roberts; Illustrations by W. Grant Hodson
- PFG 49: A Field Guide to Warblers of North America (1997), by Jon Dunn, Kimball Garrett, Sue A. Tackett and Larry O. Rosche
- PFG 50: Revision of (part of) PFG 45 as: A Field Guide to California and Pacific Northwest Forests (1998), by John C. Kricher and Gordon Morrison
- PFG 51: Revision of (part of) PFG 45 as: A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain and Southwest Forests (1998), by John C. Kricher and Gordon Morrison
Other volumes:
- PFG ??: Revision of (part of) Fourth edition of PFG 1 as: A Field Guide to Feeder Birds: Eastern and Central North America (2000), by Roger Tory Peterson, Virginia Marie Peterson, and Noble Proctor
- PFG ??: A Field Guide to Hummingbirds of North America (2001), by Sheri L. Williamson
- PFG ??: A Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies (1992), by Paul A. Opler; Illustrated by Vichai Malikul
- PFG ??: A Field Guide to the North American Prairie (2004), by Ruth Carol Cushman and Stephen R. Jones
- PFG ??: Mammals of Britain and Europe (1968, 1986), by F. H. van den Brink
- PFG ??: A Field Guide to Trains of North America (1996), by Gerald L. Foster
Peterson Birds of North America for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
Appweavers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the Peterson field guides for mobile devices. The company has worked with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to develop the Peterson Birds of North America and Peterson Feeder Birds of North America apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. In December 2010, Appweavers released Peterson Birds of North America. The app includes all plates of Roger Tory Peterson's drawings from the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America book, with details on 820 species of birds found in North America. The Peterson Birds of North America app also includes information from seven further books in the Peterson field guide series: Peterson Reference Guide to Molt in North American Birds, Peterson Field Guides Hawks North America, Peterson Field Guides Hummingbirds of North America, Peterson Field Guides Warblers of North America, Peterson Field Guides Eastern Bird’s Nests, Peterson Field Guides Western Bird’s Nests, and Peterson Field Guides Feeder Birds Eastern North America.
In April 2011, Appweavers released Peterson Feeder Birds of North America for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. This free app has the same core functionality of the primary Peterson Birds app, but includes details on 160 backyard birds.
Both Peterson Birds and Peterson Feeder Birds apps feature recordings of bird songs from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Macaulay Library. The apps uniquely enable users to compare songs while looking at illustrations of similar birds. Tapping an illustration on the screen of the mobile device plays the recording associated with that species.
Appweavers also developed a series of checklists based on information from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology eBird database. These Bird Finder checklists are automatically loaded into the app when the user taps on a specially formatted link on the petersonguides.com website. The company provides lists for every North American birding hotspot recorded in the eBird database, and for every county in the US and Canada. Each list includes only those species commonly found at that location, and provides indicators showing anticipated abundance of birds for each week of the year.
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