https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691161877/terns-of-north-america Cameron Cox. 2024. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA. ISBN 9780691161877. Paperback ($27.95 USD)
At 19 x 24 cm (7.5 x 9.5 inches), 202 pages, and covering just 19 species, Terns of North America: A Photographic Guide, by Cameron Cox, is not a field guide. Neither is it a handbook, as it generally lacks detailed quantitative data and literature citations within the text (but see below). In some ways, it resembles a coffee table book, and its abundant and uniformly superb photos reward even casual browsing. But it is much more than that. Closer examination of this attractive volume reveals that its unusual size allows for a complex and flexible visual design system that is not only appealing but deliberately and artfully contrived to suit the author’s intentions. These, and therefore the book’s practical niche, are somewhat narrower—and considerably more daring—than those of a field guide, handbook, or photo collection, as will be discussed in more detail below.
The wide pages allow for highly detailed page-wide portraits of the the subject birds (which at rest are long and not very tall), wide angle depictions of flocks and multi-species assemblages within their natural habitats, two-thirds page-width portraits alongside detailed captions, and side-by-side pairs of half page-width portraits comparing and contrasting carefully chosen points of interest. The photos themselves are not only exquisite but highly varied in form and function. The carefully considered selection of portraits, groupings, and action shots of terns being terns achieve the author’s stated goal of expressivity, successfully conveying a varied, and compelling set of ideas relating to identification, variation, and natural history.
The main text is organized mainly by species accounts grouped by genera, which among terns offer a convenient and instructive level of distinction, but also includes two special sections focusing on the most difficult identification challenges: “Tricky Thalasseus” and “Sterna Tern Identification.” From a strictly North American perspective, (and even from a global one, to some extent), these larids appear somewhat over-split: five genera have just a single North American representative, Anous has two, and Onychoprion and Chlidonias just three (two of the latter of which are strictly vagrants). But the features of the genera of terns are heuristically advantageous for newer students and definitely appealing to the most experienced tern aficionados. This dual rationale is fully in keeping with the author’s intentions and the book’s utility.
Throughout, the text is thoughtful and accurate. One criticism could be that the identification analyses are pitched somewhat inconsistently in terms of their level of detail and sophistication. Although information useful to less experienced observers is never neglected, the author’s deep understanding of subtle problems is indulged very deeply in some cases (notably, regarding the challenges posed by first- and second-summer plumages of many species, which are imperfectly understood and seldom seen by most birders). Somewhat more seriously, the treatments of the most complex cases lack rigorous literature citations. Even so, they are consistently accurate, insightful, and stimulating. This last dimension reveals how the book succeeds despite being more detailed and narrowly focused than most users of an identification guide require; it is not just a guide to terns, but a guide to more effective ways of studying birds in general. Sterniphilia will surely be ignited in many birders by this engrossing book, and my advice to these is to use the bibliography liberally, and especially to keep Malling Olsen and Larsson’s (1995) Terns of Europe and North America at hand.
Terns of North America does not replace that seminal work, but its more restricted scope and lesser level of biological and scholarly detail are not major flaws. In fact, the highly readable and discursive text, along with the unusual and daring visual system, serve the book’s purposes, combining accessible and highly engaging guidance to the beginner alongside the stimulus for deeper study. Terns of North America is an eloquently expressed stimulus and roadmap for better approaches to field study in general, and will reward all kinds of readers who are curious in general and susceptible to the beauty of terns.
Shaibal S. Mitra
Biology Department
College of Staten Island
2800 Victory Boulevard
Staten Island, NY 10314
Header photo: Least Tern (Sternulla antillarum). Photo by Susan Hershey via Getty Images.
Suggested citation:
Mitra, S. Review of the book Terns of North America: A Photographic Guide by Cameron Cox. Association of Field Ornithologists Book Review. https://afonet.org/2024/09/terns-of-north-america-a-photographic-guide/.
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