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Louisiana

The books are arranged by publication date with the most recent at the top of the page.

USA

USA bird books

A Birder's Guide to Louisiana

Richard Gibbons, Roger Breedlove, Charles Lyon

American Birding Association

2013

"If you like seeing large numbers of birds, you'll love Louisiana. Although Louisiana may not have the life-listers appeal of some of the border states, probably no state in the USA can compete with Louisiana in terms of bird spectacles. Bird density, in general, is higher in Louisiana than almost anywhere in the country, and some of the concentrations are stunning. This birdfinding guide will help more people appreciate Louisiana for the special birding area that it is. A Birder's Guide to Louisiana will guide you to the best birding spots in Louisiana. Contains descriptions, maps, species lists, and directions for over 100 sites."

Southern Birds: Backyard Guide

Bill Thompson III

2013

"Inside, you'll find profiles of the 55 most common birds in the South, complete with large color photos, gender-specific physical descriptions, nesting and feeding information, bird call particulars, and interesting stories about each species. Thompson also introduces the reader to the basics of bird watching: essential gear, bird-friendly food and plantings, housing tips, and observational techniques. This guide covers North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, and eastern Texas."

A Field Guide to the Southeast Coast & Gulf of Mexico: Coastal Habitats, Seabirds, Marine Mammals, Fish, & Other Wildlife

Noble S. Proctor & Patrick J. Lynch

2011

"This superb book, with its unique focus on the entire marine coastal environment, is the most comprehensive and up-to-date field guide available on the southeastern Atlantic Coast and the Gulf Coast. Not just for beachgoers, the book is essential for birders, whale watchers, fishers, boaters, scuba divers and snorkelers, and shoreline visitors. Features of the guide include: entries on 619 coastal and ocean species; more than 1,100 color illustrations; 450 up-to-date range maps; and overviews of key ecological communities, including mangroves, salt marshes, beaches, sand dunes, and coral reefs; special attention to threatened and endangered species; and discussions of environmental issues, including such catastrophic events as Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon blowout."

Birds of Louisiana & Mississippi: Field Guide

Stan Tekiela

2011

"Learn about and identify birds using Stan Tekiela's state-by-state field guides. The full-page, color photos are incomparable and include insets of winter plumage, color morphs and more. Plus, with the easy-to-use format, you don't need to know a bird's name or classification in order to easily find it in the book. Using this field guide is a real pleasure. It's a great way for anyone to learn about the birds in your state."

The Louisiana Coast: Guide to an American Wetland

Gay M. Gomez

2009

"Part natural history and part field guide, "The Louisiana Coast" takes readers across one of only three major chenier plains in the world to the Atchafalaya Basin, the largest river basin swamp on the continent, and through the network of bayous, natural levees, cypress swamps, marshes, and barrier islands of the Deltaic Plain. Color photographs illustrate chapters on vegetation, wildlife, and the rich human culture that defines Louisiana. With the intimate knowledge of one whose life has been shaped by this remarkable environment, author Gay M. Gomez leads visitors to nature trails, wildlife refuges, Audubon sanctuaries, and parks. A visitor's guide at the end of the book features destinations open to the public for wildlife watching, photography, and even hunting, fishing, crabbing, and cast netting."

Wings of Paradise: Birds of the Louisiana Wetlands

Charlie Hohorst, Jr and Marcelle Bienvenu

2009

"Wings of Paradise presents a spectacular collection of 150 photographs of the birds of Louisianas wetlands. The images portray dozens of different species of shore birds, raptors, woodland songbirds, migratory ducks and geese engaged in a variety of activities swooping and skimming to soaring, preening, nesting, romancing, arguing and catching prey. Noted food writer Marcelle Bienvenu complements the photographic feast by reflecting on South Louisianas cherished hunting rituals and offering twenty-four of her favorite duck and goose recipes."

Stalking the Ghost Bird: The Elusive Ivory-Billed Woodpecker in Louisiana

Michael K. Steinberg

2008

"In Stalking the Ghost Bird, Michael K. Steinberg engages the lengthy debate over the ivory-bill's status by examining the reported sightings and extensive efforts to find the rare bird in Louisiana. Louisiana has long been at the center of the ivory-bill's story. John James Audubon wrote about the bird and its habitat during his stay in St. Francisville, and scientists James Tanner and George Lowery studied the ivory-bill in Louisiana in the 1930s and 1940s. More recently, bird experts have conducted targeted searches in Louisiana. Steinberg discusses these and other scientific expeditions, and he catalogs reported ivory-bill sightings since the 1950s, using a detailed timeline that includes both dates and specific locations. Interviews with conservation officials, ornithologists, and native Louisianans illuminate the ongoing controversy and explore why the ivory-bill, more than any other bird, arouses so much attention. Steinberg meets elderly residents of the Atchafalaya Basin who saw the ivory-bill while hunting in the 1930s and even ate the bird-which they called the "forest turkey"-during hard times. He paddles into Two O'Clock Bayou with one wildlife professor and travels to a cypress-filled wildlife refuge with the director of Louisiana's Nature Conservancy. His interviews illustrate how expert opinions vary, as well as how much local non-experts know."

Birds of the Gulf Coast

Photographs: Brian K. Miller

Text: William R. Fontenot

2001

"The moist, sultry northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico hosts a remarkably diverse bird community of more then three hundred species. Waders and seabirds, waterfowl, hummingbirds, warblers, grosbeaks, tanagers, larks, blackbirds, sparrows, and finches all thrive in the various ecosystems of the Gulf Coast and swirl in and out with the seasons. Featuring 170 color photographs by nature photographer Brian K. Miller and essays by natural history expert William R. Fontenot, Birds of the Gulf Coast depicts the mystery and majesty of these beautiful creatures and highlights the importance of the region to the bird's conservation. Fontenot introduces the conditions peculiar to each season on the temperate Gulf Coast, and Miller's images are arranged by the calendar. The waterfowl, raptors, and seabirds of winter; the songbirds and shorebirds of spring and fall; and the wading birds of summer - their numbers peak and wane on schedule, and the chapters vividly reflect the dramatic variation in the bird population throughout the year. Miller captures sights that thrill human eyes - the stately gaze of a bald Eagle; the splendor of an Osprey in full flight; the quiet concentration of a Sora studying his reflection in the marsh. His vibrant portraits illustrate the brilliant hues of nature: the dazzling pinks and reds of the Roseate Spoonbill, the rainbow plumage of the Painted Bunting, the bright splash of the Yellow-throated Warbler."

Louisiana Breeding Bird Atlas

David A. Wiedenfeld and M. Mark Swan

2000

Covers 161 species breeding in the state recorded during the 1994 to 1996 period.