Tucson Audubon Society’s Finding Birds in Southeast Arizona, edited by Clark Blake. Revised 2004. Tucson Audubon Society. Tucson. 329 pages. $24.95 (spiralbound paperback)

A Birder’s Guide to Southeastern Arizona (ABA/Lane Birdfinding Guide), by Richard Cachor Taylor. Revised 2005. American Birding Association. Colorado Springs, CO. 384 pages. $24.95. (paperback)

Many birders have an interest in our local avifauna that goes well beyond checking off species on a life list(although the urge to tick off new species often remains to varying degrees). If we spend much time in the field, we inevitably want to learn more about the habitat preferences, migratory behavior, distribution patterns, population dynamics, detailed field characteristics, and other aspects of the natural history of the birds we observe. Discovering a species in an odd habitat or on an unusual date can often excite as much interest as spotting an area rarity, and it leads us to look for reference materials that can help explain what we are seeing.

Although both guides are designed to help newer and outof-state birders find birds in the area, they also offer the experienced Arizona birder comprehensive information on the distribution and habitat preferences of birds in the area.