Fish Watching: An Outdoor Guide to Freshwater Fishes (Comstock Book)
There are guides to watching birds (Sheila Buff's Birding for Beginners, LJ 6/1/93), whales (Patricia Corrigan's Where the Whales Are, LJ 3/15/91), and marine life (David Bulluch's The Underwater Naturalist, LJ 3/1/91). There is even a guide for catching and watching fish in a tank (John Quinn's Our Native Fishes, LJ 2/1/91). But Smith here endorses watching fish in their freshwater home. Smith, an ichthyologist, knows his subject well. He gives clear suggestions on how to start watching fish and provides descriptions of fish habitats and fishes classified by family with line drawings and three dozen color photos. There is a slight emphasis on Eastern U.S. species, but Smith intends this guide to be used in the field. His personal anecdotes add interest. Brief appendixes for classification and names of fishes are included. For public libraries with large hobby collections, especially near freshwater creeks, ponds, bogs, etc. (Index not seen.)-Jean E. Crampon, Hancock Biology & Oceanography Lib, Univ. of Southern California, Los AngelesCopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.