Joseph Knue\u27s new Nebraska Wildlife Viewing Guide is a well organized and concise guide that many state residents and visitors will find useful as they travel throughout Nebraska. Its sharp photographs and maps greatly add to the overall aesthetically pleasing quality of the book, and the directions and icons used to depict the various available recreational facilities are clear and easy to follow. Given the modest price tag, the book should accompany anyone planning to view wildlife throughout the Nebraska countryside

McKenzie, Paul M.

English

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences Great Plains Studies, Center for October 1997 Review of NEBRASKAland Magazine: Wildlife Viewing Guide by Joseph Knue Paul M. McKenzie U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbia, Missouri Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsresearch  Part of the Other International and Area Studies Commons McKenzie, Paul M., "Review of NEBRASKAland Magazine: Wildlife Viewing Guide by Joseph Knue" (1997). Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences. 353. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsresearch/353 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Book Reviews 357NEBRASKAland Magazine: Wildlife Viewing Guide. Joseph Knue. Lin-coln: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, 1997. 96 pp. Photos, maps,index. $8.95 paper (ISBN 0028-1964).Joseph Knue's new Nebraska Wildlife Viewing Guide is a well orga-nized and concise guide that many state residents and visitors will finduseful as they travel throughout Nebraska. Its sharp photographs and maps358 Great Plains Research Vol. 7 No.2, 1997greatly add to the overall aesthetically pleasing quality of the book, and thedirections and icons used to depict the various available recreational facili-ties are clear and easy to follow. Given the modest price tag, the book shouldaccompany anyone planning to view wildlife throughout the Nebraska coun-tryside.As with any book, this guide is not without its faults. The main problemwith the book is that the introduction does not provide a general survey of thespecies are likely to be encountered on a trip to Nebraska. The authorprovides species information, but readers must read the entire book to get anoverall sense of what they might expect. Readers from out of state, however,will want to know up front, "What can be seen in Nebraska that would attractus to this state?" It would have been extremely helpful to readers fromeastern parts of the country if they were made aware what wildlife they couldexpect to see in western Nebraska. For example, the author could havestated, "Birders from the eastern United States may encounter the followingspecies of western birds in western Nebraska: western grebe, white-facedibis, cinnamon teal, long-billed curlew, Swainson's hawk, ferruginous hawk,prairie falcon, sharp-tailed grouse, burrowing owl, common poorwill, white-throated swift, broad-tailed hummingbird, Lewis' woodpecker, Say's phoebe,violet-green swallow, pinyon jay, black-billed magpie, mountain bluebird,Cassin's sparrow, chestnut-collared longspur, lark bunting, yellow headedblackbird, and western tanager."Similar short lists could have been provided for mammals (prairie dog,bison, elk, pronghorn, mule deer, badger, bighorn sheep, kangaroo rat, leastchipmunk, fringed-tailed bat, white-tailed jackrabbit, black-tailed jackrab-bit) and reptiles (prairie rattlesnake, massasauga rattlesnake, earless lizard)that visitors might encounter during a trip across the state.Because many of the wildlife viewers using this guide are likely to bebird watchers, the book would have greatly benefited from a bar graphproviding rough dates and relative abundance (as found in most bird-findingguides) throughout the year for the majority of bird species recorded in thestate. Some of the pages towards the back of the book (including pp. 81, 84-85, 88-89, 92-93, and 96) were printed with lighter ink and in my copy someof the words are difficult to read.As well, the guide contains several inaccuracies that could give viewersthe wrong impression on the likelihood of seeing a particular species. Forexample, Knue states that short-eared owls "frequently hunt on bright sunnydays" (p. 28). Although this owl is a diurnal species, the best chances forobserving it is at dawn and dusk, or when it is flushed from its ground roosts.Book Reviews 359The most glaring inaccuracy, however, is the author's claim that uplandsandpipers and lark buntings are seen "year-round" in Nebraska (p. 94).Upland sandpipers winter in South America from Surinam and northernBrazil south to central Argentina and Uruguay, while lark buntings winter nocloser to Nebraska than north-central Texas.The above-mentioned flaws should be judged to be minor at best,however, and given the overall excellent quality of this viewing guide, the$8.95 price tag is a steal and well worth the investment. Paul M. McKenzie,U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbia, Missouri.

Review of \u3ci\u3e NEBRASKAland Magazine: Wildlife Viewing Guide\u3c/i\u3e by Joseph Knue

UNL | Libraries

University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 
Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and 
Social Sciences Great Plains Studies, Center for 
October 1997 
Review of NEBRASKAland Magazine: Wildlife Viewing Guide by 
Joseph Knue 
Paul M. McKenzie 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbia, Missouri 
Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsresearch 
 Part of the Other International and Area Studies Commons 
McKenzie, Paul M., "Review of NEBRASKAland Magazine: Wildlife Viewing Guide by Joseph Knue" (1997). 
Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences. 353. 
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsresearch/353 
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at 
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Research: A 
Journal of Natural and Social Sciences by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - 
Lincoln. 
Book Reviews 357
NEBRASKAland Magazine: Wildlife Viewing Guide. Joseph Knue. Lin-
coln: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, 1997. 96 pp. Photos, maps,
index. $8.95 paper (ISBN 0028-1964).
Joseph Knue's new Nebraska Wildlife Viewing Guide is a well orga-
nized and concise guide that many state residents and visitors will find
useful as they travel throughout Nebraska. Its sharp photographs and maps
358 Great Plains Research Vol. 7 No.2, 1997
greatly add to the overall aesthetically pleasing quality of the book, and the
directions and icons used to depict the various available recreational facili-
ties are clear and easy to follow. Given the modest price tag, the book should
accompany anyone planning to view wildlife throughout the Nebraska coun-
tryside.
As with any book, this guide is not without its faults. The main problem
with the book is that the introduction does not provide a general survey of the
species are likely to be encountered on a trip to Nebraska. The author
provides species information, but readers must read the entire book to get an
overall sense of what they might expect. Readers from out of state, however,
will want to know up front, "What can be seen in Nebraska that would attract
us to this state?" It would have been extremely helpful to readers from
eastern parts of the country if they were made aware what wildlife they could
expect to see in western Nebraska. For example, the author could have
stated, "Birders from the eastern United States may encounter the following
species of western birds in western Nebraska: western grebe, white-faced
ibis, cinnamon teal, long-billed curlew, Swainson's hawk, ferruginous hawk,
prairie falcon, sharp-tailed grouse, burrowing owl, common poorwill, white-
throated swift, broad-tailed hummingbird, Lewis' woodpecker, Say's phoebe,
violet-green swallow, pinyon jay, black-billed magpie, mountain bluebird,
Cassin's sparrow, chestnut-collared longspur, lark bunting, yellow headed
blackbird, and western tanager."
Similar short lists could have been provided for mammals (prairie dog,
bison, elk, pronghorn, mule deer, badger, bighorn sheep, kangaroo rat, least
chipmunk, fringed-tailed bat, white-tailed jackrabbit, black-tailed jackrab-
bit) and reptiles (prairie rattlesnake, massasauga rattlesnake, earless lizard)
that visitors might encounter during a trip across the state.
Because many of the wildlife viewers using this guide are likely to be
bird watchers, the book would have greatly benefited from a bar graph
providing rough dates and relative abundance (as found in most bird-finding
guides) throughout the year for the majority of bird species recorded in the
state. Some of the pages towards the back of the book (including pp. 81, 84-
85, 88-89, 92-93, and 96) were printed with lighter ink and in my copy some
of the words are difficult to read.
As well, the guide contains several inaccuracies that could give viewers
the wrong impression on the likelihood of seeing a particular species. For
example, Knue states that short-eared owls "frequently hunt on bright sunny
days" (p. 28). Although this owl is a diurnal species, the best chances for
observing it is at dawn and dusk, or when it is flushed from its ground roosts.
Book Reviews 359
The most glaring inaccuracy, however, is the author's claim that upland
sandpipers and lark buntings are seen "year-round" in Nebraska (p. 94).
Upland sandpipers winter in South America from Surinam and northern
Brazil south to central Argentina and Uruguay, while lark buntings winter no
closer to Nebraska than north-central Texas.
The above-mentioned flaws should be judged to be minor at best,
however, and given the overall excellent quality of this viewing guide, the
$8.95 price tag is a steal and well worth the investment. Paul M. McKenzie,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Columbia, Missouri.


https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1352&amp;context=greatplainsresearch

Review of \u3ci\u3e NEBRASKAland Magazine: Wildlife Viewing Guide\u3c/i\u3e by Joseph Knue

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

UNL | Libraries