Sierra Birds: A Hiker's Guide

John Muir Laws

As a naturalist managing the field studies program at the California Academy of Sciences, John Muir Laws noticed that novice birders often distinguish birds by color and size rather than species. This inspired him to create Sierra Birds: A Hiker's Guide, a unique book that assumes no prior birding knowledge on the part of the reader. Color-coded keys eliminate the time-consuming frustration of thumbing randomly through a guide, and a cross-index is also included for more advanced birders. All this in a format that is simply organized, lightweight, and small enough to tuck inside a pocket.

A first-rate naturalist, John Muir Laws is also an accomplished artist. His illustrations are lively, colorful, and accurate, and drawn to represent species in the manner in which one generally sees them in the field.

Published in conjunction with the California Academy of Sciences

CALLING ALL NATURE FANS!
Win original artwork and a chance to go on a personal hike with John Muir Laws. To become a fan of Bay Area nature and for more information about the giveaway, go to our Bay Area Nature Campaign page.

Reviews

"[Sierra Birds is] heavyweight among Sierra Nevada natural history guides and packed with great information. The concept of creating a hiker-friendly field guide stripped to the bare essentials is brilliant and executed to perfection."—California Wild

About the Author

John Muir Laws is a naturalist, artist, and educator with the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. He has taught classes on ecology, biology, and illustration. He received a B.S. in conservation and resource studies from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.S. in wildlife biology from the University of Montana, Missoula, and he studied science illustration at the University of California, Santa Cruz.