Field Guide to Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises of North America

About this book

This outstanding field guide provides the most comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date coverage of the whales, dolphins and porpoises that occur off the coasts of North America.

Packed with accurate illustrations – complete with detailed annotations pointing out significant field marks – Field Guide to Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises of North America covers all 54 species and every subspecies that occurs in the region. Many of the world's most respected whale biologists have collaborated on the concise text, which is packed with helpful identification tips from cetacean expert Mark Carwardine. Mark's informative text is accompanied by up-to-date distribution maps for each species.

Beautifully designed to ensure critical information is quickly accessible, this is an indispensable resource that every whale-watcher in the USA, Mexico or Canada will be carrying out to sea in search of these awesome mammals.

Contents

How to use this book
The challenges of identification
Cetacean topography
Barnacles to whale lice
Quick ID guides
Information for working at sea

Right and bowhead whales (family Balaenidae)
Gray whale (family Eschrichtiidae)
Rorquals (family Balaenopteridae)
Sperm whales (families Physeteridae, Kogiidae)
Narwhal and beluga (family Monodontidae)
Beaked whales (family Ziphiidae)
Blackfish (family Delphinidae)
Shorter-beaked oceanic dolphins (family Delphinidae)
Longer-beaked oceanic dolphins (family Delphinidae)
Porpoises (family Phocoenidae)

Caring for whales, dolphins and porpoises
Glossary
North American species checklist
Sources and resources
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

Mark Carwardine is a zoologist, wildlife photographer, whale-watch operator and an active and outspoken conservationist, with a special interest in cetaceans. His TV series include BBC's Last Chance to See with Stephen Fry, and for many years he presented the weekly half-hour programme Nature on BBC Radio 4. Mark has written more than 50 books on wildlife and conservation, including the Handbook of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises and Mark Carwardine's Guide to Whale Watching in North America.