Roger Tory Peterson
On Our Website: Video Podcasts!
Richly illustrated with paintings, photographs, and sound recordings of featured birds, these video podcasts are an entertaining and educational supplement to the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America. You may view and download three hours of podcasts from our web site. Choose from the cateogries below:
Family Overviews Species Profiles Biography TutorialsBiography
The Peterson Identification System
What set A Field Guide to the Birds apart from the other guides of the day was what has since become known as the Peterson Identification System. Peterson’s guide grouped similar species together on one page and used arrows to designate important field marks clearly. This allowed quick identification of a live bird. Previous guides required making a series of observations and measurements, usually assuming that the reader had a dead bird in hand. Peterson credits his artistic, nonbiological training with enabling him to create a visual system not strictly tied to scientific classification. So significant was the success of his identification system that, while in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1940-1943) Peterson was asked to adapt his technique to create a plane-spotting manual.
In 1941, Peterson wrote his second bird guide, A Field Guide to Western Birds. Peterson’s field guides were so popular that Houghton Mifflin extended the identification system to other realms of the natural world. This best-selling series now includes 48 books and 6 audio recordings. An instructional video featuring Peterson, 18 “First Guides‚” 14 “FlashGuides‚” and 14 coloring books have also been published.
In 1941, Peterson wrote his second bird guide, A Field Guide to Western Birds. Peterson’s field guides were so popular that Houghton Mifflin extended the identification system to other realms of the natural world. This best-selling series now includes 48 books and 6 audio recordings. An instructional video featuring Peterson, 18 “First Guides‚” 14 “FlashGuides‚” and 14 coloring books have also been published.
The End of an Era
Still working on the fifth edition of his landmark A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America, still working on several other book projects, still traveling to speak to others and share his love of birds, and still traveling to see his beloved birds, Roger Tory Peterson died on July 28, 1996, at the age of 87. He leaves behind millions of people whose lives were enriched by his teachings about the natural world. He also leaves an enduring challenge to those of us left on this earth: to find a way to live on the planet that respects and sustains the natural order that protects and nourishes us all. Roger Peterson would also have us recognize the beauty of this world while we are here, and, with him, celebrate the joy of its creatures.
References
Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, vol. 1, edited by Ann Evory. Gale Research Co., Detroit, MI. 1981.
Roger Tory Peterson: Art and Photography of the World’s Foremost Birder, edited by Roger Tory Peterson and Rudy Hoglund. Rizzoli, New York, NY. 1994.
Who’s Who in America 1996, vol. 2, edited by Harriet Tiger. Reed Reference Publishing Co., New Providence, NJ. 1995.
The World of Roger Tory Peterson, John C. Devlin and Grace Naismith. New York Times Books, New York, NY. 1977.
References
Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, vol. 1, edited by Ann Evory. Gale Research Co., Detroit, MI. 1981.
Roger Tory Peterson: Art and Photography of the World’s Foremost Birder, edited by Roger Tory Peterson and Rudy Hoglund. Rizzoli, New York, NY. 1994.
Who’s Who in America 1996, vol. 2, edited by Harriet Tiger. Reed Reference Publishing Co., New Providence, NJ. 1995.
The World of Roger Tory Peterson, John C. Devlin and Grace Naismith. New York Times Books, New York, NY. 1977.
Introducing the founder of our field guide series:
Roger Tory Peterson
Roger Tory Peterson, the artist, the photographer, the writer, the guide who turned the skies into a cathedral for the worship of living things ... [is] one of America's most talented men.
- PETER JENNINGS, ABC World News Tonight, recognizing Roger Tory Peterson as Person of the Week.