A very large coffee table book with matching large pictures. I should not have been surprised to learn that trying to precisely define the distinction between various raptors is not easy. ( )

paul d. frost's 'birds of prey' is a handy and informative book for a variety of people: the novice bird enthusiast, those seeking a brief introduction on these birds, or simply those who like to look at pictures of animals. the words are useful, but the pictures themselves are worth the price of admission.

although not especially comprehensive, it does provide the basic information about all of the groups that are considered birds of prey (or 'raptors', as frost calls them): eagles, hawks, vultures, and owls. while a few species are shoe-horned into these groups to make the book more organized (the osprey, for example), and this is admitted by frost due to the difficulty of classifying some birds, there is a separate section for two single species as well (the secretarybird and the caracas). overall, there is a good amount of information as well as a few side stories or interesting facts about several species.

my only complaints are these: that, at times, the pictures are not firmly tied to the text, and also, that there is no chart explaining what separates the birds from each other. this latter complaint is nit-picky, but it still would have been useful to have a clear-cut visual aid on this topic.

all in all, a very fun read with wonderful pictures. recommended, and i personally await any future books to come from paul d. frost. ( )