The Art of Migration
Birds, Insects, and the Changing Seasons in Chicagoland
9780226046297
9780226046327
The Art of Migration
Birds, Insects, and the Changing Seasons in Chicagoland
Tiny ruby-throated hummingbirds weighing less than a nickel fly from the upper Midwest to Costa Rica every fall, crossing the six-hundred-mile Gulf of Mexico without a single stop. One of the many creatures that commute on the Mississippi Flyway as part of an annual migration, they pass along Chicago’s lakefront and through midwestern backyards on a path used by their species for millennia. This magnificent migrational dance takes place every year in Chicagoland, yet it is often missed by the region’s two-legged residents. The Art of Migration uncovers these extraordinary patterns that play out over the seasons. Readers are introduced to over two hundred of the birds and insects that traverse regions from the edge of Lake Superior to Lake Michigan and to the rivers that flow into the Mississippi.
As the only artist in residence at the Field Museum, Peggy Macnamara has a unique vantage point for studying these patterns and capturing their distinctive traits. Her magnificent watercolor illustrations capture flocks, movement, and species-specific details. The illustrations are accompanied by text from museum staff and include details such as natural histories, notable features for identification, behavior, and how species have adapted to environmental changes. The book follows a gentle seasonal sequence and includes chapters on studying migration, artist’s notes on illustrating wildlife, and tips on the best ways to watch for birds and insects in the Chicago area.
A perfect balance of science and art, The Art of Migration will prompt us to marvel anew at the remarkable spectacle going on around us.
As the only artist in residence at the Field Museum, Peggy Macnamara has a unique vantage point for studying these patterns and capturing their distinctive traits. Her magnificent watercolor illustrations capture flocks, movement, and species-specific details. The illustrations are accompanied by text from museum staff and include details such as natural histories, notable features for identification, behavior, and how species have adapted to environmental changes. The book follows a gentle seasonal sequence and includes chapters on studying migration, artist’s notes on illustrating wildlife, and tips on the best ways to watch for birds and insects in the Chicago area.
A perfect balance of science and art, The Art of Migration will prompt us to marvel anew at the remarkable spectacle going on around us.
See a gallery of paintings from the book.
224 pages | 54 color plates | 8 x 6 | © 2013
Art: Art--General Studies
Biological Sciences: Natural History
Reviews
Table of Contents
Foreword by John W. Fitzpatrick
Introduction by Peggy Macnamara
Introduction by Peggy Macnamara
Cover Plate The V-Formation: Sandhill Cranes
Migration and Other Strategies to Survive the Seasons
Plate 1 Routes of Some Migratory Birds and Insects
Plate 2 Types of Flight
Plate 3 February Gull Frolic
Plate 4 Flocking: Starlings
Plate 5 Dragonfly Flight
Plate 6 Butterfly and Moth Flight
Plate 1 Routes of Some Migratory Birds and Insects
Plate 2 Types of Flight
Plate 3 February Gull Frolic
Plate 4 Flocking: Starlings
Plate 5 Dragonfly Flight
Plate 6 Butterfly and Moth Flight
Spring
Plate 7 Herald of Spring: Red-winged Blackbird
Plate 8 Early Arrivals of Summer Residents: Sparrows
Plate 9 Dave’s Big Four
Plate 10 Spring Migrant Warblers in the Chicago Area
Plate 11 Spring Storm Aftermath
Plate 12 Ducks in Flight: Northern Shoveler
Plate 13 Spring Field Insects
Plate 14 Warblers That Nest in the Chicago Area
Plate 15 Shorebirds
Plate 16 Spring Wetland and Woodland Insects
Summer
Plate 17 Summer Marsh
Plate 18 Dragonflies
Plate 19 Summer Waterbirds
Plate 20 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Plate 21 Summer Evening Insects
Plate 22 Sphinx Moths
Plate 23 Red-tailed Hawk
Plate 24 Kathy’s Field
Plate 25 Field and Meadow Insects
Plate 26 Insects of Planted Fields
Plate 27 American Goldfinch and Eastern Bluebird
Fall
Plate 28 Common Silhouettes around Chicago
Plate 29 Fall Insects
Plate 30 City Raptors
Plate 31 Timed Travelers: Green Darner and American Kestrel
Plate 32 Vireos from the Field Museum Terrace
Plate 33 Monarch Butterfly Migration in Mexico
Plate 34 Fall Migrant Warblers in the Chicago Area
Plate 35 October Lakefront
Plate 36 Kinglets
Plate 37 Woodpeckers
Plate 38 Fall and Winter Residents
Plate 39 American Goldfinch in Fall
Plate 40 Fall Game Birds
Winter
Plate 41 Winter Flock
Plate 42 Sacks, Silk, and Galls: Overwintering Insects
Plate 43 Three Chicago Owls with Blue Jays
Plate 44 Snow Birds and Insects
Plate 45 Snowy Owl
Plate 46 Winter Lakeshore
Plate 47 Household Insects
Studying Migration
Plate 48 Nine Days in May
Plate 49 Scenes from the Division of Birds Prep Lab, Field Museum
Plate 50 Preparing a Bird Study Skin
Plate 51 Monitoring Butterflies on Northerly Island
Conclusion
Watching Birds and Insects in Chicago
Further Reading
Contributor Biographies
Watching Birds and Insects in Chicago
Further Reading
Contributor Biographies
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