I was just wondering if any of you have any really good field guides for identifying herps you come across while you are out herping?
My 'guide' is a joke. Its a guide to north american wildlife that only has drawings as opposed to pictures and it sums up reptiles in 11 pages and amphibians in seven.

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Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.

~*~Lacey~*~

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My favorites for the US are the very old "A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians" by Robert C. Stebbins for the Western USA and for the Eastern USA, "A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, by Roger Conant both of which are written by well known herpetologists and both books are sponsored by the National Audubon Society and National Wildlife Federation. As I stated they are very old and the taxonomy is in many cases outdated, but they have served me well for decades.

There is a newer one by the Audubon Society, "The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians" by Behler and King. They are also well recognized herpetologists.

Another old but good field guide (also a bit outdated in taxonomy) is the Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific States, by Gayle Pickwell. Even with the updates in nomenclature, there has been many changes since.

If you live in the San Diego area, Jeff Lemm, a leading field reseacher for CRES (Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species) in association with the San Diego Zoo, is soon going to have a field guide published specifically for the San Diego Area.

Hope this helps you out,
Michael

Thank you! I'll have to look for a couple of those. I'm not too concerned if the taxonomy is off, I just want to atleast be able to know common names of the herps that I find.

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Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

I just use Matt, AKA Furryscaley, j/k. I've also got one from the National Audubon Society. It is called First Field Guide Reptiles-I think I won it from a contest on this site some time ago. It has been useful to me on several occasions.

Yeah I like to figure them out without having to ask Matt, he's my last resort. It makes me look smarter if I an figure it out without having to ask him

__________________

Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

Lacey, I have the same one as Michael. Western Reptiles and Amphibians by Robert C Stebbins. It's great. There's lots of drawings and photos and it's over 500 pages, worth every penny.

We use Amphibians and reptiles of Pennsylvania and the north east
long title great book a bit pricey

National Audubon Society field guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of North America good book to carry with you small size and good pics

Peterson field guide to Reptiles and Amphibians eastern central North America
not crazy about the pic lay out many animals per plate I prefer single color plates but a good book

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how did a fool and his money get together ?

Yeah I haven't looked around much for any of the others, but i've found "Western Reptiles and Amphibians" for pretty cheap on Amazon.com.

__________________

Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

Bah, you'll need a lot more than that to make you look smarter

Hehe, that was mean. I kid, I kid

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+5 bonus points to whoever finds me a job!

"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." - John Benfield

Yeah well I could still kick your butt at a flower identifying contest....but i'm not so sure that that is something to be proud of...but still...its one of the few things im alright at!

__________________

Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos