Herons, the graceful predators of swamps, wetlands and lake margins, are often the abiding memory for bird lovers after a days birding in the marshes. For the general nature lover, they are a portrait symbol of the wild free places and the grandeur of the natural world. North American herons live in a complex world. Most of them congregate in colonies either large or small, and they are joined by many birds that share their nesting sites. Most of these different species live together in harmony, but inevitably such gatherings attract predators and scavengers. James Hancock, a veteran traveler and lover of herons the world over, gives a pocket guide in words and photographs to the lives of these birds and their, sadly, often endangered habitats. The book seeks to describe the many and varied creatures that make up the world of the herons. Key Features: Over 100 color photographs Anecdotes and personal observation bring the birds to life Reliable in fact, but not heavy-going "It is the diversity of the information that keeps the reader interested." ― Ibis " Herons of North America includes all the North American herons, egrets, and bitterns, including a section on 'Visitors''(vagrants). There are also sections on 'Family' (ibises, spoonbills, and storks), 'Friends' (cormorants, pelicans, and Anhinga), and 'Foes' (eagles, hawks, vultures, crows, grackles, raccoons, and alligators). The bulk of the book is comprised of species accounts of the 12 herons species that breed in North America. The brief texts--never more than two facing pages--are followed by 2 to 14 photographs of each species." ― Birding "This book gives a fascinating insight into the lives of herons." ― BTO News James Hancock was born in Sheffield, England. He has been involved in wildlife and conservation projects in many parts of the world for over 50 years. Hancock is author of Birds of the Wetlands and Herons and Egrets of the World and co-author of Herons of the World, The Herons Handbook, and Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World. He has written many articles in international journals, and has lectured in many countries from Western Europe to Kenya, India, South America, the United States and China. Hancock is past President of the British Trust for Ornithology, and has served on the councils of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society, and the Hants and Isle of Wight Naturalist Trust. He is currently President of the Hampshire Ornithological Society. Hancock is a past treasurer of the International Council for Bird Preservation British Section and was Chairman of the 1937 Bird Club. He has been honored on both sides of the Atlantic, receiving in the U.K. the OBE for services to ornithology from Her Majesty The Queen in the 1991 New Year's Honours List and the Jubilee Medal from the BTO in 1992. In America he was elected a corresponding Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union in 1995 and in 1996 received the prestigious Kai-Curry Lindahl award for conservation from the Colonial Waterbird Society.