Folks who are, or might be, seriously interested in Ohio birds have, or ought to have, a copy of Peterjohn's "The Birds of Ohio." This 637-page well-bound paperback volume, published in 2001, is the authoritative text on the subject; there is a 1989 edition in a coffee-table format which is missing a lot of newer information, and which features some full-page illustrations, which are nice but hardly necessary for the serious user. Now I hear this book is out of print. The publisher, the Wooster Book Company of Wooster, Ohio, probably has copies, but no longer lists it in its on-line catalog. There are the usual internet lists of copies for sale, which this morning ranged from 68 cents to 64 dollars per copy. Take my advice if you don't have a copy: get one soon. Doubtless there are still some fresh copies in bookstores--we all remember those, right?--that run just over $20. If you are just getting started in birding, you will eventually need this important reference, but you may not be able to find it when you do. I use it all the time, and because it has a clunky 30-page index I have for years offered a handy short version you can paste inside the back cover; write me if you'd like a file you can print off. This important work will remain on library shelves, but any reader of this list without a personal copy should acquire one pretty quick. If you plan to learn more about Ohio's birdlife you cannot be without it. Bill Whan Columbus ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]