City Nature Challenge: Western Mass
Information and resources on Western Mass participation in the international City Nature Challenge community and citizen science ecology event.
Species Identification Is Hard!
Don't be discouraged if figuring out which species you've observed is more difficult than you expect! Many organisms you may recognize, and know the common name for, refer to several specific species. Is it a Common Dandelion or a Red Dandelion? An Eastern Chipmunk or a Least Chipmunk? While it is tempting to just pick the species most common to your geographic area, this leads to missing changes in a species' range, or the start of a new invasive species. What if no one thought it could be an Asian Longhorn Beetle because they're only found in Asia?
It's frustrating but the best way to get better at identifying species is to practice, and take the time to be confident of your IDs so you don't build bad habits. Below I list some resources from iNaturalist on becoming a better IDer, as well as some online field guides available to the UMass Amherst community (you will need a NetID) and species keys freely available online.
You DON'T Need To Know Them All
Remember that iNaturalist is a community! If evergreen identification isn't your strong suit, there may be someone in the community just itching to try out their New England arborist certification. If you have no idea what species of tick you found on your dog, take the best photos you can and don't worry about IDing more specifically than "tick" when you post it - I know there are tick ecologists on iNaturalist personally.
I recommend you only ID to the level you are confident. If you're sure of the Genus but don't know which of the dozen species it is, leave it at Genus! If you're only sure of Order, Family, or even Kingdom, leave it at that. There are filters on iNaturalist that will help people who are experts find observations which "Need ID" by any of those categories.
iNaturalist Identification Help Resources
iNaturalist has robust help documentation, including video tutorials, details about how the platform works and community standards, and advice on improving your observations and species ID skills. Here are some links to Species ID resources to get you started:
- Getting Started: Identifying SpeciesDetails of how the species ID process works within the iNaturalist community. Click the Identifying Species tab.
- How To Become a Better IdentifierDescribes some tips and best practices to improve your ID skills. Includes an overview of how species keys work.
Free Resources - Online Species Keys
Use species keys to narrow down your choices to a specific species. You already do some of this when you count the legs on the small scurrying insect and determine it's an arachnid because of the 8 legs. It's a game of Guess Who, eliminating the possibilities based on observable characteristics, until you're left with the right one. Do the needles of this evergreen come in groups of 2, 3, or 5? It takes patience and persistence, and it's the way that professionals train to identify the correct species.
- Discover LifeProvides free on-line tools to identify species, teach and study nature's wonders, report findings, build maps, process images, and contribute to and learn from a growing, interactive encyclopedia of life with 1,418,752 species pages and 819,848 maps.
- Go BotanyWant to know what that plant is? With our Simple Key, you can identify over 1,200 common native and naturalized New England plants! Observe closely, collect a sample or take a photo, answer some questions, and narrow down to the correct identification.
- BugGuideCollects photographs of bugs from the United States and Canada for identification and research. Summarizes findings in guide pages for each order, family, genus, and species.
Field Guide General Information
There are a wide variety of field guides, from the general ones that cover the most common species in a certain geographic region to much more specialized ones that focus on a particular phylum, class, order, or family, or a much more specific area, or both. They help you identify the species of your observation in a different way than a species key does (above), relying much more heavily on a general visual match, though many field guides also include partial species keys for trickier characteristics. For the City Nature Challenge, I've highlighted guides the UMass Libraries own which cover organisms within Western Mass.
The University of Massachusetts holds many field guides in both physical and eBook formats. Members of the campus community can access the eBooks with their NetID login, or borrow the physical books from the Libraries. For those without a UMass NetID or borrower's card, I recommend looking for these titles or other field guides in your area of interest at your local public library.
Kaufman Field Guide to Nature of New England by Call Number: UM Science - QH82.3.U6 K38 2012ISBN: 9780618456970Publication Date: 2012Whether you're walking in the woods or along the beach, camping, hiking, canoeing, or just enjoying your own backyard, this book will help identify all your nature discoveries. With authoritative and broad coverage, using nontechnical and lively language and more than 2,000 color photographs, this guide is an essential reference for nature lovers living in or visiting New England.
HarperCollins Complete North American Wildlife by Call Number: UM Science - QL151 .B47 2003ISBN: 0060933933Publication Date: 2003Covers woodland, meadow, mountain, and shoreline encounters with all common and not so common flora and fauna, HarperCollins Complete North American Wildlife is organized taxonomically with each species grouped by natural relationships and similarities. Birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, insects, spiders, mollusks, wildflowers, trees, and shrubs are all easily identifiable here with stunning photography and clear descriptions.
Plant Field Guides
Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast by Call Number: eBook and UM Science - QK118 .D45 2010ISBN: 0801474582Publication Date: 2020 and 2010This lushly illustrated field guide to wild urban plants of the northeastern United States covers 222 species that flourish without human assistance or approval. Features descriptive information including scientific name and taxonomic authority, common names, botanical family, life form, place of origin, and identification features. Focuses especially on their habitat preferences, environmental functions, and cultural significance.
Illustrated Book of Trees by Call Number: UM Science - QK115 .G73 2002ISBN: 0811728110Publication Date: 2002Includes distinguishing characteristics and similar-species comparisons for quick and accurate identification. Readers will be able to easily identify a species by observing the leaves, flowers, and fruits of a tree in summer or its twigs, buds, and bark in winter.
Trees of Eastern North America by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781400852994Publication Date: 2014Features superior descriptions; thousands of meticulous color paintings by David More that illustrate important visual details; range maps that provide a thumbnail view of distribution for each native species; "Quick ID" summaries; a user-friendly layout; scientific and common names; the latest taxonomy; information on the most recently naturalized species; keys to leaves and twigs; and an introduction to tree identification, forest ecology, and plant classification and structure.
Trees of New England by Call Number: UM Du Bois - QK477.2.I4 O379 2013ISBN: 9781937146306Publication Date: 2013The main body of Trees of New England consists of 19 ink drawings of trees common to the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts, southern Vermont and southern New Hampshire. My motivation came from the lack of leaf images with sufficient quality to do key driven tree identification. The use of leaf keys is a means to train the eye for details relevant to distinguishing species well beyond the 19 found in this book.North American Wildland Plants by
Call Number: eBook and UM Science - SB193.3.N67 S88 2003ISBN: 0803243065Publication Date: 2017 and 2004Descriptions of the salient characteristics of the most important wildland plants of North America. This comprehensive reference assists individuals with limited botanical knowledge as well as natural resource professionals in identifying wildland plants. The two hundred species of wildland plants in this book were selected because of their abundance, desirability, or poisonous properties.
Woody Plants of the Northern Forest by Call Number: UM Science - QK118 .J46 2018ISBN: 1501719688Publication Date: 2018Illustrates the majority of the 265 species of woody plants present in the Northern forest and its associated communities. Intended a a quick reference for the rapid identification of twigs and leaves. Easily compare different species.
Woody Plants in Winter by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781935978275Publication Date: 2012A manual to identify trees and shrubs in winter when the lack of leaves, fruits, and flowers makes them least identifiable, Woody Plants in Winter has become a classic for naturalists, botanists, gardeners, and hobbyists.
Flora Novae Angliae by Call Number: eBook and UM Science - QK121 .H35 2011ISBN: 0300171544Publication Date: 2011A manual for the identification of native and naturalized vascular plants of New England
National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Wildflowers of North America by Call Number: UM Science - QK110 .B73 2010ISBN: 9781402741548Publication Date: 2010Provides the common and scientific names for each flower family; information on the flowering season; leaf, stalk, and blossom descriptions, with measurements; and color range maps of more than 700 species for both native and introduced types.
Wildflowers in the Field and Forest by Call Number: UM Science - QK117 .C54 2006ISBN: 9780195150056Publication Date: 2006Designed for easy use, the book features two-page spreads with descriptive text and range maps on one side facing pages of color photos on the other. The descriptions are concise, but thorough, and the range maps show both where the plant grows and what time of year it is likely to be in bloom.
Grasses of the Northeast by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781625340986Publication Date: 2014The only comprehensive technical guide devoted exclusively to this region, Grasses of the Northeast includes an illustrated glossary of essential terms and concepts and a "how to use this manual" section.
Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781400845880Publication Date: 2013A comprehensive guide to the mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians This is the first book to help general readers recognize 200 common mosses of the Northeast and the Appalachian Mountains. With just this field guide, a hand lens, and a spray bottle--no microscopes necessary--readers will be able to identify and name many of the common species of mosses growing in the region's backyards, parks, forests, wetlands, and mountains.
The Book of Seeds by Call Number: UM Science - SB118 .S65 2018ISBN: 9780226362236Publication Date: 2018The Book of Seeds takes readers through six hundred of the world's seed species, revealing their extraordinary beauty and rich diversity. Each page pairs a beautifully composed photo of a seed--life-size, and, in some cases, enlarged to display fine detail--with a short description, a map showing distribution, and information on conservation status.
Botany in a Day by Call Number: UM Science - QK110 .E46 2013ISBN: 9781892784353Publication Date: 2013Looking for a faster, easier, and engaging way to identify plants? Related plants have similar characteristics, and they often have similar uses. Rather than learning new plants one-at-a-time, it is possible to learn them by the hundreds, based on plant family patterns.
Bird Field Guides
- Birds of the World This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Birds of the World is a powerful research database that brings together deep, scholarly content from four celebrated works of ornithology with millions of bird observations from eBird and multimedia from the Macaulay Library into a single platform where biologists and birders can explore comprehensive life history information on birds.
The Crossley ID Guide by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781400839230Publication Date: 2011Unlike other guides, which provide isolated individual photographs or illustrations, this is the first book to feature large, lifelike scenes for each species. These scenes--640 in all--are composed from more than 10,000 of the author's images showing birds in a wide range of views--near and far, from different angles, in various plumages and behaviors, including flight, and in the habitat in which they live.
Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America by Call Number: UM Science - QL681 .P455 2008ISBN: 0618966145Publication Date: 2008Combines the Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Birds and Peterson Field Guide to Western Birds into one volume, filled with accessible, concise information and including almost three hours of video podcasts to make bird watching even easier. *URL in guide.
The Sibley Guide to Birds by Call Number: UM Science - QL681 .S497 2000ISBN: 0679451226Publication Date: 2000Beautifully detailed illustrations-more than 6,600 in all-and descriptions of 810 species and 350 regional populations. Illustrations are arranged to facilitate comparison, yet still capture the unique character of each species.
Rare Birds of North America by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781400848072Publication Date: 2014Features 275 stunning color plates that depict every species Explains patterns of occurrence by region and season Provides an invaluable overview of vagrancy patterns and migration Includes detailed species accounts and cutting-edge identification tips
Hawks at a Distance by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781400838264Publication Date: 2011The field guide's nineteen full-color portraits, 558 color photos, and 896 black-and-white images portray shapes and plumages for each species from all angles. Useful flight identification criteria are provided and the accompanying text discusses all aspects of in-flight hawk identification.Peterson Field Guide to Advanced Birding by
Call Number: UM Science - QL681 .K38 1990ISBN: 0395535174Publication Date: 1990Birding challenges and how to approach them.
Mammal Field Guides
Mammals of North America by Call Number: eBook and UM Science - QL715 .K38 2002ISBN: 9781400833504Publication Date: 2009 and 2002Beautiful and accurate color illustrations of all 462 mammals found in the United States and Canada--including 20 species recognized since 2002 112 color plates--including 13 new ones Key identification information--fully revised--on facing pages The most current taxonomy/species list Fully revised, easy-to-read range maps Illustrations of tracks, scat, and whale and dolphin dive sequences
Felids and Hyenas of the World by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780691211862Publication Date: 2020Covering and illustrating every species and subspecies, the guide features more than 150 superb full-color plates that incorporate more than 600 photographs and show species in similar poses for quick and easy comparison. Drawing on the latest taxonomy and research, the facing-page species accounts provide distribution maps, common and scientific names, and detailed information on key identification features, distribution, behavior, reproduction, similar species, habitat, conservation status, and where to observe each species.
Canids of the World: Wolves, Wild Dogs, Foxes, Jackals, Coyotes, and Their Relatives by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780691185415Publication Date: 2018This stunningly illustrated and easy-to-use field guide covers every species of the world's canids, from the Gray Wolf of North America to the dholes of Asia, from African jackals to the South American Bush Dog.
Exotic Animal Field Guide : Nonnative Hoofed Mammals in the United States by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781603444934Publication Date: 2007Fully illustrated species accounts of eighty different kinds of hoofed animals, with native range maps and information about food habits, habitat, temperament, breeding and birth seasons, and fencing needs. Photographs of each species make the book both attractive and useful as a field tool.
Mammal Tracks and Sign by Call Number: UM Science - QL715 .E43 2019ISBN: 9780811737746Publication Date: 2019More than 1300 photos and 450 illustrations for easy comparison and identification of similar sign. Each species account includes information on tracks and trails, scat and urine, nests and lodges, as well as sign on the ground, in trees and shrubs, on fungi and on plants.
Scats and Tracks of North America by Call Number: UM Science - QL768 .H344 2019ISBN: 9781493043026Publication Date: 2019Clearly written descriptions and illustrations of scats, tracks, and gait patterns will help you recognize species across the entire continent. An identification key, a glossary of tracking terms, and detailed instructions on how to document your finds are also included here.
Reptile & Amphibian Field Guides
Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition by Call Number: UM Science - QL651 .C65 2016ISBN: 9780544129979Publication Date: 2016More than 100 color photographs and 322 color distribution maps accompany the species descriptions. Clear and concise species accounts provide key characteristics, similar species, habitats, and ranges, as well as subspecies, voice descriptions, and conservation status.
A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians by Call Number: UM Science - QL651 .C65 1998ISBN: 0395904528Publication Date: 1998This newly designed field guides features detailed descriptions of 595 species and subspecies.The 656 full-color illustrations and 384 drawings show key details for accurate identification. More than 100 color photographs and 333 color distribution maps accompany the species descriptions.
Guide and Reference to the Crocodilians, Turtles, and Lizards of Eastern and Central North America (North of Mexico) by Call Number: UM Science - QL666.C9 B37 2006ISBN: 0813029465Publication Date: 2006Each species account is accompanied by a color photo, distribution map, and description including appearance, behavior, range, habitat, and prey.
Guide and Reference to the Snakes by Call Number: UM Science - QL666.O6 B3293 2005ISBN: 081302935XPublication Date: 2006Illustrated with 251 color photos showing species, subspecies and most natural intergrades and color phases. The descriptive text combines details of appearance, naturally occurring color morphs, behavior, range/habitat, prey, and look-alikes with the authors' personal field observations. Enhancing the text are 98 distribution maps. For ease of use, photos, range maps, and descriptive text are presented on the same page.
The Book of Frogs by Call Number: UM Science Ref - QL668.E2 H245 2016ISBN: 9780226184654Publication Date: 2016Six hundred of nature's most fascinating frog species are displayed, with each entry including a distribution map, sketches of the frogs, species identification, natural history, and conservation status. Life-size color photos show the frogs at their actual size--including the colossal seven-pound Goliath Frog.
Insect & Arachnid Field Guides
Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity by Call Number: UM Science - QL473 .M33 2017ISBN: 9781770859623Publication Date: 2017Comprehensive reference on insects featuring an easy identification guide using 28 picture keys, 4000 color photographs taken in the field (not pinned specimens), expert advice on observing insects, and more.
Garden Insects of North America by Call Number: eBook and UM Science - SB605.N7 C73 2018ISBN: 9781400888948Publication Date: 2018Featuring 3,300 full-color photos and concise, detailed text, this fully revised book covers the hundreds of species of insects and mites associated with fruits and vegetables, shade trees and shrubs, flowers and ornamental plants, and turfgrass--from aphids and bumble bees to leafhoppers and mealybugs to woollybears and yellowjacket wasps--and much more.
A Field Guide to the Ants of New England by Call Number: eBook and UM Science - QL568.F7 F37 2012ISBN: 0300169302Publication Date: 2012Ants and the New England landscape -- Ant basics : evolution, ecology, and behavior -- Observing, catching, and collecting ants -- Identifying ants -- Descriptions of, and and keys to, the subfamilies, genera, and species of New England ants -- The biogeography of New England ants.
- Field Guide to Ticks
Tick species identification and more from the University of Rhode Island's Tick Encounter Lab.
A Swift Guide to Butterflies of North America by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781400887774Publication Date: 2017This is a revised second edition of the most detailed, comprehensive, and user-friendly photographic field guide to the butterflies of North America. For most species, there are photographs of topsides and undersides, males and females, and variants. Detailed, same-page range maps include information about the number of broods in each area and where strays have been recorded. Color text boxes highlight information about habitat, caterpillar food plants, abundance and flight period, and other interesting facts.
A Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies by Call Number: eBook and UM Science - QL551.E16 O65 1998ISBN: 0395904536Publication Date: 1998One hundred color photographs as well as 348 color range maps accompany the species descriptions. The 541 exquisite color paintings clearly show even the most minute field marks.
Butterflies Through Binoculars by Call Number: UM Science - QL551.N65 G58 1993ISBN: 0195079833Publication Date: 1993Find, identify, and enjoy the nearly 160 species that inhabit the Northeast. Butterflies Through Binoculars is the first butterfly guide to combine the immediacy and vividness of actual photographs of living butterflies, in their natural poses and in the correct size relationship to related species.
Caterpillars in the Field and Garden by Call Number: eBook and UM Science - QL548 .A44 2005ISBN: 0195149874Publication Date: 2005Caterpillar seekers will learn how to distinguish between butterfly caterpillars and moth caterpillars, where and how to find caterpillars, and the visual differences between young and older caterpillars. Each species section describes how to identify the caterpillar, complete with brilliant photos--many published here for the first time.
Beetles by Call Number: UM Science - QL573 .M37 2018ISBN: 9780228100690Publication Date: 2018Essential information about importance, range, behavior and biology is provided for each group, and easily used photographic keys to most families are provided for those wishing to use the book as an identification guide. The profusely illustrated keys in Beetles, linked to the unprecedented photographic coverage of the world's beetle families and subfamilies, enable readers to identify most families of beetles quickly and accurately, and to readily access information about each family as well as hundreds of distinctive genera and species.
Beetles of Eastern North America by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781400851829Publication Date: 2014-06-08Lavishly illustrated with over 1,500 stunning color images, the book features an engaging and authoritative text by noted beetle expert Arthur Evans. Also included are tips on where and when to find beetles; how to photograph, collect, and rear beetles; and how to contribute to research.
The Bees in Your Backyard by Call Number: eBook and UM Science - QL567.1.U6 W55 2016ISBN: 9781400874156Publication Date: 2016Provides an engaging introduction to the roughly 4,000 different bee species found in the United States and Canada, dispelling common myths about bees while offering essential tips for telling them apart in the field.
Bumble Bees of North America by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9781400851188Publication Date: 2014Richly illustrated with color photographs, diagrams, range maps, and graphs of seasonal activity patterns, this guide allows amateur and professional naturalists to identify all 46 bumble bee species found north of Mexico and to understand their ecology and changing geographic distributions.
Field Guide to the Flower Flies of Northeastern North America by Call Number: eBook and UM Science - QL537.S9 S58 2019ISBN: 9780691189406Publication Date: 2019Found in a varied range of habitats, from backyard gardens to aquatic ecosystems, these flies are often overlooked because many of their species mimic bees or wasps. Despite this, many species are distinctive and even subtly differentiated species can be accurately identified. This handy and informative guide teaches you how.
Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East by Call Number: eBook and UM Science - QL520 .D73 2008ISBN: 9781400839667Publication Date: 2011 and 2008First fully illustrated guide to all 336 dragonfly and damselfly species of eastern North America. Features hundreds of color photos that depict all the species found in the region, detailed line drawings to aid in-hand identification, and a color distribution map for every species.
A Field Guide to the Dragonflies and Damselflies of Massachusetts by Call Number: eBook and UM Science - QL520.2 .U6 N56 2003Publication Date: 2003Full color photos of males and females of each species that can be found in Massachusetts, along with descriptions of habits, and where you might find them.
Fungi Field Guides
Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms of North America, Second Edition by Call Number: UM Science - QK604.5 .M35 2021ISBN: 9780544236110Publication Date: 2021Covering most of the common edible and poisonous species readers are likely to encounter, this portable-sized field guide takes a new, simple approach to the method of mushroom identification based on key features that do not require a microscope or technical vocabulary. Watercolor illustrations focus on the distinguishing details of each species, thereby serving as an ideal tool for beginner and intermediate mycologists alike.
Field Guide to Common Macrofungi in Eastern Forests and Their Ecosystem Functions by Call Number: eBookPublication Date: 2011USDA Technical Report: Intended to serve as a quick reference to selected, common macrofungi (fungi with large fruit bodies such as mushrooms, brackets, or conks) frequently encountered in four broad forest ecosystems in the Midwest and Northeast: aspen-birch, northern hardwoods, lowland conifers, and upland conifers. Identifying characteristics to allow you to identify some down to the species level and others to
the genus or group to which they belong.
Boletes of Eastern North America by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780815653943Publication Date: 2016Extensive descriptions and more than 350 rich color photographs. Each species listing includes the most recent scientific name with existing synonyms; common names when applicable; and an overview that includes field impressions, similar species, and detailed information about habitat, fruiting frequency, and geographic distribution.
Lichens of North America by Call Number: UM Science Ref - QK586.5 .B76 2001 +ISBN: 0300082495Publication Date: 2001NOTE: Oversized book, home reference rather than field guide.
Presenting superb color photographs, descriptions, distribution maps, and keys for identifying the most common, conspicuous, or ecologically significant species. The book focuses on 805 foliose, fruticose, and crustose lichens (the latter rarely included in popular guidebooks) and presents information on another 700 species in the keys or notes; special attention is given to species endemic to North America.
Lichens above Treeline by Call Number: UM Science - QK587.5.N65 P67 2005ISBN: 1584654023Publication Date: 2005Provides full-color magnified photographs, a color bar for identification, scientific and common names, descriptive notes and information on growth forms, substrate, reproduction and comparisons to similar species, as well as references, a glossary, and a bibliography.
Microbe Field Guides
A Field Guide to Bacteria by Call Number: UM Science - QR100 .D946 2003ISBN: 0801439027Publication Date: 2003Many groups of bacteria can be easily identified in the field (or in the refrigerator) without a microscope. Whether you're walking on the beach, visiting a zoo or aquarium, buying groceries, looking for fossils, drinking beer, traipsing through a swamp, or cleaning scum from beneath a dripping outdoor faucet, you're surrounded by bacterial field marks. You don't need a laboratory or fancy equipment to find out what kind of bacteria are there―this guide will tell you how.
A Guide to Cyanobacteria by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780813175607Publication Date: 2018Written for nonspecialists in a clear and straightforward style, this guide will help students, landowners, and citizen scientists identify different kinds of cyanobacteria and understand their impact on waterways, from neighborhood lakes and farm ponds to major river systems. The central feature of the book is a detailed key that systematically walks the reader through each step of the identification process.
Free-Living Freshwater Protozoa: A Colour Guide by Call Number: UM Science - QL366.5 .P37 1992ISBN: 0849377358Publication Date: 1992Written primarily for specialists as a guide to identifying approximately 350 of the most common kinds of freshwater protozoa, it also holds much that will be of real interest to the amateur naturalist. The book falls into three parts: an Introduction, the guide or Key, and concluding supplementary materials.
