Preface
by Virginia Marie Peterson
Text: 1 2 3 4    Plate Detail: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Roger Tory Peterson's consuming passion in his later years was to complete the fifth edition of his Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America. After the publication of his Western Birds in 1990, he immediately set about this formidable task -- and he almost made it. The morning of July 28, 1996, Roger was painting his final bird plate. He died peacefully in his sleep later that day. He had completed 85 percent of his book.

Some months before his death, while we were working in the studio on the fifth edition, Roger came into my map room and asked, "Dear, what if I don't finish it?" Believing that he would live to be 100 years old, I said, "Roger, don't worry -- it will get done." Always aware of how much Roger wanted to offer his new field guide to the legion of bird watchers who were waiting for it, and feeling the weight of my promise to him, I began planning. After his estate was settled, I gathered the most knowledgeable consultants possible to help me. Only with their expert help was the fifth edition of this field guide completed.