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Recommended resources The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has an excellent collection of nature photos including most common birds and mammals as well as plants at their digital image library Almost all of the photos online are in the public domain and can be downloaded and used in reports and projects without requesting special permission. They ask only that you give credit to the USFWS and the photographer whose name is listed with the photo. Alderfer, Jonathan (ed.). National Geographic Field Guide to Birds: Arizona/New Mexico Alsop, Fred J. III. Birds of North America: Western Region. New York: DK Publishing Co., 2001. A wonderful bird guide, with the elegant combination of information and graphics that are a trademark of DK Publishing. This book is currently out of print, but you may be able to find it at your local library or used book store. Bailowitz, Richard. 70 Common Butterflies of the Southwest Barlowe, Dot. The Sonoran Desert by Day and Night. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 2002. Bowers, Janice Emily. Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Deserts. Tucson: Southwest Parks and Monuments Assoc., 1993. Brennan, Thomas C. and Andrew T. Holycross. A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles in Arizona. Phoenix: Arizona Game and Fish Department, 2006. Burns, Jim. Jim Burns' Arizona Birds: From the Backyard to the Backwoods. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2008. This book, which concentrates on the hard to find species avid birders can pursue only in Arizona, omits many of the birds you are likely to see in Arizona in favor of lesser-known species that reach the northern limits of their range in Arizona or the southwest and species that are wanderers from Mexico. If you're looking for tips on where to look for a rare Lucifer's hummingbird or Nutting's flycatcher, this is the book for you. If you want a book that covers more of the birds you might actually see in Arizona, try Jonathan Alderfer's Field Guide to Birds: Arizona and New Mexico listed above. Chambers, Nina et al. Pollinators of the Sonoran Desert: A Field Guide. Tucson: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2004. Cockrum, E. Lendell and Yar Petryszyn. Mammals of the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. Tucson: Treasure Chest Publications, 1992. Black-and-white drawings. Dodge, Natt N. Flowers of the Southwest Deserts. Tucson: Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1985. Dunn, Erica H. and Diane L. Tessaglia-Hymes. Birds at Your Feeder: A Guide to Feeding Habits, Behavior, Distribution, and Abundance. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999. Compiles information provided by thousands of feeder owners enrolled in Project FeederWatch. Elmore, Francis H. Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Uplands. Tucson: Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1976. Epple, Anne Orth. A Field Guide to the Plants of Arizona Gray, Mary Taylor. Watchable Birds of the Southwest. Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company, 1995. Large color photos of the birds you are most likely to spot. Hanson, Roseann. Animal Tracks. Guilford, CT: The Globe Pequot Press, 2001. Hare, Trevor. Poisonous Dwellers of the Desert: Description, Habitat, Prevention, Treatment Hassler, Lynn. Birds of the American Southwest, Expanded Edition (Wild West) Jaeger, Edmund C. Desert Wild Flowers. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991. _______________ Desert Wildlife. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1950, 1961. Excellent descriptions of desert birds and animals in an easygoing style which will appeal to readers of all ages. Kaufman, Kenn. Lives of North American Birds. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996. This is the book for you if you want to know more about the bird than just its identification. Kaufman gives complete information on habitat, feeding, nesting, migration and conservation status. Kaufman, Lynn Hassler. Gambel's Quail (Look West Series) _________________ Roadrunners (Look West Series) Larson, Peggy Pickering. The Deserts of the Southwest: A Sierra Club Naturalist's Guide (Sierra Club Naturalist's Guides) Martin, Alexander C. et al. American Wildlife and Plants: A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits. New York: Dover Publications, 1961. Extensive compilation of information gathered by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; maps show range and diagrams illustrate seasonal food habits. McMillon, Bill. Birding Arizona. Helena, Montana: Falcon Press Publishing Company, 1995. Gives 45 specific birding locations with maps and lists of the birds to be found at each one. Merlin, Pinau. A Guide to Southern Arizona Bird Nests & Eggs __________ A Field Guide to Desert Holes, Revised Edition Olin, George. 50 Common Mammals of the Southwest. Tucson: Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 2000. Tekiela, Stan. Mammals of Arizona Field Guide (Arizona Field Guides) . Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications, 2008. A small format book just packed with information about all the mammals you might find in Arizona from the tiny desert shrew to the black bear. There are 3 pages of information on each animal, plus a full page photo and several smaller photos.
Sibley, David Allen. Sibley's Birding Basics. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. Information on how to get started in birding. ______________. The Sibley Guide to Birds. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. A complete guide to identifying birds of the U.S. ______________. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001. Includes general information about birds along with detailed descriptions of the adaptations and life patterns of the bird families of North America. Soffer, Ruth. North American Desert Life. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1994. Thompson, Bill et al. IDentify Yourself: The 50 Most Common Birding Identification Challenges. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005. A collection of articles from Bird Watcher's Digest magazine. ___________________________________________________________
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. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2006. This handy, really pocket-size (4x6) guide includes most of the birds you're likely to see in Arizona. In addition to a photo, it includes information about behavior, habitat and specific local sites where you are likely to find the bird.
. Tucson: Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1997.
. Helena, MT: Falcon Publishing, Inc., 1995. More than 800 excellent photos and complete descriptions of plants.
Tucson: Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1995. A short, reasonably priced guide to venomous desert life--how to avoid getting bit and what to do if you do, illustrated by Barbara Terkanian.
. Tucson: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2008. 
. Tucson: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2004.
. Tucson: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2005.
2nd edition. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 2000.
(Volume 1. Desert Areas). Tucson: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 2001. Describes ground nests (Gambel's Quail), cup nests (hummingbirds), platform nests (hawks), and cavity nests (woodpeckers and owls), as well as rarer types of nests. Information includes location, building materials, eggs, diet and feeding. Many drawings as well as a section of color photographs.
. Tucson: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Press, 2002. This revised edition includes 50 full-color photos, a great improvement on the previous edition.