Critters who drop clues to their identities

From its dazzling photographs and clear diagrams to its richly detailed text, this 700-plus-page reference manual teaches the sometime and even full-time naturalist to read the mysterious signs that hundreds of different animals leave behind. Beginners can quickly learn to discern a coyote’s track from a cougar’s, and to spot the traces of a kangaroo rat’s dust bath. There are tips on how to not just spot tracks but also to take them home with you, via plaster casting and track plating. For naturalists of a certain fiber there is even a comprehensive photographic guide to scat. Recently recognized with a National Outdoor Book Award, this comprehensive title tops the heap.

-- David Lukas