What is a field guide?

Field manual is a type of reference book to be transmitted in the field to help identify plants and animals. Since they are to be transmitted outside, they are generally relatively small books and not big Tomes that would be more comfortable in the home or library. They often use classification and identification systems called keys that can be used by observing the exact identity of a particular plant or animal. Field guide can also be designed to identify other naturally occurring objects such as gems or other minerals and artificial objects such as ships, cars, coins or antiques. Many early field guides were engravings of drawings and paintings carefully drawn by an artist from direct observation. Before the invention of photography, these field guides were often the only available tool for identifying plants and animals. At the beginning of the 21st century, digital terrain wizards began to appear, allowing users to access the volume of information via INTernet using tablets and smartphones.

The technical depth of the field guide depends on the target audience. Some off -road wizards offer generalized classification tools, grouping objects freely. Multiple field guides use identification keys to ensure accurate identity determination. The identification keys consist of a number of commands arranged to keep the users step by step. Each step has one or more possible options, the selection of the user to the next step continues until the identification is achieved.

While the concept of a field guide was originally conceived as an assistance for identifying natural objects, the extent of the of this book has gradually become more expansive, especially in the mid -20th century. Specialized off -road guides focus on fans and enthusiasts of all types and today are available field guides for various things. Run downThere are only a few examples, antique toys, stamps and wines.

In modern times, field guides for natural objects still often characterize drawings except or instead of photographs. Drawings offer a certain degree of detail and exposure that is often not captured by photographs. Field guides for other objects tend to rely more on photographs than illustration, but that's not absolute. Modern off -road guides can be wide in a range or specialized, for example covering all North America birds or only flowering plants of isolated island.