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Field Guide

Species-level reference guides for Florida's wildlife — ID, range, behavior, and how to find them.

American flamingos Phoenicopterus ruber in their natural habitat in Cuba showing vivid pink plumage
Field Guide

American Flamingo Field Guide — Phoenicopterus ruber in Florida

Field guide to the American flamingo in Florida — from Victorian-era extirpation to remarkable 21st-century recolonization. Identification, biology, best viewing sites in south Florida, and the evidence that wild flamingos are returning.

Florida manatee grazing on algae-covered cable at Big Bend Power Station warm water outflow, Apollo Beach
Field Guide

Florida Manatee Field Guide — Trichechus manatus latirostris

Everything you need to identify, find, and understand the Florida manatee — biology, range, behavior, best viewing spots, and conservation status of this Vulnerable megaherbivore.

Common snook Centropomus undecimalis showing characteristic lateral black stripe and prominent lower jaw
Field Guide

Common Snook Field Guide — Centropomus undecimalis in Florida

Field guide to the common snook in Florida — identification, biology, range, seasonal behavior, best fishing and viewing locations, and conservation status of Florida's most iconic inshore sportfish.

Atlantic horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus on a sandy beach showing domed carapace and tail spike
Field Guide

Atlantic Horseshoe Crab Field Guide — Limulus polyphemus in Florida

Field guide to the Atlantic horseshoe crab in Florida — identification, ancient biology, spawning behavior, best viewing sites, and the pharmaceutical and conservation significance of this Vulnerable living fossil.

Adult Florida Scrub-Jay perched showing blue and grey plumage with white supercilium
Field Guide

Florida Scrub-Jay Field Guide — Aphelocoma coerulescens

Complete field guide to the Florida Scrub-Jay — the only bird species endemic to Florida. Identification, scrub habitat ecology, best viewing sites, and the conservation crisis facing this Vulnerable corvid.

Florida panther in natural habitat at Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park, Collier County, Florida
Field Guide

Florida Panther Field Guide — Puma concolor coryi

Field guide to the Florida panther — one of the most endangered mammals in North America, with only 120–230 individuals in southwest Florida. Identification, biology, territory, and the conservation crisis of the last wild puma in the eastern US.

Spotted eagle ray Aetobatus narinari showing distinctive white-spotted dark dorsal surface and wing-like pectoral fins
Field Guide

Spotted Eagle Ray Field Guide — Aetobatus narinari in Florida

Field guide to the spotted eagle ray in Florida — identification, biology, best viewing locations in the Keys and Gulf coast, and the conservation status of this Near Threatened elasmobranch.

Roseate spoonbill in shallow water showing vivid pink plumage and distinctive spatulate bill
Field Guide

Roseate Spoonbill Field Guide — Platalea ajaja in Florida

Field guide to the roseate spoonbill in Florida — identification, foraging behavior, colony nesting sites, and the remarkable recovery story of this visually striking wading bird from plume hunting near-extinction.

American crocodile resting on a Pacific coast beach at La Manzanilla, Jalisco, Mexico
Field Guide

American Crocodile Field Guide — Crocodylus acutus in Florida

Complete field guide to the American crocodile in Florida — how to identify it, where the US population lives, behavioral ecology, and conservation recovery of this Vulnerable reptile in the Florida Keys and Everglades.

Leatherback sea turtle close-up showing distinctive ridged leathery shell and large head
Field Guide

Leatherback Sea Turtle Field Guide — Dermochelys coriacea in Florida

Field guide to the leatherback sea turtle in Florida — the world's largest reptile, its biology, nesting beaches, deep-dive physiology, and conservation status as Florida hosts the only significant leatherback nesting in the continental US.