Under a National Park Service/Wildlife Conservation Society Cooperative Agreement, the authors inventoried amphibians and reptiles at Sagamore Hill NHS (SAHI) on Cove Neck, Oyster Bay, New York from March to September 2002. Six standard sampling methods were used; anuran calling surveys, egg mass counts, visual encounter surveys, coverboards, turtle traps, and minnow traps. The authors recorded animals encountered outside of standard surveys as incidental encounters.

". . . encourage[s] hope and resilience in times of devastating damage."—New York Review of Books This user-friendly guide is the only complete resource that identifies and describes all the amphibians and reptiles—salamanders, frogs and toads, lizards, snakes, and tortoises and turtles—that live in California. The species are described in richly detailed accounts that include range maps, lifelike color paintings by Robert C. Stebbins, clear drawings of various life stages including eggs, notes on natural history, and conservation status. Easy-to-use keys for every order help identify species, and informative chapters cover more general topics including evolution, habitat loss, and photography. Throughout, anecdotes and observations reveal new insights into the lives of California’s abundant but often hidden amphibians and reptiles.

"A state of the art field guide to the 200+ species of reptile and amphibian found in California"--