Among the numerous publications held by the library of the School Museum, a copy of "la Peterson" stands out, probably the most widespread and used field guide in Europe for the identification of birds. Published, in its first English edition, in 1954, twenty years later it already had fourteen reprints only in the United Kingdom and more than a dozen foreign editions, including the Spanish one. In the library of the School Museum we have a fourth edition (1980), which presents a beautiful goldfinch in flight on its deck and a real dick on the back.

Colloquially, this publication is named after the surname of its first author, Peterson, author of the more than one thousand two hundred illustrations contained in the book, both in black and white and in color. Undoubtedly, one of the peculiarities of this guide is given by the cut-out silhouettes of different birds that appeared in the interior parts of the decks and in the guards... Looking at those profiles against light, the "Silhouettes of the Way", many/ as we discovered how it was a owl, a bee-eater, a starling or a swallow...

This guide has accompanied thousands of ornithologists/ace for years on their walks in the countryside. With more than six hundred described species, this small volume has been erected as the necessary complement to help the observer/nature. Due to its size, simplicity, quality and precision of the texts, "la Peterson" is a classic in ornithological literature.

Author: Rafa Martínez, director of Proyecto Pusol.