"A comprehensive field guide, fully illustrated with color photographs, to the wildflowers, birds, reptiles, insects, and other natural wonders of North America's deserts, from Oregon to Mexico"--Cover. "A Borzoi book"--Title page verso. Includes bibliographical references (pages 618-619) and index.

PART I: DESERTS: How to use this guide -- Preface -- Introduction -- The Great Basin Desert -- The Colorado Plateau Semidesert -- The Mojave Desert -- The Sonoran Desert -- The Chihuahuan Desert -- Some special vegetation types common to all deserts -- Aspects of the biology of desert organisms -- How to use the color plates -- PART TWO: COLOR PLATES: Deserts -- Wildflowers -- Mushrooms -- Reptiles and amphibians -- Fishes -- Trees, shrubs, cacti, and grasses -- Insects and spiders -- Butterflies and moths -- Mammals -- Birds -- PART THREE: SPECIES DESCRIPTIONS: Wildflowers and mushrooms -- Reptiles and amphibians -- Fishes -- Trees, shrubs, cacti, and grasses -- Insects and spiders -- Butterflies and moths -- Mammals -- Birds -- PART IV: APPENDICES: Glossary. Surveys the deserts of the American West and describes the various American species of desert plants and animals.