Book excerpt: Birds in Missouri illustrates three hundred fifty-five of the three hundred ninety-eight bird species known to occur in the state in recent centuries. The forty-three species not illustrated are listed in the annotated checklist. The associations of bird species with habitats are emphasized visually and textually, with most species either portrayed in a habitat scene or referenced to the Landscape and Habitats section of this book. As experienced birders know, searching in specific habitat types usually increases the chances of finding the bird species known to frequent that type. However, because non-breeding-season birds range more widely among habitat types, they also may be present in nontypical places. --from preface (p. 11).