Night Life: Nature from Dusk to Dawn

For her study of nocturnal creatures, Kappel-Smith ( Wintering ) selected disparate environments at different seasons. Seeking information on predators, she walked trap lines during a North Dakota winter; in Hawaii, she sampled night diving on a coral reef, explored lava caves and looked for spiders in a rain forest. At the start of the rainy season, Kappel-Smith journeyed to the Arizona desert to observe kangaroo rats and spadefoot toads. She trekked suburban Connecticut countryside in springtime and joined game wardens on patrol in the Louisiana bayous. The result is an captivating combination of natural history, personal impressions of people and places, and interviews with scientists. Illustrated. (Jan.)