What is a nature detective? Well, Millicent Selsam, the author of this book, is one.

From seeing seagull tracks in the sand at the beach, she can tell you how the wind was blowing last night. Gulls, like airplanes, always take off into the wind.

There are fascinating mystery stories in nature, but you have to learn to solve them from the clues animals leave behind them—bits of hair, bitten-off twigs, tracks in the snow, scratches on trees.

This book shows you in accurate pictures and text what kind of clues to look for, and it supplies a bibliography to carry the beginning sleuth on into increasing expertness.

As a child sharpens his natural powers of observation, he begins getting pleasure from all that he sees outdoors. It is a pleasure worth cultivating.

From the dust jacket