Wings from Cover: The Upland Images of Robert Abbett and Ed Gray

Bird hunting on the Great Plains has the same sporting pedigree as fly-fishing, according to Gray; shooting only at flying birds equals the catch-and-release ethic of the angler. The founder of Gray's Sporting Journal here offers 10 essays about bird hunting. Dogs are prominent in this milieu, and as Gray points out, the sport is all business for the dog, which does the hunting, its stalking instinct refined by training. Gray writes about ptarmigan in Alaska, primitive hunting camps in Texas (dove and quail) and seeking grouse and woodcock, his favorite coverts being in New Hampshire. Renowned sporting artist Abbett contributes magnificent color paintings and drawings of hunting dogs, game birds and autumnal scenes--the primary worth of the book. 10,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo. (Dec.)