This is an excellent book for any duck enthuiest, waterfowl artist or carver. As a waterfowl artist myself,this book has helped me out by far in my knowledge towards waterfowl and all that makes them what they are. If you don't have this, I would advise you to make the purchase. It won't let you down.

This is an excellent reference for painting and carving decorative or gunning decoys. The information is presented clearly and the color pictures provide exceptional, close-up detail that waterfowl artists require. The reader will gain realistic carving patterns and painting instructions from this book. There is information about 22 species of dabbling and whistling ducks (male and female). The information I found most useful was the paint mixing instructions. The mixing instructions are easy to use and provide a great quick reference to get the correct mix of colors. This is an excellent choice for the novice or expert waterfowl artist.

Bruce Burk's "GAME BIRD CARVING..." explains the bird carving process in a detailed, logical and understandable sequence. It is well illustrated, but unfortunately all photos are black & white.
Another negative is the book's age, making a few of the procedures a bit dated by recent developments in materials.
Overall, however, the book remains a solid reference for the bird carver, worth purchasing for its historical and practical value including a thorough listing of gamebird dimensions (lengths, widths, wingspans, etc.) in the appendix.

The decoy carvers "Bible" just about sums up what can be said of this book. If you carve decorative wildfowl, songbirds, or hunting decoys you MUST have this book. I use this book every day in my shop and painting studio. I use it so much I bought an extra copy so I wouldn't have to carry it back and forth any longer. Perfect for the beginner, intermmediate, or advanced carver. Every professional carver that I'm aware of references this book. No book before or after has covered the art of the counterfit bird as comprehensively as this book.

Burke's "Game Bird Carving" should be considered one of the all-time best how-to manuals. Informative, easy to read text, clear photographs, and most important; an easy to follow color blending method helps neophytes and experienced woodcarvers alike develop basic to advanced wildfowl carvings. As an instructor and carver for over twenty years, Game Bird Carving was the first carving book I bought. I still consider it a valuable reference.