Birds of North America: A Guide To Field Identification (Golden Field Guide from St. Martin's Press)

I have used this bird book for many years and decided to buy the latest edition. For the casual birder, this is a great guide. The drawings are very representative of a wide range of birds, and the feature that identifies other birds that appear similar is a great help in getting the identification right. The range maps and descriptions are also excellent. My only disappointment with the revised guide was how little it had changed. I think that even the birds on each page were the same. The only real change I could find was updated ranges which are helpful as global warming has changed the ranges of many birds. The book is also small enough to allow it to be taken to the field. It will fit in almost any small pack. It would be helpful if there were a place included where you could check off birds as you see them, but I check off by the pictures anyway.

My ten year old son bought this book with his own money after reading many reviews of this guide and several others (including the Sibley guide). He loves this bird guide and requested to write this review himself. The rest of this review is from him: Awesome book! I recommend this guide to all Birders!! It's a great buy!!! Ok, first, DO NOT listen to those negative reviews!!! This is a GREAT guide for all birders, especially beginners. It has great ways to help you identify birds. Take for instance the bird silhouettes. The day this guide arrived a mysterious visitor perched on one of our trees. Using the silhouettes provided, I found the bird was most likely an oriole. With new range maps and silhouettes (though missing a few "rarer" birds), this guide is Best for the Birder! (P.S. I hope this book goes to 5 stars instead of 4.5)

I have an edition from 45 years ago I bought while in college for an ornithology class. It has been probably the only book from college I ever use. The same book. A little beat up. I even wrote my name in it! The content is well laid out by type of bird. Almost every bird’s range in NA is shown next to accurate drawings of the birds, male/female, juvenile/adult plumage. It even contains a drawing of their “voice” as an added feature for many birds. When you see them, it’ll be obvious. This book is comprehensive. It resides in my truck, instantly available when I see a bird away from home.

I was introduced to this hidden treasure in an ornithology class in the seventies. My professor was an avid birdwatcher and highly recommended this book. (It was the required bird identification book for all his classes) The illustrations are excellent, and the range maps (so you know a particular species cannot be misidentified because it lives in the NW and you're in the NE) and sonagrams of bird songs included on every page, and the varieties listed together in evolutionary order w/waterbirds first & ending with sparrows makes finding your species much easier. Best of all is a birdlist index at the back, w/boxes to check when you identify your bird. (I also put the date & place) The book is small and light enough to put in a pocket and take on walks , avoiding the inconvenience of larger, heavier bird books . I have tried other more expensive and highly recommended books, but in my humble opinion, this is the very best book for identifying birds in the field that I have ever used.

I have carried the older edition of this bird book for a number of years, and purchased this new one as the old one had become so dog eared as to be embarassing. Also we knew that many species ranges were changing, and wanted to be up to date on that information. The new edition has the same format (down to the exact page) as the previous, and same illustrations. The many advantages of this guide include: 1) It has every bird you are likely to see in North America 2) Everything about a species is on one page, including illustration, description, range map, and sonogram of song (for many species) 3) Nice comparison charts of similar and confusing species 4) Range maps include migration date lines 5) True pocket size -- you will carry this book with you in the field! The new edition also has updated nomenclature for species that the bird expert powers-that-be keep changing on us. It also has updated range maps for those species whose ranges are changing. It is printed on a slicker stock than the previous (only time will tell if this is better). It also has a new "quick" index which is handy for locating birds by generic name (crows). But there are some disappointments. 1) It is probably 95% a reprint of the previous edition, both with respect to descriptions and (particularly) illustrations 2) The little check boxes to mark off birds you have seen are missing from the new edition -- surely that was an oversight(?) 3) They did not correct the one thing that was a true weakness of the previous edition, that the range maps are small and rather difficult to interpret. How much easier it would be if the US state borders were overprinted on these little range maps (or for that matter Canadian provinces and Mexican states)??? But of course, it is still our favorite -- if you have only one bird book, and you want to carry it in your pocket, this is the one to buy.

great guide

Had an older version of this book. New version is just as good. Nice size, very comprehensive, exceptionally readable. Handy for car glovebox, added in binocular case, or on home table. Very fine bird guidebook.

Great books for reference. Great price. Recommend this seller

livre broché souple format poche ancien datant de 1966 permettant l'identification de de la majeure partie des 645 espèces nord-américaines (USA+CND); après une quinzaine de pages d'introduction chaque espèce est décrite par un très court article à raison de 3. à 6 par double page; sur la page de gauche, chacun de ces articles, non systématisés et sans chiffres, est accompagné d'une carte de répartition en couleur et, fait très original parmi la concurrence, d'un sonogramme; la page de droite est consacrée aux gravures couleur montrant les espèces correspondantes dans des situations variées; de temps à autres, une planche comparative permet de différencier des espèces voisines (par exemple des têtes de fauvettes); liste de contrôle en fin d'ouvrage; très joli petit guide d'identification qui en impose, malgré son âge, grâce à ses magnifiques illustarions; les descriptifs sont en revanche un peu légers; à défaut de trouver plus moderne, il peut sans rougir être glissé dans vos bagages avant de prendre l'avion

I bought this for my daughter as she feeds her birds that are around the yard. She finds it very entertaining and very helpful

I've been using the previous editions of this field guide since 1967. The comparison pictures and the range maps right on the page make this the best one I've ever seen. The drawings are better than photos would be, since details and field marks can be emphasized by an artist that may not show up in a photograph.

I liked the layout of the book - i.e. bird groupings and concise, informative paragraphs describing each species. I also found the range maps for each bird type helpful in determining if what I was seeing in person corresponded to the possibility of that bird being in my locale.

This is the third book I have bought, I already had an older copy. This book shows the birds summer,winter and migratory area. I like this book because the pictures are beside the write up. The book also shows a group of similar looking birds. This book as were the other two bought as a gift. My son's were frequently calling with questions or to borrow my book.