Book Description

What is it about the ivory-billed woodpecker? Why does this ghost of the southern swamps arouse such an obsessive level of passion in its devotees, who range from respected researchers to the flakiest Loch Ness monster fanatics and Elvis chasers?
Since the early twentieth century, scientists have been trying their best to prove that the ivory-bill is extinct. But every time they think they've finally closed the door, the bird makes an unexpected appearance. It happened in the 1920s, and it's happened in almost every subsequent decade.
For more than 60 years, each sighting has been met with ridicule and scorn. Respected researchers and naturalists have been branded as quacks just for having the temerity to say that the ivory-bill still exists. Yet the reports still trickle in. Is there any truth to these sightings, or are they just a case of wishful thinking, misidentification, or outright fabrication?
To unravel the mystery, author Tim Gallagher heads south, deep into the eerie swamps and bayous of the vast Mississippi Delta, searching for people who claim to have seen this rarest of birds and following up—sometimes more than 30 years after the fact—on their sightings. He meets a colorful array of characters: a cigar-chomping ex-boxer who took two controversial pictures of an alleged ivory-bill in 1971; a former corporate lawyer who abandoned her career to search for ivory-bills full time; two men who grew up in the ivory-bill's last known stronghold in a final remnant of primeval forest in Louisiana.
With his buddy Bobby Harrison, a true son of the South from Alabama, Gallagher hits the swamps, wading through hip-deep, boot-sucking mud and canoeing through turgid, mud brown bayous where deadly cottonmouth water moccasins abound. In most cases, they are clearly decades too late. But when the two speak to an Arkansas backwoods kayaker who saw a mystery woodpecker the week before and has a description of the bird that is too good to be a fantasy, the hunt is on.
Their Eureka moment comes a few days later as a huge woodpecker flies in front of their canoe, and they both cry out, "Ivory-bill!" This sighting—the first time since 1944 that two qualified observers positively identify an ivory-billed woodpecker in the United States—quickly leads to the largest search ever launched to find a rare bird, as researchers fan out across the bayou, hoping to document the existence of this most iconic of birds. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The "Qualified Observer" speaks.
"there are no ivory billed woodpeckers..." that was the response to an email from Cornell University several years ago I had sent, reporting a unusual sighting of another bird species. The joke was "maybe my next sighting will be an Ivory Billed Woodpecker..." Of course, I'll cut them some slack, but I have always hoped that I would see one. Who wouldn't?

I can't think of another bird that us birders would like to see more than an IBW. How exciting that it is sighted in my homestate! However, I still couldn't help but email Cornell again and say "I told you so".

A lot of research and precious time has gone into the production of this book and I am sure that all birders, fanatics and enthusiasts alike will enjoy Mr. Gallagher's book. Following every possible lead, he researched and interviewed people from many different walks of life to confirm their existence. You will feel an incredible sense of loss when reading about the demise of the Singer tract. Even though it will be depressing at times, you will also keep that sense of hope that maybe more will be done in the future, that maybe we have learned from our mistakes. And possibly, maybe we too will encounter this beautiful, distinctive, evasive bird in the shadows of (our minds) an old growth cypress forest.

Maybe hope is what makes this book so special. For the Grail itself is a symbol of hope and faith. I hope that more can be done to save our precious habitats. I believe with rediscoveries more will be done.

So keep the faith, your binoculars handy, read the book and enjoy the story, study the images and maybe the "Grail Bird" will make an appearance in a 'big woods' near you.


A great read! A book you won't want to put down until it's finished.

the inside story of the 2004 ivory-bill sighting!
This is a well-written insider's tale of the confirmed sightings of the ivory-billed woodpecker in Arkansas in 2004, which amazed all of us who are even remotely interested in birds and wildlife.The last previous confirmed sighting was in 1944, in the NE corner of Louisiana, an area that was logged and destroyed later that year.Interesting, then, that the rare bird, long thought extinct, shows up just upriver in Arkansas.

One of the things that makes Gallagher's book so good is his tracking down various unconfirmed sightings over the years.In light of what we now know, that the ivory-bill lives!, these sightings become much more plausible in retrospect.And there is a pattern that emerges -- sightings across southern Louisiana from west (Sabine River) to central (Atchafalaya Basin) to east (Pearl River).A long-lost tape has been unearthed confirming a 1966 "sighting" (hearing) in the Sabine River area of east Texas.The 850,000 acre Atchafalaya Basin was the location of several sightings in the 1970s and 1980s.A highly credible 1999 sighting in the Pearl River area led to an intensive search that found nothing.It is quite possible therefore, based on the evidence presented in this book, that the ivory-bill survives not only in the Cache and White River area of east-central Arkansas, but in the swamps of southern Lousiana as well!

What's the moral of the story?Habitat preservation!The area in Arkansas is protected land, which was expanded by Nature Conservancy purchases between the February 2004 sightings and the recent public announcement, and protecting critical habitat in the three river basins mentioned above might well secure more elusive ivory-bill populations.Designation and protection of critical habitat is in fact mandated by the Endangered Species Act.

The two top websites for more on the amazing ivory-bill story are The Nature Conservancy (http://www.tnc.org) and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (http://www.birds.cornell.edu).

A must-have book RE: the rediscovery of the Ivory-billed!
This book is an amazing tale of the expeditions to rediscover the elusive (and formerly thought-to-be-extinct) Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Finding this bird (for non-birders reading this review) is the equivalent of finding Elvis Presley alive and well for music fans! And really, Tim Gallagher is the best person to have written it, having been a part of the process from day one. The storyline is good, and the humor that Tim interjects into it really made this book an easy and interesting read. I purchased this book and read it cover to cover all in the same day.

I should also note that before this book was released, I had read "The Race To Save The Lord God Bird" by Phil Hoose, and it was also a good read, but this book pretty much picks up where the Hoose book left off in terms of current efforts and info about the Ivory-billed Woodpecker.

This book is a MUST HAVE for those interested in the species, or in conservation issues in general, because the message within the story of the amazing rediscovery of this magnificent bird is that perhaps we should ALL be more mindful of conservation issues in general. On that note -- I highly recommend that you buy/read the book!!

The Next Best Thing to Being There
I assumed we would have to wait a few months, or even a year, for the inside story of the rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait at all, as Tim Gallagher was simultaneously searching for the bird and working on this most excellent book. Another reviewer used the word "perfect" to describe The Grail Bird, and I think that's about right, as Gallagher has somehow arrived at the perfect mix of natural history, detective story, and memoir. It's a delicate balance, and he found it. This book won't be a best-seller, but deserves to be.

Ivory-billed Woodpecker: The TRUTH behind the rediscovery
Tim Gallagher's newest book, The Grail Bird, is indeed the truth behind the rediscovery. I've been a follower of Ivory-billed Woodpecker history and sightings for several years. I've tried to read any book that has any noteworthy mention of the species within. This is the best book I have ever come across. It contains a great wealth of information on the history of the species right up to Tim's own personal sighting a little more than a year ago.

Do you know who took the mystery photos of the 1971 Ivory-billed Woodpecker? Tim does. And, thanks to his sleuthing, now I do too. It's all in his book.

Tim is a great writer and a great detective. He tracked down every possible lead he could find and interviewed anyone he thought may have seen an Ivory-billed Woodpecker or who knew of someone who had. His interviews and stories are very interesting with great personal lines from Tim that will make you laugh and maybe even cry. After reading his book you will come away feeling as if you were there, right alongside Tim and his friend, Bobby, on their journeys for the truth.

I know you will thoroughly enjoy this.

Good reading!



... Read more

Book Description

Listen to birds sing as you've never listened before, as the world-renowned birdsong expert Donald Kroodsma takes you on personal journeys of discovery and intrigue.
Read stories of wrens and robins, thrushes and thrashers, warblers and whip-poor-wills, bluebirds and cardinals, and many more bird. Learn how each acquires its songs, how songs vary from bird to bird and place to place, how some birds' singing is especially beautiful or ceaseless or complex, how some do not sing at all, how the often quiet female has the last word, and why.
Hear a baby wren and the author's own daughter babble as each learns its local dialect. Listen to the mockingbird by night and by day and count how many different songs he can sing. Marvel at the exquisite harmony in the duet of a wood thrush as he uses his two voice boxes to accompany himself.
Feel the extraordinary energy in the songs just before sunrise as dawn's first light sweeps across this singing planet. Hear firsthand the unmistakable evidence that there are not one but two species of marsh wrens and two species of winter wrens in North America. Learn not only to hear but to see birds sing in the form of sonagrams, as these visual images dance across the pages while you listen to the accompanying CD.
Using your trained ears and eyes, you can begin your own journeys of discovery. Listen anew to birds in your backyard and beyond, exploring the singing minds of birds as they tell all that they know. Join Kroodsma not only in identifying but in identifying with singing birds, connecting with nature's musicians in a whole new way. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Suberb--a lovely merging of science and poetry
I was predisposed to like this book, since I love birdsong and have long been drawn to research about it.But this book far exceeded my high expectations.Don Kroodsma takes us through the entire process of listening to a song, thinking up questions about how the species acquired it, and step by step through the process of learning the answer, setting up the sections like little mysteries.He's recognized by the American Ornithologists' Union as an authority on acquisition of birdsong, and although the book is authoritative and scientific, he somehow manages to infuse every paragraph with his own sense of wonder and joy in his subject.This book may look like a textbook, but it reads like a cross between a mystery novel and lovely poetry.I can't recommend it highly enough.

A masterpiece of Avian Bioacoustics.
A masterpiece of avian bioacoustics (Sorry, I just had to use those words).

I have a bird outside my window just now singing a song of some kind. I've long thought it was pretty, but thought no more acout it. Now this book has come along and my casual listening has become much more interesting. I found the bird outside my window in the book and sure enough here is a sonogram, a voice print if you will of what the bird sounds like. Further, there is a track on the CD that comes with the book that has this bird's song recorded. It's not exactly like the bird outside the window, but birds (I've learned) are individuals too.

Birding is one of the more popular pastimes in this country, and growing quire rapidly. This book would be a supurb gift to any birder, even if you have to give it to yourself.

The CD alone is worth the money!
Just listened to an interview with the author on NPR which included a number of selections from the accompanying CD, all I can think of is 'how awesome!'The author has spent many years studying and documenting birdsong and makes me realize that what I thought I knew from growing up in the country surrounded by birdsong is a tiny fragment of what I actually was hearing.The CD includes birdsongs at normal speeds and slowed to 1/2 and 1/4 speed, which allows the listener to hear the discreet sounds.The accompanying text includes graphic description of the sounds for a clearer understanding.If you love birds, you will love this! ... Read more

Book Description

Here is a substantially revised and updated English-language version of the only comprehensive, scientific treatment of Brazil's 1635 bird species. Written by the then dean of Brazilian ornithologists and published in Brazil in 1985, it not only lists every individual Brazilian species and provides detailed accounts for most of them but also gives an extensive treatment of the characteristics of each bird family found in the country. In addition, it analyzes the composition of Brazil's avifauna and relates it to the country's geography. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Birds in Brazil
Birds in Brazil is a big book, beautifully produced on quality paper. It is exhaustive but never exhausting on the topic of Brazilian birds . The color illustrations are beautiful, but unfortunately they are separate from the text about the birds. That is the book's only fault. The text is in smooth and enticing English, and where the same birds are to be found migrating to the United States, the information is quite comparable in completion and interest to the American field guides of Roger T. Peterson. That leads me to believe that the information about birds that we don't experience will be equally accurate. This book is captivating and well worth the price. It is a coffee-table style book that we will be proud to use and to display. ... Read more

Amazon.com

More than 10 years in the making, David Sibley's Guide to Birds is a monumental achievement. The beautiful watercolor illustrations (6,600, covering 810 species in North America) and clear, descriptive text place Sibley and his work squarely in the tradition of John James Audubon and Roger Tory Peterson; more than a birdwatcher and evangelizer, he is one of the foremost bird painters and authorities in the U.S. Still, his field guide will no doubt spark debate. Unlike Kenn Kaufman's Focus Guide, Sibley's is unapologetically aimed at the converted. Beginning birders may want to keep a copy of Sibley at home as a reference, but the wealth of information will have the same effect on novices as trying to pick out a single sandpiper in a wheeling flock of thousands. The familiar yellow warbler, for instance, gets no less than nine individual illustrations documenting its geographic, seasonal, and sex variations--plus another eight smaller illustrations showing it in flight. Of course, more experienced birders will appreciate this sort of detail, along with Sibley's improvements on both Peterson and the National Geographic guide:

• As in Peterson, Sibley employs a pointer system for key field markings--but additional text blurbs are included alongside the illustrations to facilitate identification.
• Descriptive passages on identification are more detailed than those in most other field guides. For example, Sibley includes extensive information on the famously hard-to-distinguish hawks in the genus Accipiter (sharp-shinned, Cooper's, and northern goshawk), noting differences in leg thickness and wing beat that will be of use to more advanced birders. A section on the identification of "peeps" (small sandpipers) includes tips about seasonal molting and bill length. Confusing fall warblers, Empidonax flycatchers, and Alcids receive similar treatment.
• As previously mentioned, ample space is given to illustrations that show plumage variations by age, sex, and geography within a single species. Thus, an entire page is devoted to the red-shouldered hawk and its differing appearances in the eastern U.S., Florida, and California; similarly, gulls are distinguished by age and warblers by sex.
• Range maps are detailed and accurate, with breeding, wintering, and migration routes clearly depicted; rare but regular geographic occurrences are denoted by green dots.
• The binding and paper stock are of exceptional quality. Despite its 544 pages, a reinforced paperback cover and sewn-in binding allow the book to be spread out flat without fear of breaking the binding.

Some birders will be put off by the book's size. Slightly larger than the National Geographic guide, it's less portable than most field guides and will likely spend more time in cars and desks than on a birder's person while in the field. For some it will be a strictly stay-at-home companion guide to consult after a field trip; others may want to have it handy in a fannypack or backpack. But regardless of how it is used, Sibley's Guide to Birds is a significant addition to any birding library. "Birds are beautiful," the author writes in the preface, "their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature." Pleasing, too, is this comprehensive guide to their identification. --Langdon Cook ... Read more

Reviews (79)

Beautiful complement for my bird book library.....
I've owned the SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRD LIFE AND BEHAVIOR for a while, and finally ordered the SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS to complete the set. Both books are published by Audubon, the leading name in all things involving birds--at least that is what my 87-year old Aunt Marge says, and she's been to Audubon camp on many occasions.

The SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS is too heavy to take into the field--it's really a reference book. Roger Tory Petersen's guide books are the best for field work--especially when children are involved. Sibley's guides are great reference books.

Unlike THE SMITHSONIAN HANDBOOK, Sibley's guide does not include a bird profile per page, but like the Smithsonian book and the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA the Sibley guide covers birds in the Northern Hemisphere (U.S. Canada, and Mexico). The National Geographic field guide is lighter than the Sibley guide and thus more likely to end up in the field as the title suggests, however, it is larger and more cumbersome than the Petersen guide and will probably travel in the camper trailer or glove compartment, not in your hand or back pack.

So--use Petersen for field work, get the Smithsonian guide for extra individual detail, and buy the Sibley guide for making comparisons across species types. If you are really a bird nut, get the Sibley guide to Bird Behavior and the National Geographic bird book. The pictures in the NG book are beautiful with lots of contextual detail--i.e. the Kingfisher eating, flying etc, however, although the NG includes the range maps, it does not include the little arrows that help you identify bird idiosyncracies. The Smithsonian and Petersen guides include the arrows and maps, and the Sibley includes maps and selected arrows (not in most cases).

Every bird watcher will want this book in his or her library
From the moment I first opened David Sibley's new field guide, I was mesmerized. It offers a compact presentation on every species of bird north of the Mexican border and is undoubtedly one of the most user-friendly guides ever developed. In many ways, Sibley takes Roger Torey Peterson's method to its logical end--a guide that capsulizes all the essential information about similar species, arraying them close to each other for comparison. But unlike Peterson, Sibley presents ample information on the many plumages of individual species which are apt to confuse even some of the most experienced birders. Sibley's art work is very appealing to the eye, and his bird potraits are all very naturally posed. He also points out distinguishing field marks with text arrayed alongside his portraits, facilitating rapid identification. His approach also offers flight views together with perched views where that is helpful.

There are a few negatives--only a few. The book would be unwieldy to carry in the field. (Best to bring it along and leave it in the car, perhaps.) The range maps are for the most part too small to easily distinguish, especially where birds appear in only limited areas. And the description of songs and calls strike me as inferior to Peterson's, from which I've learned most of the songs and calls I know over the past 40 years.

In comparison to the other new bird guide just published, Kenn Kaufman's "Focus Guide," I much prefer David Sibley's. While Kaufman has crammed an incredible amount of information into a small, very quickly accessible volume, Sibley's is far more useful in distinguishing between species. Kaufman's is far handier to carry along in the field, but it offers far less data on individual species than Sibley. (Although I cannot feature using this information, Sibley even gives the average weight of each species--a fascinating bit of information not readily available in most other guides.)

In any event, if you are a person interested in birds at any level of expertise, you are bound to enjoy David Sibley's excellent new guide. Buy a copy as soon as you can!

A terrific identification guide!
I've been a birder for many years and began a life list around five years ago. I own many of the standard field guides. Only recently did I obtain the Sibley Guide, but it's become my favorite. I generally use Sibley and Stokes in tandem.

Advantages:
1. Logical layout
2. "Species accounts" pages offer an excellent comparative view within the group, as well as a good all-up overview of the families/genus/species, and general behavior.
3. Individual species pages show comprehensive plumage reference art; more detailed than any I've seen. For this feature alone, the guide is worthwhile!
4. Species pages show variants (e.g., Great Blue/Great White Heron), fledgling and/or juvenile patterns. In some cases art of eclipse plumage is a very nice bonus.
5. Flight/wing patterns where relevant
6. Comparison of hummingbird mating display paths
7. Diurnal raptors section shows perched vs. in-flight underside plumage for each species. It also offers silhouette guides to help teach wing shape if plumage is light-obscured.
8. Good geographical reference map (though smaller than ideal*)
9. Good vocal descriptions
10. Nice (what they refer to as) "bird topography" section
11. Where applicable, good information on regional variations and species clines.

Disadvantages:
1. This is not a pocket guide; it's cumbersome. I use Stokes in the field, and use Sibley at home for reference afterward.
2. The binding on my copy isn't sturdy, particularly for something that's supposedly a field guide. I feel like I must treat the glue binding gingerly or the pages might start to fall out.
3. Not enough text re: birding ethics & conservation (but that might just be my inner tree-hugger appearing) :)
4. *Geographical range map is small. I imagine it'd be difficult for some people to see clearly.
5. Migratory geographical information only covers North America. I'd like reference for migratory species (even just within text) of migration route start/finish and total annual distance. (Aside: the artic tern has the longest distance migration [Arctic to Antarctic] and can cover 22k - 30k mpy.)

Overall, this a great reference, and I recommend it highly.

However, to Knopf publishers/Chanticleer Press: Please ask Dai Nippon Printing Co to use better binding glue in the next edition!

A Sibley classic
A truly magnificent book, which, coupled with its companion volume, the Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior, provides the definitive text on American birdlife.

Simply the Best of the Best!
Mr. Sibley has created a bird guide for the 21st century. Practical, logical and incredibly informative, The Sibley Guide to Birds is the bird watchers bible. I have used this guide everyday since I purchased it and the incredible paintings make indentifying birds a joy. Concise and informative, this is the definitive guide for my favorite hobby!! I highly recommend this guide to both novice and expert alike. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Now in its fourth edition, the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America is the ultimate birder’s field guide. Sturdy, portable, and easy-to-use, it features the most complete information available on every bird species known to North America. This revised edition features 250 completely updated range maps, new plumage and species classification information, specially commissioned full-color illustrations, and a superb new index that allows birders in the field to quickly identify a species.

The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fourth Edition will continue to be a bestseller among the fastest-growing sector in the U.S. travel market—the nearly 25 million people who travel each year specifically to observe wild birds.

Reviews (7)

A Very Good Birding Book
I have many different bird field guides, but always take this one along on my trips. I have read reviews by others that state this book is too big to carry in the field. Nonsense. I like having a bird book with all the North American birds between the covers. You never know when you may see a stray bird hundreds of miles away from its usual locations. The illustrations are very detailed. The raptors in flight section is another bonus of this book. Don't get me wrong, Sibley's books are magnificent, but this one is good as well. The only drawback is the sparrow section. While they are good, they don't do the birds justice. However, no book is perfect. My birding friends and I all agree that this is probably the best field guide at the moment.

Great Field Guide
This is a very good field guide. Breif description accompanies every illustration. One thing though - it doens't break it down according to states. Other than that, you will be able to spot birds in your local area with this wonderful guide.

Good, but not great
Just like many other reviewers, this is one of my many field guides to birds, but this one is not my favorite.

Plusses:
It's got all the latest revisions (e.g. Wilson's Snipe and Black-crested Titmouse) which the other books do not yet have.

It's got more birds, so if you're going somewhere where you might see Steller's Sea-Eagle or an Eurasian Kestrel, you'll need this book.

I personally think the maps in this addition are pretty accurate.

Minuses:

Other field guides have illustrations all by the same person. This guide has a bunch of artists. Therefore, I like how some of the birds are shown, but not others. You can't develop a feel of the artist's style and figure out how the typical bird is shown.

Some people may like how the birds are painted in natural habitats, but for me, I'm trying to get a good look at the bird, I don't care if it's up in some flowery tree, I want to see the bird. In other guides you can easily compare birds because they have the same posture, but often similar birds in this book are pictured doing different things.

It's too big to carry around easily. So if you want to carry one around, take Peterson, but if you're going to carry one that's too big for your pocket, you might as well take Sibley, it has more illustrations.

So, if you're into birding, you might as well pick this up, for the extra birds it offers if nothing else. But if you're not looking to collect a bunch of guides I find Peterson easier to use if you are beginning and Sibley better for more advanced birders.

THE ONE To Get If You Get Only One ... Superb!!!!
I have been birding for 23 years. My life list is a respectable 450 species in North America. While some reviewers may not carry this book around, I will guarantee you the National Geographic Society (NGS) Field Guide to the Birds of North America is the #1 choice among every birder I know.

On my shelf I have a dozen guides...in fact probably every one published. Some are better for some things (such as Sibley), but overall this one is HANDS DOWN my favorite.

What makes it so good? With due respect to Roger Tory Peterson, the illustrations and written clues in the NGS guide are unmatched.

Secondly, in the 4th edition, National Geographic has demonstrated a fervent desire to keep up with the ever-changing naming conventions from the American Ornithological Union. Other guides simply do not keep pace.

If you are new to this hobby, this is THE guide. If someone told you they are interested, but they don't know where to start, this is THE guide to get them.

The one to get if you only get one. The one to use if you have many.

Still the best all-around guide
I've been birding for about 6 years now, and this is the book I always have with me on birding expeditions, since its second edition - it's small enough to portable (though not small enough for a pocket,) and the illustrations are excellent in quality. The comparison pages showing several similar-looking species (comparing different species of ducks, hawks, gulls, warblers et cetera) are excellent. The descriptions are generally very good, and contain useful distinguishing information including vocalizations and distinctive movement patterns. The range maps are easily read, and at the front of the book, there are pages explaining how to identify birds, plumage, anatomy, and sundry other topics of use.

Generally, I prefer drawings/paintings to actual photographs when using birding books - I've found that often times, the photographs in birding books are less than good examples of several species, especially when there are one or more variations. Also, with illustrations, the artist controls the lighting, the angle, et cetera. Since this book uses illustrations, so perhaps I'm biased toward it in that way. ...P> The NGS book here is more than sufficient for most birders, I would imagine. Another plus is that it's all the birds of the continent, period; no need to buy an Eastern/Western edition when you travel to other areas of the country.

In this newest edition, they have included notations for whether or not the bird is endangered or threatened, as well as a handy one-page "quick-find index" at the back for finding a general group of birds quickly (for example, finches, jays and hawks,)so one doesn't have to spend precious moments looking through the longer, full index for them.

The book is durable, and withstands dampness and even light rain very well. The colors of the birds are very realistic, and they do a wonderful job portraying the different seasonal plumages. It appears that the colors have been modified very slightly from the last edition to look even better than they did.

An excellent book, all around. Naturally, selection of a birding guide is a very personal thing, and while I love this book, others may intensely hate it, preferring photographic guides. My best advice would be to get your hands on as many guides as possible, and see which suits your preferences for size, images, descriptions, and general feel, including portability, ... ... Read more

Book Description

The Sibley Guide to Birds has quickly become the new standard of excellence in bird identification guides, covering more than 810 North American birds in amazing detail. Now comes a new portable guide from David Sibley that every birder will want to carry into the field. Compact and comprehensive, this new guide features 650 bird species plus regional populations found east of the Rocky Mountains. Accounts include stunningly accurate illustrations—more than 4,200 in total—with descriptive caption text pointing out the most important field marks. Each entry contains new text concerning frequency, nesting, behavior, food and feeding, voice description, and key identification features. Accounts also include brand-new maps created from information contributed by 110 regional experts across the continent.

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America is an indispensable resource for all birders seeking an authoritative and portable guide to the birds of the East. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

The Best of Birding Field Guides! Not just for East Coast..
I bought this book because I live in the Northeast. However, I was surprised to discover that this edition actually has most species of birds, including those that live in the West or South, with ranges through and including Mexico. This was a wonderful surprise as I actually travel quite a bit, so I don't have to buy additional editions of Sibley's bird books.

As to the content of Sibley's guide, there is none better. His illustrations are outstanding, and descriptions are just wonderful. He describes ranges, eating habits, whether the bird tends to be solitary or fly in groups (flocks), nesting, coloration, etc. Best of all, I really like how he shows the bird in a multitude of positions, from standing to flight, so that if you saw a glint of the bird in a different point of view, you can still identify it using this guide. Top ratings.

the best guide I've used
I own Sibley's larger guide, his "birding basics", and his guide to behaviour. I adore his plain, honest writing style, and his amateur-scientific approach. Not to say that Sibley, one of the big shots in the birding world, is an amateur -- just that he knows what the serious student needs and wants.

His paintings are amazingly accurate (and beautiful -- I wish you could buy offsets.) I've made tentative identifications (later more solidly confirmed) just based on, say, the density of stippling or the exact extent of a faint color wash. Even in the small-size guide, he includes helpful "in flight" sketches, notations about wing motion, and anything else that might be helpful.

His notations next to each species are fantastic. In addition to voice, they cover some identification problems (easily confused species, variable plumage, marks that are appear obvious in pictures but are hard to see in the field), some remarks on habitat and behaviour (especially when it helps identification), and some hints for identification that you might not pick up on at first. Subspecies and crossovers are depicted when necessary.

There are a lot of field guides that rely on photographs; Sibley's work will instantly convert you to drawings. They present the "idealized" bird; you can compare your rugged, flea-bitten specimen to the text and learn a lot more than just its name.

As a scientist myself, I appriciate Sibley's cautious approach to identification, as well as his ability to quickly synthesise what is know about a population even when it doesn't admit of a quick one-liner. Sibley jumps right in and uses the ornithological terms for plumage patterns; I would have appriciated having the non-passerines diagrammed on the back inside cover (instead of in his excellent introduction, and in place of a rather superfluous map of North America) for easier reference, but that's a minor quibble.

This is not a guide you easily outgrow. My one last complaint is that the pages and binding are a little stiff and seem to have resisted "thumbing in" even after many months of use!

Excellent field guide
This field guide is a nice size that's easy to carry around, has multiple drawn pictures of each bird as well as a short text and range map for each - The text generally starts out with saying if the bird is common or not and then goes into where they nest, winter etc. It talks about the typical foods, if they're solitary or not. One thing I like too is that it often tells if the bird is native or non-native to the US which I find particularly interesting. Voice/song is also discussed in the text. Excellent reference book. I keep one in the house and one in the car. Highly recommended!

Excellent guide.
As a beginner bird-watcher, I was looking for a field guide that was easy to understand and contained plenty of information about the habits of birds. This book certainly meets those criteria. It is easy to read and understand, and contains lots of helpful information. It is also beautifully and accurately illustrated, making it easy to identify birds by sight.

I would recommend this book to anyone, beginner or advanced, who is interested in observing birds in eastern North America. This guide has something for everyone.

Best field size guide ever.
The Sibley Guide to Birds, as most mention, is a great guide but too heavy to tote into the field...this field guide solves that problem.

Yes, the illustrations are smaller, but just as useable. Yes, some of the illustrations in the original guide have been deleted, but the guide you take with is better than the one at home. (You should have the original at home anyway!)

I find that the addition of Status, Habitat and Behavior in the text more than makes up for fewer illustrations.

Well made and sturdy...buy it! ... Read more

Book Description

Discover how to create a backyard bird sanctuary with the expert guidance of the National Audubon Society.Your backyard will come alive by applying these feeding and gardening techniques.Includes a photographic guide to the birds of North America, as well as the trees and plants that attract them.The ultimate resource for anyone interested in creating a bird-friendly habitat. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Beautiful baby pictures.....
I recently purchased THE AUDUBON BACKYARD BIRDWATCHER, as well as WHERE THE BIRDS ARE published by the National Wildlife Federation and BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA from the Smithsonian. All three books have something to recommend them, and if you are an avid bird watcher or want to become one you will want all three. The Audubon book will have the greatest appeal to the backyard bird watcher who has neither the time nor inclination to travel to the wonderful sites listed in the NWF publication. The Audubon book is not exhaustive or even nearly so. For a more complete listing of birds, turn to another Audubon publication or the Smithsonian publication I mentioned above. Audubon offers complete listings of birds by geographic regions in other publications. You'll find only birds adapted to areas inhabited by humans in the AUDUBON BACKYARD BIRDWATCHER -- familiar friends like Robins and Finches, Pine Siskins and Chickadees. Each bird entry contains a photograph of the bird under discussion, sometimes in flight, sometimes posing and sometimes feeding itself or it's young. This book is wonderful for kids and I am using it to teach my grandchildren about birds just as my grandparents taught me!! The book contains sections on bathing, bird calls (including call notes and mimicry), and baby raising, and all are illustrated with many wonderful photos including some amazing shots of babies hatching, babies being fed, and babies launching into independence. Sections on bird pests, bird deaths, and bird rescues explain foiling predators, warning birds about glass windows, and banding and tracking birds. The child exposed to this book will learn someting about birds and life. Probably one of the most informative sections for the new birder or even old birders like me includes suggestions about what to grow in your own backyard to attract the birds. It's not enough to put out seed in a birdfeeder if you want diversity, though the book covers what to use in bird feeders. If you want to see anything other than seed eaters however, you'll have to provide other types of foods including bugs and berries. Usually where you grow berries, you'll have bugs. The book contians sections on hedging, vegetation variety, leaf litter (for cover, food, and nest-building), dust for baths, and water requirements. While the Audubon book isn't a gardening book per se, you'll find more information about building a bird friendly garden in this book than in most gardening books. I recommend the Audubon book as a teaching and instuction tool for the new birders and old birders alike. Oh--my favorite baby picture? -- the short-eared owls. If you don't think owls can come to your back yard guess again. I've had them in my backyard and I live 10 minutes from the White House. I won't tell you want owls eat. You just go right on thinking it's mice.

A wonderful reference book
Before I purchased this book, I struggled to find something that I could refer to quickly when I spotted a bird at my feeder. Not only did this book provide me with basic features such as nesting habits, song descriptions, and typical diets of each bird, it also gave vital information on how to attract these fascinating little guys into your yard through the use of water, food, shelter, & shrubs and flowers. The photos are fantastic as well. I find myself referring to this book constantly, and keep it right by my binoculars.

About the birds you see and how to attract more of them
Bird profiles, behavior guide, nesting, eggs, curious behavior, songs, displays. Ways to attract birds to your backyard no matter what kind of area you live in... landscaping, supplemental feeding, water. The photos are fantastic and are very valuable to the backyard birder. Great book. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Wildflowers made easy: an indispensable reference.
If you're going to buy just one book on wildflower identification, this is it. While not foolproof, this system is the best I've seen. It beats by far other methods using color and shape of flower, as used in the Audubon and Peterson field guides (though both the latter have their place, and you should get both if you're really serious).

A most unique aspect of this book is that it includes shrubs as well as plants normally considered wildflowers, adding greatly to its utility for the amateur observer.

Simple System Eases Wildflower Identification
The author's system allows even amateurs like me to quickly and accurately identify wildflowers.

It is as simple as answering five questions which point the user to the appropriate page in the book where the flower is described and pictured. The text is great. The first sentence of each description distinguishes that plant from all others in that group.

If you are looking for a wildflower guide, they do not get better than this one.

Hands-down best (for the Northeast)
This is the easiest-to-use and most thorough flower guide I've ever seen. Yes, most illustrations are black-and-white. It's an initial disappointment; however, the quick and sure five-step identification process is worth the lack of color (and the drawings are expertly done). It's much more complete than, say, the Audubon guide. Newcomb has yet to leave me stumped for the identity of any flowering plant. As has been noted, this guide is valid for the Northeast U.S., from Virginia-Kentucky up; and for Canada from Thunder Bay to Newfoundland. I wish the rest of you had a version -- it's indispensible.

Nice book, but..
there's no way to tell from the web pages, but this book is only about wildflowers in the Northeast portion of the U.S., didn't do me much good in California.
Was a Christmas gift that will be returned.
Amazon.com should make it plain that it's regional.

A useful book
Newcomb's guide is a great book, once you get past the initial training period. For those of us used to flipping through pictures of flowers and fruit until we think we have the right one, this book can be initially off-putting.

My advice...get used to it. Newcomb's system is more efficient and more certain than flower-flipping. A good book. ... Read more

Book Description

Roger Tory Peterson had already made his mark with his innovative field guide when he conducted DDT research during World War II. His friend and fellow naturalist Rachel Carson built on these efforts and eventually wrote Silent Spring, a landmark text that, along with Peterson"s field guide, jump-started the modern environmental movement.
By combining the tireless observation of a scientist with the imaginative skills of an artist and writer, Peterson created a field guide that Robert Bateman, in his foreword to the fifth edition, says was the doorway for millions of people into the wonderland of natural history.
The Peterson Identification System has been used in the more than fifty books that make up the Peterson Field Guide series. Peterson"s magnum opus, now in its fifth edition, created the trail for countless field guides to follow. They are still following year by year, but his is the standard by which all other field guides are judged.
On the morning of July 28, 1996, Roger Peterson was painting his final bird plate. He died peacefully in his sleep later that day. It is fitting that his final work—a culmination of more than sixty years of observing, painting, and writing—should be this one, a revision of the guide that started his legacy. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

A review for beginning birders (from one, gulp!)
When starting this hobby, there are an immense number of guides and (often expensive) resources to choose from.

This book should be the first one you buy (well, if you are in the eastern half of the US).

But it should not be the last. The Peterson Guide uses drawings (important -- NOT photos) to show you the typical features of the birds around you. Other great guides -- like the Audubon series -- use photos, but photos are harder for a beginner to use for a sure-fire identification. Or this beginner anyway...

No bird in the field looks exactly like the lovely Peterson drawing, but no two bird photos are ever alike, either (even of the same bird). Use the Peterson to get to know the bird species around you, and maybe next buy a guide like the Audubon Society Field Guide (just because -- I dunno, they seem like a one-two punch to me)! It's great to go looking with both, but if I had to choose one, it would be Peterson.

To learn more about birding in general, Sibley has a nice, shortish overview book called "Sibley's Birding Basics."

I'm only getting started, but this is some advice about what's helped in beginning to learn all this wonderful stuff about the living world all 'round.

small improvement--world of difference
I previously carried an old edition of Peterson's because the pictures are more helpful for identification than those in any other field guide. However, it was a nuisance having to search through the range maps in the back of the book to see whether a bird could be found in a given location.

In this new edition a miniature range map is printed next to the description of each bird on the page opposite the picture. (Full-sized maps are still located in the back of the book.) The new format is very helpful to those of us who don't already know the ranges of most birds. This very good field guide is now great.

The is the best bird guide book I've ever seen or owned!
I owe a few bird books but this is the best and most handy one to identify a bird I'm not familar with. I love the arrows pointing to the areas for quick identification. It shows me what I should be looking for and sure helps when the bird won't stand still. The book is so light, I can have it on hand at all times. I even have it next to me in my own backyard. If you want a book to start out a new hobby of identifying birds, this is the one to get. Then start collecting from there. In fact, I'm considering buying another one for my car for spir-of-the-moment identification away from home and leave one at home for the backyard.

Very useful and handy!
Really needed a good (and easy to use) guide for our new bordering-on-the-woods house. We get tons of bird traffic at our feeders, and this book is organized well enough that I can quickly identify the species we see.

The field guide that started it all
If you're getting into birding, or want a good field guide to see what birds are at your cabin or in your yard, this is it.

It's got the bird listed opposite from the description and has arrows to show field marks of a species. New in the 5th edition are:

Maps on the same page as the description (maps improved too!)
The description mentions how common the bird is in the east.
The area covered doesn't take a sharp turn and leave out the tip of texas

If you're getting more into birding I'd highly recommend David Sibley's guide, it has many more views and plumages of each bird, but is a bit large to take in the field. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Covering 508 bird species found east of the Rocky Mountains, the revised second edition takes into account changes in taxonomy and uses improved photography. At the heart of the guide is a set of 646 well-made color photographs whose subjects are organized by easily discerned characteristics (e.g., "chicken-like marsh birds," such as the clapper rail; "gull-like birds," such as the kittiwake; and "upright-perching water birds," such as the common murre). The photographs are then keyed to textual descriptions of the birds' appearance, range and habitat, nesting characteristics, and behavior. Easy to use and handsomely produced, this belongs in every eastern birdwatcher's collection. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Not as good as the Peterson Bird Guides
This National Audubon Society field guide to birds has lots and lots of nice, but small, photos of birds. That's nice. This guide also includes most of the birds of the region. Those are the plusses of this book. There are, however, a number of minuses that come along with this book.

First of all, no photograph-based field guide can show the important characteristics needed to identify most birds as clearly as a good illustration can. Next, the only info that accompanies each photograph is the common name of the bird, along with its gender, average size, and a reference to a page number to a section in the back of the book that provides all of the descriptive narrative information for each species. That info includes each bird's physical description, voice (call), habitat, nesting info, and geographic range (with a map by the info -- that's nice). The part that's frustrating for me is that I have to spend time flipping back and forth between the photo section at the front of the book and the info section at the back of the book in order to get the info I'm looking for! While I'm in the field birding, that's a hassle! I therefore much prefer the illustrated format that has pictures and descriptive info of the Peterson Guides to the Audubon guides.

Still, the Audubon guides are useful, though I use mine primarily as a secondary source, and it usually stays inside when I go out -- Peterson is my guide of choice.

I am, by the way, a novice birder myself, and find that the Peterson Guides help me to ID birds faster and with fewer errors than the Audubon guides do.

5 points for photos, but 3 points for ease of use, for 4 points overall.

Good luck,and happy spotting!

Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College, IN

An Excellent Field Guide for Birders
This is an excellent guide to identifying birds. The National Audubon Society is an excellent authority on all things nature, and therefore it is not surprising that the National Audubon Society would publish a helpful guide. The guide helps a birder identify birds by behavior, size, habitat, plumage, call, and location. There are color photographs of many birds to guide the birder. The plates are grouped by family which makes basic identification easy. The book also has a section that describes each bird as well as maps that show the likely locations where birds can be found. The color plates are enjoyable simply to look at, and can help a person prepare for possible sightings. The book is small enough that it can be carried to the field. The cover is also durable so it can withstand wear and tear. Since the boos are divided buy Eastern Region and Western Region, so the book is not very cumbersome.

Good Pictures, Info; Poor Organization
I have used many of Audubon's Field Guides, and they are very helpful and usually organized and easy to understand. However, this one is extremely complex and confusing.

When I find an interesting bird, I would go grab my binoculars and field guide and look it up. I go to the correct catagory and frantically search for the bird. When I find it, it gives me a detailed color picture that helps identify the bird. However, if you want more information, it than refers you to a different page, hundreds of thin pages away. You than need to go and find the page, but by then, the bird is gone. When I do get to the page, it is filled with wonderful detailed information of appearance, voice, habitat, nesting, range, map of habitat, and a brief summary.

The book is nice, but I would recommend buying another one with more organization.

Great potential but bad design
Field guides are great to have because they're small and their entire aim is to help you immediately identify a bird you see before you. Every birder should have at least one field guide, and maybe even several - some to keep in the car or by a window.

Being published by the National Audubon Society, you'd expect this field guide to be top-notch, one developed and tested by thousands of birders. Indeed, the photos are very nice, full color and in 'native habitat'. The descriptions are pretty complete - with size, key things to look for, song, hapitat. There's a little map showing range, and the range is also described as well.

The problem is with the layout. All of the pictures are at the front of the book - put into groups by bird type, three to a page. Often there's only one photo of a bird, even though they look different during different years of life or seasons. If you see something that seems it might be right, now you have to go flipping through many pages to track down the actual *information* on that bird. Does it even live where you're looking? Are there other similar birds it might be instead? What are those key features you're supposed to be watching for? By the time you figure any of this out, the bird is probably back in hiding.

It seems with their knowledge of birders and how birders operate, they'd have arranged this book in an easier-to-use fashion. While this is a nice book to have for its lovely pictures, it's not what I grab when I need to bring a field book with me on a trip.

Incomplete and inconvenient
This book, although had good intentions is a very inefficient and incomplete field guide. It only has pictures of some of the birds, and usually only one plumage, which makes it impossible as a reliable field guide for fall shorebirds and warblers, and juvenile birds. The pictures of the birds are also seperate from the descriptions and range maps. In addition the pictures are organized by color rather that family. So, if you know you are looking at a warbler you can't go to the warbler section you must find the section of the pictures that has e.g. birds with yellow plumage. Pictures of birds in flight are all but absent in this guide, so if you don't know your hawks, etc. you won't be any better off with this book. I would recommend a more complete and easy to use guide like the National Geographic field guide. ... Read more

Book Description

Everyone's heard of the Great Whites. But most people know little of the hundreds of other types of sharks that inhabit the world's oceans. Written by two of the world's leading authorities and superbly illustrated by wildlife artist Marc Dando, this is the first comprehensive field guide to all 440-plus shark species. Color plates illustrate all species, and detailed accounts include diagnostic line drawings and a distribution map for each species. Introductory chapters treat physiology, behavior, reproduction, ecology, diet, and sharks' interrelationships with humans.

• More than 125 original full-color illustrations for fast and accurate identification of each shark family
• Over 500 additional drawings illustrating physical features from different angles
• Clear identification information for each species with details of size, habitat, behavior, and biology
• Quick ID guide helpful for differentiating similar species
• Geographic distribution maps for each species
• For professional and amateur shark enthusiasts

Reviews (1)

A must for shark workers and enthusiasts
If you don't know anything about Leonard Compagno, you should know that he is a very thorough archivist.It was he who cataloged all of the known shark species for the FAO Species Catalog, presumably the basis for this book.The book begins with a small introductory section on sharks (evolution, anatomy, physiology, ecology, etc.) and a key to the families.This is followed by wonderfully drawn color plates of each shark.The individual descriptions of the sharks include a line drawing with notable characters, examples of upper and lower teeth (more if heterodontic), distributions and a short blurb that includes habitat, size, behavior and biology, descriptions and IUCN status.Included are relatively new species and all of the deep-water forms.I cannot imagine needing another guide, at least for the next ten years.New species aren't exactly rolling in.I would recommend, however, a hardback copy for field workers, as paperbacks don't last very long with heavy usage.Also, keep in mind that other elasmobranchs are not included.I have not seen Compagno's much cheaper Collins Guide (only available in hardback), but I do know that this Princeton Guide is worth the money. ... Read more

Amazon.com

For the untrained observer, it can be quite a challenge to sort out the many trees that make up a stand of older forest in, say, New England or the Ozarks. This well-illustrated guidebook, covering 364 species, comes to the rescue with photographs organized in several ways: by, for example, the shape of the leaf or needle, by the fruit, by the flower or cone, and by autumn coloration. Following one visible characteristic or another, the reader can narrow the range of possibilities, then turn to an informative text that describes a tree's physical characteristics, habitat, and range.Many of the species covered are relatively rare, such as the "stinking cedar" of the Georgia-Florida border; others are locally abundant, such as the paper birch of the boreal forest, used to make ice-cream sticks; still others, such as the smooth sumac, are widespread. The guidebook also covers ornamentals introduced from other continents, such as the Chinese privet and Mahaleb cherry. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Trees are for life!
Trees are for life not just firewood or park benches, and been able to identify and expand your knowledge helps in this appreciation. The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees is a well laid out book with good reference material and identification method. I bought this book whilst living in LA and it has travelled with me to all corners and bogs. It is a source which is very much appreciated.

A good secondary reference
This book relies heavily on color photos of bark, leaves, flowers, and fruiting bodies. This method makes winter identification diificult, and even when in leaf subtleties which differentiate species may not be evident. I use the Peterson guide to trees and shrubs (ISBN 039535370X) as my primary resource, and use the Audubon book as a secondary source.

Recommended
This is a beautifully bound, easy to use book that gives all kinds of info on many different trees. The size is perfect for tucking away in your pocket when you're not using it.

beautiful book, but very small
this was a beautiful book, but very small in size, be sure to check the size of the book to make sure thats the size you want.

Great reference!
We just purhased some new land with an abundance of trees. While I don't consider myself to be a tree expert, there where quite a few that stumped my husband and I. This is where this great little book came in handy. It lets you identify trees based on either flower, leaf, bark, etc and has them sorted into appropriate sections with colored photos. Needless to say, we have used this book time and time again. It is a nice size too so that you can take it with you. ... Read more

Book Description

This Audio CD is designed for anyone who wants to learn how to recognize bird songs. It features the sounds of 189 different bird species found in the Midwest and Northeast States.

Each bird song recording is followed by a short description of the sound along with a common mnemonic used to remember it. Many well-known song mnemonics such as "Who cooks for you?" for the Barred Owl and "Poor Sam Peabody" for the White-throated Sparrow are included. Following the song and mnemonic, the source of the sound is revealed. By naming the bird at the end of each track, the listener is allowed to wonder and guess at the nature of the sound. Active listening, similar to what one experiences in the field while searching for an unknown bird song, is a key to engaging the memory process.

One way to use this CD is to enable the "Random Play" or "Shuffle" option on a home CD player, portable stereo, or personal computer. Although it may be frustrating at first, repetition of this "quiz" game will quickly improve recognition skills. Gaining familiarity with these songs will greatly increase any bird watcher's enjoyment and awareness of birds in their natural habitat.

Features:

- 189 bird species found in the Midwest and Northeast states
- Digital bird song recordings made in Wisconsin
- Brief narration after each song includes descriptive, memorable and often funny mnemonics
- Can be used as a field guide to learn and identify songs or as a recognition quiz game
- Easy to use alphabetical track listing of all birds and their mnemonics
- It is a great gift for any birdwatcher, beginner or advanced.
- Total running time: 60 minutes ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Wish it were more comprehensive
Very good job. Love the mnemonics. I wish it had near the calls that the Stokes and Peterson CD's did. Also, letting us hear the call first, before telling the bird name is great.

excellent learning disk for new birders
Our family has owned a patch of shore/forest land in Wisconsin for 20 years although none have been birders. With this disk we easily learned to identify species and discovered the diversity that we never noticed previously. The call/naming/call format of this disk is excellent for new birders and the numbers of species covered is ideal. I use the Stokes disk set as a reference but the name/call format and large number species covered does not facilitate learning the calls.

A unique and impressive CD audiobook
John Feith's Bird Song Ear Training Guide is a unique and impressive CD audiobook providing instructions on how to recognize songs of birds common to the states of the Midwest and Northeast (including Wisconsin where almost all the bird songs were recorded and the post-production work was done). Each distinctive bird song is followed by a mnemonic or a short description. The bird is identified and a review sound is played again that fixes the song's identity in the mind of the listener. The Bird Song Ear Training Guide is enhanced with a quiz format which will aid the listener to focus on learning how to identify the bird songs. A complete list of bird species and mnemonics is included in an insert. All profits from this enthusiastically recommended CD instructional for birdwatchers will go to the Nature Conservancy and the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology.

Buy it for your cats!
Actually you'll find it useful and accurate too. Fun to use, lots of songs, and my two feline birders went bananas. Who would know better? Good value for the money and the proceeds go to a good cause.

Unbiased Review by the Author
One might call this CD a companion "ear training guide" to the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs. Or maybe a condensed Birding by Ear. It falls between the two in terms of number of birds (189) and amount of narration (about 5 seconds following each bird song). It has the lovely voice of a female narrator (unusual for a bird tape) and the birds have a tinge of a Wisconsin accent.

For some, the main draw of this CD is that one is allowed to guess before being told the name of the bird singing. Others might like the number of memorable mnemonics and brief song descriptions used. For those in the Midwest, the main draw might be that all the birds were recorded in Wisconsin (although most of the birds can be heard over much of the Eastern United States). And finally, the fact that one can review or "take a quiz" on the songs of 189 birds in only 60 minutes is a big advantage over the multi-CD guides.

This is, of course, only the opinion of the unbiased author. ... Read more

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

From the creator of the seminal field guide, The Sibley Guide toBirds, comes another indispensable book for bird watchers. Thisveritable bible to the world of birds is the collaborative effort of 48expert birders and biologists, who combine scientific accuracy anddetail with an easily readable and well-organized format. How does atiny chickadee survive subzero temperatures? How do flocks of birdssynchronize the