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Absolutely every aspect of the book has been thought out in terms of field-usefulness. extensive subspecies coverage.These two factors can be confusing for neophytes, but on the other hand many veteran birders can't live without them. This is the single NA bird guide that approaches the avocation from a scientific standpoint; all the rest take a more relaxed standpoint. Once you use this guide, you won't settle for anything else, not even Sibley's excellent guide.The only thing that might discourage a beginning birder is: 1. After five revisions, this book is a fine-tuned machine. If you are a beginner, you may wish to start out with the Sibley guide, or the Peterson guide. use of scientific jargon, and 2. I find the subspecies pictures to be extremely useful when afield; some may view it as a hassle.Bottom line: you owe it to yourself to buy this book - it may be the best $16 you ever spend.
I finally know what kind of birds i've been feeding for the last twenty years.
Nat Geo has done a great job with this book, at least for the non-professional bird watcher. A great resource.
Better size than Sibley for a field guide and almost as good as Sibley as a guide.Best to have both.
Without field testing, the sturdiness of the paperback format to withstand rugged use is unknown, but in doubt. An experienced birder will have no difficulty finding the correct family or grouping of birds even if they still cannot tell the Empidonax flycatchers apart. The illustrations vary in quality. Although the diagnostic features of a species are not pointed out in the illustrations, which is a drawback in my eyes, the concise text clearly sets out the features.
A birder needs to compare the information and illustrations of two or more field guides. While the illustration of the Greater Roadrunner is absolutely brilliant in shape and color, the Northern Cardinal's color seems muddy and dull. First, it has the very sage advice, "The time you spend at home with your field guide will be repaid when you go out birding." Using its maps as a guide, a birder can peruse the pages to obtain a good idea of what to expect in the field. For example, the Introduction provides an illustration of what to look for and how to tell a Lesser Scaup from a Greater Scaup. I believe that the Fifth Edition of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America has a number of qualities and features that make it an admirable and worthy choice as one of the field guides one should use.
The trick is to pick field guides that provide comprehensive, easily accessible, clear information that make identifications quick and indisputable. It promotes itself as "comprehensive, authoritative, portable, sturdy, and easier than ever to use". Among this field guide's qualities are an easy to use quick find index on the back cover flap, a convenient size, illustrations of the 967 species seen in North American (including the extinct ones) and a wonderfully helpful Introduction with many hints on bird identification, parts of a bird, the range of maps, and how to be a better birder. The field guide does have a few draw backs. The text is comprehensive, providing the diagnostic features for males, females, and juveniles when these vary.
A single field guide is not sufficient. Despite these minor flaws that emphasize the need for more than one field guide, I highly recommend the Fifth Edition of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America as one of the field guides to study at home or carry into the field. (That is not the fault of the field guide). Any birder will still be able to identify a Northern Cardinal, but the reality will be different from the illustration, which casts some doubt on the color representations of other, less well known species.
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