National Geographic Field Guide To Birds (See Video) – Excellent illustration usage & guide info.

How I became an owner of this reference book
I enjoy watching nature. The wife and I purchased our first home in the spring of 2006. Our new home was more suburbia then were used to growing up around, but we both desired that.

The added bonus was the wildlife we get to encounter:
First wildlife encounter was a very long black snake, I wasn’t around to see it, but my wife almost ran above ground at light speed to get away from it, per her cousin. Understatement: snakes scare her! It took a short time period to find out we have many animal visitors, including but not limited to:
Squirrels, Bunnies, Deer, Wild Turkey, Gophers, Vultures, Bugs I never knew existed, many bird species, and leprechauns - etc. (ok, no leprechauns)

Shortly after moving in, I had the idea of getting a bird feeder because we were both getting into nature. Birds starting coming to the feeder quickly and I did not know what most of them were regarding species name.

Long story short, my grandmother in law got this book for us a few months ago.

Book Basics
Paraphrased & edited by me for easier reading – from cover w/observations
This book is the 5th edition of the series, fully revised.
Includes every bird species found in North America, all 967 of them with illustrations.
Over 500 pages of practical informational reference for beginners to experts.
About 700 range maps (shows species habitat maps in relation to North America as a whole)
Thumb tabs for easy access & quick find index.
Edited by Jon L. Dunn and Johnathan Alderfer
Made in China - $24.00 US / $32.00 Can
This book is a paperback which I consider to be above average in quality, very nice cover and paper quality on interior.

Inside the Book
Crack the cover open and you immediately know this book is all about business. Cover page opens to a flap containing bird topography illustrations with terms and a quick reference to finding bird families with in the guide. A contents page quickly follows.

--- Introduction pages 6 to 20---
All previous editions are revisited with release years and insight into changes made as this guide book has aged. Interesting fact: The very first edition was released in 1983. There is mention of what resources were beneficial in the creation of this guide: Museum Specimens, Pre-existing European knowledge of birding, & related institutional help. A full list of acknowledgements are located on page 502.

Subtopics in Introduction Section
I'll provide a brief outline of each subtopic
1) Species Selection – mentions that all bird species are covered from North America plus adjacent islands and seas within about 200 miles of the coast
2) Families – A family can be one bird, or over a hundred. Common characteristics create a family.
Example:Strong, sharp bills, strong claws, and short legs are among the features that make them easily recognized as woodpeckers.
3) Scientific Names – Names are derived from Greek or Latin for birds and a stronger identifier of individuality than family names.
4) Subspecies – Recognition and identification started in the late 19th century, Identifiable characteristic differences were noticeable, documented, and naming schemes were elongated.
5) How to identify birds – lists which physical clues makes birds easier to identify.
6) Parts of a bird – Self explanatory and very informative.
7) Molt – Regular renewal of plumage is defined. Like skin changes on a human being with age, feathering changes on a bird with age.
8) Plumage Variation – The pattern and coloring of a bird’s feathers/appearance. You probably could guess that male, female, young, and old (same type) species can look different. Did you know some birds breed with other bird species, creating hybrids?
9) Plumage Sequence – Insight into the maturation process (or difference there of) in plumage is discussed.
10) Measurements – An important factor in determining alike subspecies.
11) Voice – Different species (not subspecies) of birds can appear very similar. A key indicator of identification is entirely different vocal calls.
12) Behavior – Traits are mentioned: Speed of wing flap, flight pattern, eating patterns (ground or treetop?), etc.
13) Abundance and Habitat – Self explanatory.
14) Range Maps – Provided throughout the book are defined as being based on actual sightings. Areas can expand and contract since birds are not bound by maps and migration patterns must also be taken into account.
15) How to be a better birder – Discusses how the experienced birder can recognize clues, also sadly lists a group of birds which are recently thought to be extinct. Endangered (E), Threatened (T), and (EX) Extinct birds are noted throughout the book with symbols.

The introduction pages are beneficial to understanding many facets of birds in general and how this reference guide was designed. Very informative reading and not as dry as I thought it would be.

Digging Deeper in the Book
Accessing each bird family when book is closed is easy due to labeled finger tabs plus indexes on front and back insides of cover.
The following tabs are available:
Hawks, Sandpipers, Gulls, Flycatchers, Warblers, Sparrows, and Finches.
Page 1 of each family grouping contains a quick paragraph of common characteristics. Subspecies within families also will have a quick paragraph further referencing common characteristics. These intro paragraphs are always highlighted in light green coloring.

Open up this guide to any page looking for species/subspecies information and you will notice the following:
1) All descriptive reference information (text) is located on the left page and range maps are also located here. These pages are even numbered.
2) All illustrations of birds are located on the right page (odd numbered pages).
There are few exceptions, like near the back of the book where “Accidentals & Extinct Species” are located.

-- Observations & Opinions --
Bird illustrations are excellent, lifelike, and in color. There are no real pictures of birds inside the cover, and I didn’t even realize until now. Illustrations allow for excellent observation of bird plumage/detail from the look of the feet to the crown and everywhere in between. Cool!

Expect illustrations for each listed bird, the corresponding scientific name, and length in standard and metric figures. A description of male and female physical characteristics and often juvenile descriptions, corresponding call and song descriptions, range description, and of course range maps diagrammed are also well presented.

Range Maps are outlined diagrams of North America in black and white. Two color variations are presented on these diagrams in varying shaped blotches pending species: Red and Blue.
Red = Breeding range
Blue = Year round range
Light Blue = Winter Range
The presence of lines (dashed and straight) and dots also has meanings on map diagramming, defined on page 18 of this book. Example: Principal direction of migration and selected breeding colonies, etc.

Personal Experience
I have referenced this book to check out one of my favorite birds which visits my bird feeder (year round): The Northern Cardinal. The male Cardinal is a very brilliant red in coloring which mesmerizes me. The female cardinal is just as wonderful to watch with its more prevalent mohawk swaying in the wind. I also noticed females are keener on observing their surroundings while perched. With the insight provided in this book, I found out Cardinals are non-migratory, they stay in one area all year round, so I keep food in the feeder all year long. The book also lists their average length as 8.75 inches and mentions their common calls, one of which is purty, purty, purty. I have heard this call many times and never knew it belonged to the Cardinal family. Not mentioned in book: They passionately love to eat sunflower seeds!

So I knew what a Cardinal was prior to cracking the book open, but I did gain some insight.

I was able to identify the “White Breasted Nuthatch” with this book. I was very curious to identify this bird because I laughed out loud when I watched one hanging around the bird feeder. This bird will hop sideways up a tree, it hung upside down on my bird feeder, it quickly changes into other acrobatic positions no matter where it’s currently at, and it even pecks inside of tree bark looking for insects to eat. If pharmaceutical companies made “Ritalin” for birds, Nuthatches should be first in line.

I have also seen multiple types of finches at my feeder and have been able to identify corresponding names with this book. Same with starlings.

Perverted Rant
What pervert invented some of these bird names? These are all real species names:
Boobies? Titmice? Pendulin Tits? Bushtits? Nuthatches? Goatsuckers?
A couple other bird names are borderline perverted (Swallows?); maybe it’s just my overactive imagination. Thought I would mention, because if you have a young child (I don’t), not sure how you would feel about him/her reading words like this. Don’t say I didn’t forewarn.

Cons
Book is listed as a “Field Guide” on the cover and is an excellent one at that.
Put this con down as wishful hoping: I wish there was more information associated with each bird, like: What do they eat? Personality traits? Etc. Since my desires fall outside the range of “Field Guide” definition, I will not subtract any points.

Ultimate Opinion
Considering this is a field guide and should be used as such, I believe this to contain excellent reference information in an easy to comprehend layout. Please read the introduction pages prior to opening the book looking for a particular bird. By doing so, you can quickly surmise the correct family section to delve into. Albeit, common sense will take you far.

YouTube Video
I made a quick amateur video (7th video in collection), showing a brief look at this book and also a Northern Cardinal at my bird feeder (male), video running time is: 2 minute 5 seconds, no audio.
Link is here (please copy paste if interested):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKHvcMbIJk8

Maybe some day I will get the White Breasted Nuthatch on video and you can see why I laugh at them, when I put one on YouTube.

Thanks for reading my review!
© nonedude 2008 (Mike Glassboro)