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Summary: The One We've Been Waiting For!
Review: Attention, all North American birders. The ultimate field guide has arrived--Ken Kaufman's new Focus Guide to the Birds of North America! Not since Roger Tory Peterson's landmark guides has one book combined all the essential elements a birder needs to quickly and accurately make field identifications. Previous guides have used either artists' color plates or photographs; each has its pros and cons. But the Kaufman Guide's use of computer-enhanced and edited photographs gives us the best of both worlds and works marvelously, now that the technology makes it possible. The ranges maps, in addition to providing the usual winter and breeding distribution, distinguish between areas where species are common and rare. They also include migration ranges, which are rarely pictured in other field guides. Best of all, Mr. Kaufman has put all the essential facts and photos into a compact 384-page paperback that will easily fit in a coat or pants pocket. While no one book can possibly provide everything a birder might want, this one, for its size, gives one the most important info. For birds that are usually seen in flight, like pelagics, raptors and waterfowl, there are additional poses. And for those especially nasty challenges, such as juvenile gulls, fall warblers, and immature sparrows, there are also extra photos. If you can only afford one bird book or don't care to carry a liibrary everytime you go out in the field, this is the book for you! I've been birding for nearly half a century, and this is now the one I'll take everytime!
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Summary: Innovative and modern
Review: Field Guides of Birds come in two different forms and each has its supporters. Some folks prefer those showing reality using one or more photographs. Others prefer those based on paintings that can be made to highlight key features. Kaufman's Field Guide attempts to blend the two approaches by using digitally enhanced photos as its basis of identification. And they are among the best photos I've seen for this purpose. But I have to admit that they don't quite do it for me; there is a degree of artificiality to the photos that is unsatisfying. The paintings of Peterson and Sibley are, to my eyes, more useful in helping me understand the key elements of shape, plumage, and other characteristics. Anyone who is familiar with other Field Guides will also have difficulty with Kaufman's non-standard order of images (e.g., owls and hawks grouped together). It makes finding a given group of birds difficult until or unless you become very familiar with this book. But there is much that is good as well. The multi-colored range maps, using a variety of scales, clearly impart more information than their counterparts in many other Guides. And the Family introductions are full of useful tidbits that help you understand common characteristics of a group of related birds. It was certainly Kaufman's misfortune that Sibley's Field Guide was published so close on the heels of his for it makes comparisons inevitable. Viewed by itself, Kaufman's book would be applauded for its innovation and the wealth of information it contains. But when compared to Sibley, it is but a distant second-best. I would consider it a welcome addition to my bookshelf, but not my first choice as either a pocketable Field Guide or a home/car reference book (I'd choose National Geographic and Sibley, respectively, for those roles). Nice to have, but not a "must-have".
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Summary: Love it and recommend it. Great novice field guide
Review: I grew up with an aunt who loved Birding. When I was a child she gave me a Golden Books Guide. I havent birded since and decided to buy a new book and compare the two.. Ken's guide blows it away..Many have opinions about the advantage/disadvantage of photographs or paintings, but after having the book I'll choose Ken s photos every time. He did a superb job with this book and photos. I always hated how the books with painted images appeared brighter in its colors than the birds in real life. I went thru most every pocket sized guide outthere and this book was my #1 pick. It has a tougher Flexicover than most all others and the color coded pages are quick and easy for a novice. The picture set ups are great and not jumbled/jammed together as other books. Granted this is not a desk manual so it only has the minumum required info on each bird, but thats all you need for a pocket field guide.
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Summary: My new favorite...
Review: I have in the past used both Peterson's and National Geographic, but this book has quickly replaced them as the one I take out into the field. Kauffman has gotten past the traditional problems with photographic guides - while retaining their best features. The single page index at the end makes it much faster to look up birds.
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Summary: best field guide
Review: i own several bird guides and this is by far my very favorite. i love having the maps with the descriptions. i also like the notations about song and calls, which have helped me ID birds long before i have seen them. if you have to choose only one guide, i'd recommend this one.
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Summary: This veteran birder's favorite field guide
Review: I started birdwatching in the mid-seventies and used as my first field guide the Golden book. It is the perfect size to go anywhere and it includes the range maps of the species on the same page as the painting of the bird. (My major complaint of the Peterson guide is the maps are at the back of the book.) The Golden was my favorite until I purchased the National Geographic 3rd edition. The NG contains more variations of each species with great detail. However, this turned out to be a double-edged sword. Too much detail to look through on an unfamiliar bird, and the book is cumbersome in the field. Checking out Ken Kaufman's new field guide from my local library and using it during the waterfowl migration this spring, convinced me it is my must have book in the field. I was never a fan of the photographic guides, but with today's technology, Kaufman and his crew hit a home run. Clear digitally- enhanced photos. It IS field guide size with range maps next to the bird's picture. The one-page, short index inside the back cover is very helpful in looking up a bird quickly. I own eight field guides including the Sibley guide, but this is the one I take in the field. If you're looking for a single book to get started in birdwatching, this is my pick. Happy birding!
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Summary: A great book for the casual birdwatcher
Review: I've just started to get involved with the world of birds and I have to say that this is by far the best book to learn from. Not only is it easy to use, but it is also full of interesting, helpful facts. Since I have the flexi-cover edition, I can take it anywhere! I can use it at the top of a summit or in the car. This is by far the best book for new birders out.
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Summary: I give this one to my friends
Review: I've owned and enjoyed numerous field guides through my 50+ years of life: Peterson, Golden, National Geographic Society, Audubon, Sibley and Kaufman. My homes have been Illinois, Alaska and Montana. The guide I carry in the field today is Kaufman's BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. His digitally altered photographs are not as lovely as the paintings in the latest NGS, Sibley or Peterson guides (which I own and admire). His written comments are enjoyable, brief and apt. Kaufman's guide works best, I believe, for quick identification in the field. That is why this is the first bird book I give to my friends. Negatives? Sure. I do not care for the colored pages (indexing okay, but not entire pages), and I think some of the owls look weird.
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Summary: Very nice, for a photo guide
Review: Let me tell you my bias up-front - I generally prefer bird guides which contain illustrations rather than photographs; I have found that poor lighting, bad angles and subjects not representative of their species tend to make their way into photo guides, thereby defeating the purpose. That said, I am very impressed with the quality of images in the Kaufman guide, likely because they're not unretouched. Kaufman uses digital editing to touch up the photographs so that each one is more representative of each species, and so that the quality of lighting is excellent. It is of a size small enough to be easily carried into the field, unlike my favorite book, the Sibley guide, and the different page background colors are convenient for flipping quickly to the right section. There are short sections in the front of the book on "how to bird," "where to bird," and "what to look for," along with a few other blurbs, but all of this covers only nine pages total. Further, the text accompanying each bird is very short, one small paragraph. Still, it's readily apparent that a *lot* of work went into this guide, and I'm really impressed with it. While I personally believe that it's not something a novice birder would likely find really useful, like the National Geographic Society's book, intermediate and advanced birders will likely find it easy to use for quick reference about a field marking or species differentiation. Conveniently, he covers all of the birds of North America, thereby obviating the need to purchase one book for the East, one for the West, and so forth. My best advice is to get your hands on a copy of this book before purchasing it if you're not certain you'll like it - birding guides can be a highly-personal thing, and you may find that this review is just totally buggered! I'm still glad I own this book, and occasionally take it out into the field instead of my preferred NGS, just for the sake of variety.
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Summary: Bird Guru Kaufman helps beginners
Review: That amazing guru Kenn Kaufman has finally finished his all new birding field guide "Birds of North America" using touched up photographs and "pointers"(similar to Peterson) I think this guide will catch on and be loved by amature and beginner birders. I think the maps are very good and the many colors used really help the maps.Kenn uses two colors for the each of the seasonal ranges. A darker color indicates the area where the species is common during that season, while a paler color indicates areas where the species while present is less common or rare. The pictures for me at times can become a little crowded and some of the photos are a little pale, but most of them are much better than any other "photo guide". Some of my Photos and ink smeared in my book, so you may want to double check before purchasing your book. This field guide makes it very simple to look up a bird on the field. The Color Tabs are simple as well as the index in the back. I enjoyed the vocal I.D. for each bird but that is a very personal taste. Each I.D. also adds a little something I miss in a lot of field guides, for example: "A hyperactive midget, common in winter in woods and thickets of south. Harder in summer, when often high in tall conifers. Flicks wings open and shut especially when excited." Golden-Crowned Kinglet In closing I must say this is one of the easier field guide to birds to use and is a warm welcome to the birding community. Martin Phillips
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