Birds of North America (Kaufman Focus Guides, Flexicover Edition)

Rating:
Summary: A very good book for intermediate and advanced birders.
Review: The "need to know" what kind of bird you are seeing, no matter where you are in the USA, is the reason to purchase this useful guide. Excellent photographs (more than 2,000) and succinct descriptions make bird identification easier. Though not the best book for beginners (I highly recommend "Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds") "Focus Guide to the Birds of North America" is a very good book for intermediate and advanced birders. Kaufman organizes his book by placing the birds in groups according to their shape rather than color. Thus, using his methodology, identifying a bird was slower than other bird guides I have used. Nonetheless, this would be a welcome gift any birders library. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: I thought it would be better
Review: The 'touched up' photos sounded like a great idea, but I'm a bit disappointed. Anyone who has seen a Stellar's jay, a Mountain Bluebird, and a regular Blue Jay would immediately comment on the striking differences in color! But in this book all three share a common 'muddy' hue... Ruby-throated Hummingbirds regularly visit my feeder, but the photo-illustration in the book so little resembles the real bird that I would never identify it from the picture (fortunately we only have migratory Ruby-Throateds and Rufous hummingbirds in this area, so the identification issue is not critical in East Texas).... This book is very brief when it comes to descriptions, etc. For example the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird gets 88 words, whereas in my Bull/Farrand edition of "The Audubon Society Field Guild to North American Birds, Eastern Region" I get 235 words. Also, unlike the Audubon Society book, Kaufman's book does NOT break the text into secions, and it contains no section under each species describing its nesting/egg characteristics.... I have not researched why the Latin species names are different in the two books (may not be a big deal), but one example is that my Carolina Chickadees are called "Poecile carolinensis" by Kaufman, and "Parus carolinensis" by Bull and Farrand. (Those more dedicated than I may wish to check with the American Ornithologists' Union Check-Lists and Supplements).... I have given this book 4 stars despite the above issues because in most other ways this is an excellent birdbook.... I liked the photo-illustration of the juvenile Northern Cardinal, which clearly shows the distinctive dark beak (adults have reddish or orange beaks).... The range maps make effective use of the color, using blue, light blue, red, pink, dark purple, light purple, grey, and white (8 each) to distinguish between scare and common distributions within winter range, summer range, migratory range, and 'all-seasons' range.... This is a pretty good book, and well worth adding to one's library -- but it is not the 'perfect reference.' I'm still looking......

Rating:
Summary: For "Backyard Bird Watching"
Review: This is a handy book to have right beside the chair you watch your birds from..easy to identify the the bird that has just landed. Well written articles on each species, just enough, to know, and not too much information to take in all at once. I enjoy this book, using it often.

Rating:
Summary: A new approach to a field guide...
Review: This is an excellent book.If you are looking to buy a bird guide for yourself or as a gift, you can't go wrong with this.The problem of buying a bird guide is that there are so many to choose from;especially if the buyer has not been birding for several years.Personally,I would recommend this for a fairly new birder as opposed to Peterson's guide for one reason alone.this book covers all of North America.Peterson has one for the East and one for the West;and while if you only want your guide to use in either the East or West,that's not too bad,but if you are in the center of the continent, or plan to travel,you'll need both.So,simple ,why buy 2 when 1 will do?The Golden covers all N,A. but does not have the "arrows" pointing out the best identification features.I also feel the computer enhanced pictures are better;but that can be a matter of preference.The single page index at the back of Kenn's book will be a big help to new or average birders.Either of Kaufman,s Peterson,s or Golden are excellent to start birding.The National Geographic and Sibleys are also excellent;but a better choice for a more experienced (5+ years).Up until Kaufman's book,very few birders liked photographs ,as opposed to drawings,but this book has changed all that.
After saying all that,and it would be easy to go on comparing these guides,in the final analiyis ,you can't go too far wrong.If you or the person you are buying the book for takes birding serious you'll probably buy all the guides mentioned before too long.There are good points going for all of them.