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Rating: Summary: A good book to add to your library. Review: I found this book to be typical of all Peterson guides. It's a useful book to have but not the best available. In typical Peterson fashion the book shows illustrations of birds instead of photos. While some find this more useful for showing details all too often I've found that the drawings like little like the actualy birds.However this book does contain the bird's comman and scientific name for each species. In addition it has a physical description of coloration and markings, a description of the habitats where they are likely to be found, their geographic distribution, notes on their song and any similar species when applicable. I find that this is a nice addition to the Stoke's Field Guide which shows pictures instead drawings. Definitely a nice addition to your library.
Rating: Summary: A good book to add to your library. Review: I found this book to be typical of all Peterson guides. It's a useful book to have but not the best available. In typical Peterson fashion the book shows illustrations of birds instead of photos. While some find this more useful for showing details all too often I've found that the drawings like little like the actualy birds. However this book does contain the bird's comman and scientific name for each species. In addition it has a physical description of coloration and markings, a description of the habitats where they are likely to be found, their geographic distribution, notes on their song and any similar species when applicable. I find that this is a nice addition to the Stoke's Field Guide which shows pictures instead drawings. Definitely a nice addition to your library.
Rating: Summary: Still the best general guide Review: I just got the 3rd ed. of Petersons to replace my ancient copy. Although I was tempted by the newer National Geographic guide, the illustrations in Petersons, with the birds posed consistently and without distracting backgrounds, looks cleaner and less confusing. Peterson's paintings also emphasize patterns, rather than rendering every feather, making them more useful in identification. The book's shortcoming is that the range maps are grouped at the back, rather than with the text and pictures. On the other hand, these maps are larger and more detailed than the maps in the nationwide guides. Overall, while the NGS is a beautiful book, and it certainly wouldn't hurt to have both, I think Peterson is still the best for its stated purpose of identifying birds in the field.
Rating: Summary: My first birding field guide Review: I love birds. I love to know what kind of bird I am looking at! This book's only flaw is that it expects you to understand body shapes of birds. Still, you can't get by in the field without a guide and Peterson's is one of the best. Its size makes it perfect to stick in a backpack next to your binoculars or ride on the floor of your car which is where mine is quite often!
Rating: Summary: Good, but incomplete and becoming obsolete. Review: Once considered the best of the North American field guides, this book is rapidly losing ground. With the impending release of the new National Geographic Society (NGS) field guide, Western Birds is showing its age. This book was last updated in 1990 and is missing many of the recent species splits, renames, and taxonomic changes. Its other major drawback is the many missing eastern vagrants included in guides like the NGS, which covers the entire continent north of Mexico. Carrying Western Birds instead of NGS during fall migration will leave the west coast birder at a disadvantage.
Rating: Summary: Gotta Catch Them All! Review: The Peterson Field Guide to Western Birds is the best such guide you will find. The nice thing about birds and birding is that there are few enough species out there that you can get virtually all of them in one regional guide. This book is outstanding. It relies on illustrations rather than photographs to show markings and other details used to ID birds in the field. I find that photos are often sub-standard, not showing characters essential for identifying birds due to the position of the bird, markings of the individual chosen for inclusion in the book, etc. In this book each entry includes a bird's common and scientific names, a brief physical description of the body and coloration, a drawing(s) of the bird, a brief description of habitats where they are likely to be seen, a blip about their geographic distribution, notes on their song, and reference to similar species (if any). The entry also refers the reader to a map number that shows the summer and winter ranges for each bird. This is "the bird book" to have for western birds for the novice and experienced birder alike. If you've never had much luck figuring out which birds you are looking at try this book. 5 stars only because that's the highest rating possible. Note: if you travel much throughout the USA, you ought to pick up the Peterson Guide to Eastern Birds as well -- it is the sister book to this one. With both of those books in hand you will be in good birding shape. Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College, IN
Rating: Summary: Best regional field guide on the market Review: The Peterson Field Guide to Western Birds is the best such guide you will find. The nice thing about birds and birding is that there are few enough species out there that you can get virtually all of them in one regional guide. This book is outstanding. It relies on illustrations rather than photographs to show markings and other details used to ID birds in the field. I find that photos are often sub-standard, not showing characters essential for identifying birds due to the position of the bird, markings of the individual chosen for inclusion in the book, etc. In this book each entry includes a bird's common and scientific names, a brief physical description of the body and coloration, a drawing(s) of the bird, a brief description of habitats where they are likely to be seen, a blip about their geographic distribution, notes on their song, and reference to similar species (if any). The entry also refers the reader to a map number that shows the summer and winter ranges for each bird. This is "the bird book" to have for western birds for the novice and experienced birder alike. If you've never had much luck figuring out which birds you are looking at try this book. 5 stars only because that's the highest rating possible. Note: if you travel much throughout the USA, you ought to pick up the Peterson Guide to Eastern Birds as well -- it is the sister book to this one. With both of those books in hand you will be in good birding shape. Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College, IN
Rating: Summary: Comes in a near-pocket size for easy outdoor toting Review: This field guide comes in a near-pocket size for easy outdoor toting and appears in its third revised edition to provide a field handbook based on the unique Peterson Identification System. Over a hundred paintings display over 1,000 birds from 700 species, with range maps accompanying the natural history and identification details. Western Birds is more solid than an ordinary paperback, yet contains some of the rigidity of a hardcover, lending to its durability.
Rating: Summary: Landmark Peterson. Review: This field guide to western birds is an important entry in the Peterson series. First of all, it is the most complete bird guide made by Peterson, much more complete than the Mexican Guide to Birds. The Eastern version is also complete, but contains less species entries. Birds of Britain and Europe left out some important families, including Hummingbirds. This excellent reference leaves out NOTHING! Many bird families and genus are covered, making this the ultimate choice for advanced birders and experienced amateurs. This is also a review of the second edition of this guide, which is the most complete up to date press. The older print was fine, but less impressive than this clean new release. One of the most commonly seen bird families, the Wrens, contain more than ten listings in all. Also identifies quite a few species of waterfowl. Not bad. So, purchase any edition of this landmark guide to learn more about birding and identification.
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