Rating: 
Summary: A worthy second bird guide to take into the field
Review: With so many birding field guides available these days, birders suffer from a veritable embarrassment of riches when it comes to selecting which volume(s) to take into the field. Even in the face of still competition, this still fairly new guide put together by the American Bird Conservancy has many strong points to recommend it. First, the illustrations are, for the most part, gorgeously painted and well-printed. Second, there is adequate emphasis on key identification field marks. Third, the book is small enough to be easily carried in a jacket pocket or field guide pouch. And fourth, although no single field guide can really be said to include "all the birds," this one comes close enough, and even features some special sections and illustration plates showing "accidentals" that occasionally show up in North America.If there is a key problem for potential users of this guide, it is that its authors have daringly attempted to create a new way to organize the presentation of the many hundreds of species included. Rather than follow the taxonomic approach typical of other field guides, the authors have organized in part in accordance with habitat and geographical area. For novice birders unfamiliar with the way it's "usually done," this may prove quite convenient. For experienced birders, however, this distinctive organization will likely prove the source of headaches rather than added convenience. The other problem with this and indeed, any field guide that is more than a year or so old is that ornithologists are constantly lumping and splitting species. With its 1997 publication date, the book is recent enough to have included some important "splits," including the California/Black-tailed gnatcatchers and the California/Canyon towhees. However, there are more recent changes that have occurred since 1997, including the newly recognized Gunnison sage grouse and the splitting off of Arizona from Strickland's woodpecker. Hopefully, the publishers of *All The Birds* will employ a periodic updating regimen to keep its readers current with regard to what is or is not considered a "real species." Ultimately, the field guide that most avid birders will continue to carry with them in the field always is the *National Geographic Field Guide To The Birds of North America*. As a second and perhaps more portable reference, however, *All The Birds of North America* might be a good book to bring on one's field trips, as well.
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