National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America

I think this is a great bird identification book for my needs. I am a beginner to intermediate bird watcher and I previously owned the Sibley bird guide. I like that this book as multiple similar bird species on the same page, I find this to be very helpful for me in identification. I think the illustrations are pleasant and clear, the birds are also placed in various natural poses. There is a very brief but good introduction on how to use the guide and what the different parts of a bird are called for use in identification. The size and weight of this book is normal compared to other similar bird guides. I like that there are thumb tabs built into the book, this makes flipping to the right section very easy and quick. I don't think every guide has thumb tabs which in my experience make using a guide at a park or nature preserve much easier. The cover and pages of the book have a nice feel and quality to them. In comparison to the Sibley bird guide I prefer this book. The features that make this book stand out in my opinion are the thumb tabs and the multiple similar bird grouping on a single page. Each available bird guide seems to have a few characteristics that distinguish them from one another. In my opinion this book excels in allowing the user to quickly and easily access the information they need. I was also able to buy a new copy on Amazon for nearly half the price of similar guides from a third party seller who also offered prime shipping.

As a wildlife biologist I have most of the bird field guides printed. I always recommend good drawings (as in this book) over the photographs many novices like. Just as important are the good range maps, often the first thing I look at when identifying a species with which I am unfamiliar.

The book is fine. Don't buy from hippo books. They will send you a "very good condition" book that has been stamped and has a huge discard sticker stuck on it. It's a picture book. They blocked most of the pictures with stupid stamps from some public library and the book has been checked out a lot. It's binding wrapped in tape. This is a terrible quality book. Do NOT buy from hippo books, it will save you an extremely huge disappointment.

It's a great book with excellent information, portable for field identification, and with illustrations that show notable markings in a simple, useful way... but what is up with the maps!? The area maps are completely useless as they are way too busy, frequently manipulated in size and shape, and absolutely unusable. They quite literally give you a headache if you try too hard to see what in the world they might be trying to represent. Huge disappointment coming from the 'King of Maps', National Geographic. Flat our embarrassing effort on their part. Hopefully they will notice this utter failure and correct it in future additions. I'm kind of shocked. Sometimes, simpler is better. These maps are a hot mess at best, and that's a big part of what makes a field guide useful. It's a critical tool. I'm surprised by the poor effort and disappointed. Worst maps I've ever come across... but great if you're not interested in the range of a particular bird.

Love this book. The illustartions are clear and detailed. The information provided on each species is complete and informative. I have it on my bookshelf next to our window for quick and easy reference. This is my go to bird book.

All the information you need for birding out west, with a little less bulk. Excellent art -- painings are to be preferred over photos for ID purposes -- and highly-informative text in the species accounts. By eliminating those species never found west of the Rocky Mtns, the "Western" book has been made almost, though not quite, small enough to fit in a back pocket, and the relatively move compact size does help when in the field with it.

Gift for birding friend. She said she was lugging around a large edition of birds of the US. Since moving to the PNW this book gave her just what she needed when birding locally.

small difficult to use images. Too many spices - most of the spices shown in the book are not common to Western US- packed into a single book. This book would greatly benefit from a selection form a "less is more" approach, and full page illustrations. Alternative - a series of separate books, so one can select which part of the guide to take for a hike, yet still with big clear images of the beards.

This is a perfect book for anyone who loves to watch birds or even just enjoy them in your backyard. The pictures are large and colorful, and the information included is amazing. Young kids or amateur watchers might not be interested in all of the info, but it's a great book for identifying and learning about birds. I gave this as a gift, and it was a hit. National Geographic has done an excellent job with this book.

My wife prefers the Sibley Guide but I like having several guides to reference and I do find this guide very good, very useful. The illustrations are very good.

I think this is a great bird identification book for my needs. I am a beginner to intermediate bird watcher and I previously owned the Sibley bird guide. I like that this book as multiple similar bird species on the same page, I find this to be very helpful for me in identification. I think the illustrations are pleasant and clear, the birds are also placed in various natural poses. There is a very brief but good introduction on how to use the guide and what the different parts of a bird are called for use in identification. The size and weight of this book is normal compared to other similar bird guides. I like that there are thumb tabs built into the book, this makes flipping to the right section very easy and quick. I don't think every guide has thumb tabs which in my experience make using a guide at a park or nature preserve much easier. The cover and pages of the book have a nice feel and quality to them. In comparison to the Sibley bird guide I prefer this book. The features that make this book stand out in my opinion are the thumb tabs and the multiple similar bird grouping on a single page. Each available bird guide seems to have a few characteristics that distinguish them from one another. In my opinion this book excels in allowing the user to quickly and easily access the information they need. I was also able to buy a new copy on Amazon for nearly half the price of similar guides from a third party seller who also offered prime shipping.

As a wildlife biologist I have most of the bird field guides printed. I always recommend good drawings (as in this book) over the photographs many novices like. Just as important are the good range maps, often the first thing I look at when identifying a species with which I am unfamiliar.

The book is fine. Don't buy from hippo books. They will send you a "very good condition" book that has been stamped and has a huge discard sticker stuck on it. It's a picture book. They blocked most of the pictures with stupid stamps from some public library and the book has been checked out a lot. It's binding wrapped in tape. This is a terrible quality book. Do NOT buy from hippo books, it will save you an extremely huge disappointment.

It's a great book with excellent information, portable for field identification, and with illustrations that show notable markings in a simple, useful way... but what is up with the maps!? The area maps are completely useless as they are way too busy, frequently manipulated in size and shape, and absolutely unusable. They quite literally give you a headache if you try too hard to see what in the world they might be trying to represent. Huge disappointment coming from the 'King of Maps', National Geographic. Flat our embarrassing effort on their part. Hopefully they will notice this utter failure and correct it in future additions. I'm kind of shocked. Sometimes, simpler is better. These maps are a hot mess at best, and that's a big part of what makes a field guide useful. It's a critical tool. I'm surprised by the poor effort and disappointed. Worst maps I've ever come across... but great if you're not interested in the range of a particular bird.

Love this book. The illustartions are clear and detailed. The information provided on each species is complete and informative. I have it on my bookshelf next to our window for quick and easy reference. This is my go to bird book.

All the information you need for birding out west, with a little less bulk. Excellent art -- painings are to be preferred over photos for ID purposes -- and highly-informative text in the species accounts. By eliminating those species never found west of the Rocky Mtns, the "Western" book has been made almost, though not quite, small enough to fit in a back pocket, and the relatively move compact size does help when in the field with it.

Gift for birding friend. She said she was lugging around a large edition of birds of the US. Since moving to the PNW this book gave her just what she needed when birding locally.

small difficult to use images. Too many spices - most of the spices shown in the book are not common to Western US- packed into a single book. This book would greatly benefit from a selection form a "less is more" approach, and full page illustrations. Alternative - a series of separate books, so one can select which part of the guide to take for a hike, yet still with big clear images of the beards.

This is a perfect book for anyone who loves to watch birds or even just enjoy them in your backyard. The pictures are large and colorful, and the information included is amazing. Young kids or amateur watchers might not be interested in all of the info, but it's a great book for identifying and learning about birds. I gave this as a gift, and it was a hit. National Geographic has done an excellent job with this book.

My wife prefers the Sibley Guide but I like having several guides to reference and I do find this guide very good, very useful. The illustrations are very good.

I have been in California for many years and was able to identify birds I have never noticed before!!

I'm happy that I chose this one after reading the reviews. Easy to use. Beautiful and detailed.

It is easy to find a bird if you know what you are looking for. I wish there was a book with audio since I don't see many birds through the trees but I can hear them. It is a beautiful book.

I thought I had lost my old version of this book, ordered a new one...found the old one, but kept the new becasue it's so beautiful!

Love the thumb tabs, the page number guide, and the beginning section. My favorite field guide by far!! Ordered it “used” from this book store for 4$ and it was brand new, just with a publishers over production mark. Really recommend checking the other available prices, great deal! Nice book too, wish the paperback would lay flat, but will do :)

This guide proved to be the perfect guide for our recent trip to Arizona... highly recommended.

Great pictures easy to carry with you

I like the tabs on this book and it gives more information and pictures than other guides. I recommend this one for the casual birder as they will want to know more than just the genus and species name.

I have one, and I gave this one as a gift.

I am a beginner birdwatcher and I love this book. It is very easy to find the right page. The descriptions, pictures and maps are great. The index is right in front. The cover pages also make the book easy to use. I love this book. It is right next to my chair by the window.

Have enjoyed checking out the birds in this region with the book.

This is a great reference for identifying local birds. I use it all the time.

Really a 4-3/4 star review. Main complaint is the range maps are on the outer edge of the pages,. Really wish they were on the binding side of the page to make the text easier to get to.

Good bird info. A would like to find one for my specific area, but you can review more birds and pick you local birds out. Great info on most bird thpes.

Good pictures, range maps, descriptions, and index in front for fast location of proper page.

Great gift for a whole family. The bright illustrations got everyone interested.

Excellent book if that is what you are looking for.

It is at my elbow. refer to it every day.

Perfect for my trip to Alaska

My husband loves it

Fast service , Product as described

Comparison to the previous 5th edition: The good: Extensive annotations have been added to the plates. This vastly increases the amount of information in the book and corrects one of the major flaws of earlier editions which was a failure to actually mention the critical field marks. A huge improvement (although the type can get small and dense at times) The bad. 1) The new split editions are about the same size as the old combined version. Since this volume covers 905 species and the full one covers 967, it seems like the split edition was a marketing gimmick. Many comparisons of E and W species are no longer included (Wood-Pewees is an example) and will make it harder to ID vagrants. 2) There are very few updates to the plates or accompanying text. Many of the plates are looking old and dated. 3) The overwhelming strength of this book was its treatment of vagrants. In the new edition many vagrants that received full coverage in the previous edition have been shunted to the appendix with much smaller illustrations. Eastern vagrants get even less treatment. if you want full coverage of vagrants, you need to carry both E and W books (and maybe the old combined editions as well)! This means the split editions make things harder, not easier, to carry in the field. This relegation of vagrants to an appendix must have been done to appeal to the masses but will make the book much less valuable to seasoned birders. It would be OK to have a separate vagrants sections, but the birds there deserve full treatment. Overall, Sibley is still the best field guide for North America. The quality of the illustrations is just unsurpassed and the simplicity of presentation of complex information is amazing (time for a new edition however!). Sibley's weakness however is that he treats few vagrants. The revisions have made the NatGeo guides closer to Sibley for regular birds but the reduced treatment of vagrants has weakened its greatest strength. Therefore a mixed bag.

We are backyard birders, but grateful for the quick, yet complete reference, easy to use for flitting visits. Organized by color and shape makes for easy look-ups.

Great field guide

Educational source for my local birds in the southwest. This book was recommended by a coworkers who is an ornithologist by profession and is an excellent source.

Pictures and descriptions are easy to understand. Sections have indented spots.

A gift. Recipient loves it. It is our primary bird field guide for the United States.

Good guide. I know nothing about birding, this was a helpful intro. Good pictures and descriptions. The reason I gave 4 instead of 5 stars was because the thumb cut-outs along the side of the book are organized in kind of a strange way.

Fits the saddlebags of my motorcycle perfectly and so that is where it lives! Perfect gift for the western United States birder.

Exactly as described and quick ship

Alot of well documentated bird info, but I prefeer photos to line drawings.. I just works better for me.

Excellent graphics. I appreciated the images that show differences between male, female and immature birds.

This book is easy to use, has wonderful and useful drawings, good descriptions, and covers western Mexico including Baja California.

This book is great for identifying birds at your feeder. It makes buying that expensive bird feed all the more worth it!

Beautiful book in like new condition.

I bought this book for my husband for Christmas. It is our second copy. We have a house and a vacation place. He feels this is the best book covering our areas and if we were in the one not having the book I would hear, "Oh, I wish I had my bird book here." So now he does. He was very pleased.

The NG bird guide is one of the best in the subject area. The only thing lacking is a little more info on the natural history of each species. I would not consider this a field guide for the beginning birder.

Excellent

helps figure out what is at feeder

i'm not an expert but I like the layout better than some of the others

I love this book already. It has nice pictures. It arrived earlier than expected, so I was pleasantly surprised.

Excellent reference.

fast and efficient. thanks!!

It was the best bird book ever.

I am a beginner birdwatcher and I love this book. Very happy with my purchase.

My husband is thrilled with it.

Excellent book. Too bad there isn't one for just Alaska.

Whatever I have searched for, I have found.

I studied the books and reviews for several bird guides before deciding on this one, and a year later I'm still pleased with my choice. The illustrations opposite of each description are what makes this guide stand out. It is a bit heavy though. I only carry it when I'm specifically out birding, not on other hikes. If you have an Android or iPhone, consider getting the iBird app instead.

Jon L Dunn has been drawing birds and birding all over. I had the chance to bird with him in the Antelope Valley...LA and Kern Counties in California and at the Santa Clara river mouth in Ventura,Calif years ago. I would consider him one of the top twenty birders in the USA.

I personally find this a great field guide. I like the layout, drawings and descriptions. The book could use some photos.

Well - I wrote an in-depth review and this site or IE lost it. So, here is the short version. Simply a new standard in birding field guides! Will absolutely replace all other field guides I might take with me out into the field while birding in NA. The new features are outstanding, useful, and thoughtfully designed. The construction quality of the book is outstanding. Paper and covers of high quality. Combines all the best features (and then some) from all the best field guides. Must buy!

I know nothing about birds other than telling a duck from a sparrow. This book is really illustrative and gives all the information you need to identify birds in your area. There are a lot of pictures and, short and to the point explanations/discriptions. I have nothing to compare this book to but I would recommend.

Excellent purchase

Great book gives me all the information I want.

THis is the best birding book that one could have. I have used the National Geographic books for years and just returned from a trip out west, which is why I got this version. I like it because it has the maps next to the pictures and descriptions of the birds.

Being originally from the East Coast I'm quite familiar with the birds there. But I was having difficulty accurately identifying birds in the West. This book has wonderful descriptions and pictures and has helped me a lot.

I really like this book. It's great to identify the birds in my area and it's a very informative book.

Great book. It has the best pictures of all the bird books I have

X-mas gift.

The best

Change review

I upgraded from a 1961 edition of Peterson's and couldn't be happier with the quality of the images for identification.

THE BOOK has a lot of great info and the way it is laid out in the book, easy to find. However my next purchase would be of a book with real life photos rather than drawings. The drawings are really well done however a photograph relates better to what we see in the field than a drawing. I would recommend buying it nonetheless.

I am part of a Birder's Group. This book was recommended since it is new this year. Very easy to read, good pictures that give you different angles of the birds. Also is tab indexed so easy to find what type of birds your are looking for. Thumbs up.

A very thorough guide that we prefer to use over all our others because it gives flight and perched perspectives.

Beautiful, very informative. Best wishes from Iceland.

The proper title for this book should be Birds of Western United States. I live in Mazatlan Mexico which is shown on the range maps in this book. Apparently National Geographic thinks North America ends at the US Mexico border, it does not. Mexico is in North America. I bought two of these and returned both as they do not include birds only seen in Northern Mexico like the Great Kiskadee. Additionally, they have a section in the back entitled "Rarities from Asia, Mexico and the Pacific Ocean where they put the Cinnamon Hummingbird which is common where I live in Mazatlan. Who wants to look in two sections of the book to find a bird? Birds of North America Golden Field Guide is a good pocket guide and A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America (Howell and Webb) which is big and heavy are the books if you will be in the northern part of Mexico.

Great illustrations

Enjoy