The New Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region

The Stokes Field Guide to Birds, Eastern Region is the perfect bird identification guide. I purchased this book so I could identify the birds in my backyard around my bird feeders. My husband and I were always asking each other "What's that bird"? with this book we can identify them easily. The photographs show Adult Male, Adult Female and Juvenile birds and seasonal plumage changes. There is a map that shows the area that the bird frequents. The descriptions include physical movements that help discern one bird from another and even describe the bird's song. I frequently reference this book and it has made watching my bird feeder enjoyable.

I have a number of bird guides, and each has their strong points. Stokes really shines in two areas for me. First, the pictures are just fantastic. Each page is dedicated to one bird, and there are generally 4-6 high quality photos on each page. They do a good job of showing significant differences in male/female, adult/juvenile, and summer/winter appearances. My only complaint about the photos is there are no arrows or indicators to highlight field marks or key identifying characteristics. The second thing I really like about Stokes are the thorough and detailed physical descriptions. Other beginner-friendly guides can be far more terse, while Stokes always takes the space to describe adult summer, adult winter, juvenile, juvenile/1st summer, immature/2yr, at breeding, etc. wherever it is appropriate to do so. This is just an all-around great field book for any level of birding, but I will point out that you need to know enough about species groups to get you to the right group. There isn't a quick reference or overview to help direct you to the right grouping, so it helps if you thumb through the whole guide before getting into the field to familiarize yourself with the various bird groups and characteristics. This isn't a big knock on Stokes as this is common to many guides.

This is a great field guide, but the older version (bottom) with small staggered color indicators for different classes of birds made it easier for me to quickly locate a specific bird. In the new book (top) , the color indicators are on top of each other.

Maybe I am fussy, but when the description says "And yet it's portable enough to fit in your pocket," I believed them. It's a lie. I like the book, but it's not going to fit in any normal jacket pockets. Another personal preference/criticism is the way they organized the birds, ie., everything called a finch ought to be next to each other, but purple and house finch are separated by several birds from the goldfinches. I'm sure some doctor of ornithology could cite a reason, but I don't care. Also, I learned birds from a Golden field guide, which is pocket sized, but also has check marks next to each bird in the back index, so you can mark your list. That would have been an easy addition to this guide. Helpful? Say so. Thanks.

The other field guides have their good points, but Stokes has the BEST pictures. Stokes not only includes pictures of both male and female, but of juveniles at several different stages of their development. For species which look alike such as hawks, Stokes has pictures of them from various angles including the underside of their wings. This book is best used for identification. It does not have detailed information about behavior, feeding or nesting. Perhaps that is what makes it small enough to carry around as a field guide.

We are enjoying the birds in our yard and on hikes. This books photos are very helpful with identification. Our Peterson book drawings are not representative enough of the various stages of the birds. This does the trick.

I bought this as a companion to Stokes older edition. The newer version is handy for identifying birds, updated ranges, very nice photos and more of them. For behavior and other interesting facts of life I refer to the older version. We keep both at hand.

Great book for beginner birders, like my husband and I were when I bought this. Easy to look up most birds, as the book is broken up into major colors. So, quick to find a bird in the book. Great way to help birders identify birds.

The new Stokes Field Guides combine stunning photography with important notes to aid in identification. Unlike other guides which rely on one or two photographs per bird, the Stokes have included up to eleven photos (for those pesky gulls!) so that birders can easily see important variations in plumage for each species. At only 8.5" x 5.5", this book packs easily. The Eastern Guide, along with the Western Guide are must-haves for any birder. Thanks, Lillian and Don!

I have been a birder for over 50 years and have numerous bird guides. Stokes Field Guide is one of the very best! I love it for either beginners or seasoned birders for several reasons. It uses actual pictures of birds for really easy identification. There are wonderful learning pages to help identify hard-to-ID birds. Location maps are included on each bird page so even a rank amateur can see if their identification is possible. It contains so much information and yet it is easy to carry when birding. I would highly recommend this guide to any and all those interested in birds. A truly outstanding Field Guide!

The Stokes Field Guide to Birds, Eastern Region is the perfect bird identification guide. I purchased this book so I could identify the birds in my backyard around my bird feeders. My husband and I were always asking each other "What's that bird"? with this book we can identify them easily. The photographs show Adult Male, Adult Female and Juvenile birds and seasonal plumage changes. There is a map that shows the area that the bird frequents. The descriptions include physical movements that help discern one bird from another and even describe the bird's song. I frequently reference this book and it has made watching my bird feeder enjoyable.

I have a number of bird guides, and each has their strong points. Stokes really shines in two areas for me. First, the pictures are just fantastic. Each page is dedicated to one bird, and there are generally 4-6 high quality photos on each page. They do a good job of showing significant differences in male/female, adult/juvenile, and summer/winter appearances. My only complaint about the photos is there are no arrows or indicators to highlight field marks or key identifying characteristics. The second thing I really like about Stokes are the thorough and detailed physical descriptions. Other beginner-friendly guides can be far more terse, while Stokes always takes the space to describe adult summer, adult winter, juvenile, juvenile/1st summer, immature/2yr, at breeding, etc. wherever it is appropriate to do so. This is just an all-around great field book for any level of birding, but I will point out that you need to know enough about species groups to get you to the right group. There isn't a quick reference or overview to help direct you to the right grouping, so it helps if you thumb through the whole guide before getting into the field to familiarize yourself with the various bird groups and characteristics. This isn't a big knock on Stokes as this is common to many guides.

This is a great field guide, but the older version (bottom) with small staggered color indicators for different classes of birds made it easier for me to quickly locate a specific bird. In the new book (top) , the color indicators are on top of each other.

Maybe I am fussy, but when the description says "And yet it's portable enough to fit in your pocket," I believed them. It's a lie. I like the book, but it's not going to fit in any normal jacket pockets. Another personal preference/criticism is the way they organized the birds, ie., everything called a finch ought to be next to each other, but purple and house finch are separated by several birds from the goldfinches. I'm sure some doctor of ornithology could cite a reason, but I don't care. Also, I learned birds from a Golden field guide, which is pocket sized, but also has check marks next to each bird in the back index, so you can mark your list. That would have been an easy addition to this guide. Helpful? Say so. Thanks.

The other field guides have their good points, but Stokes has the BEST pictures. Stokes not only includes pictures of both male and female, but of juveniles at several different stages of their development. For species which look alike such as hawks, Stokes has pictures of them from various angles including the underside of their wings. This book is best used for identification. It does not have detailed information about behavior, feeding or nesting. Perhaps that is what makes it small enough to carry around as a field guide.

We are enjoying the birds in our yard and on hikes. This books photos are very helpful with identification. Our Peterson book drawings are not representative enough of the various stages of the birds. This does the trick.

I bought this as a companion to Stokes older edition. The newer version is handy for identifying birds, updated ranges, very nice photos and more of them. For behavior and other interesting facts of life I refer to the older version. We keep both at hand.

Great book for beginner birders, like my husband and I were when I bought this. Easy to look up most birds, as the book is broken up into major colors. So, quick to find a bird in the book. Great way to help birders identify birds.

The new Stokes Field Guides combine stunning photography with important notes to aid in identification. Unlike other guides which rely on one or two photographs per bird, the Stokes have included up to eleven photos (for those pesky gulls!) so that birders can easily see important variations in plumage for each species. At only 8.5" x 5.5", this book packs easily. The Eastern Guide, along with the Western Guide are must-haves for any birder. Thanks, Lillian and Don!

I have been a birder for over 50 years and have numerous bird guides. Stokes Field Guide is one of the very best! I love it for either beginners or seasoned birders for several reasons. It uses actual pictures of birds for really easy identification. There are wonderful learning pages to help identify hard-to-ID birds. Location maps are included on each bird page so even a rank amateur can see if their identification is possible. It contains so much information and yet it is easy to carry when birding. I would highly recommend this guide to any and all those interested in birds. A truly outstanding Field Guide!

I have had the distinct honor to meet Lillian and Don Stokes on several occasions. Their love for birding is legendary, and it sure shows in this new book

Beautiful pictures, but the title is misleading. This book covers the entire country plus some of Mexico. It plainly states “eastern region” on the cover.

Too detailed for me. I found it overwhelming. I really needed a book on PA birds, which I found eventually. If you are an avid birder, and you travel; it is definitely a good book.

The color pictures are the best of any of the bird ID books, there are pictures of the birds as adults, juveniles & gender. The descriptions are thorough & informative aiding in ID of birds.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. In this case it is so true. I have Peterson and Sibley, but I prefer this because e the photos show the colours as they are seen in the wild, not via paint. The images show immature and mature male and female, as well as other variations as required. Well- written, clear, with maps. A must-have for anyone curious about the birds in their back yard.

This is a great book for people who are just beginning to watch birds. Love the photographs, helps with bird identification better than traditional birding books which show drawings rather than photos. Lots of great information.

Bought as a gift. It's a really great resource, well written, beautifully photographed. Perfect size.

We were looking for a field guide with more of the ocean birds and birds of pray and choose this guide and was not disappointed. Our original guide was the National Geographic Backyard guide to the Birds of North America and is fine, but mostly drawings and a few actual pictures and a good quick reference guide, but this Stokes guide is all actual pictures and loaded with so many more pictures and birds. Bought it used in excellent condition for $3. "What a deal!"

Spectacular photos! As good as it gets, not just the pictures but the actual book itself. Most field guide books are stiff and you have to work to make the book stay open but not this book. This book is flexible and it stays open, its easy to turn the pages and it has high quality glossy paper. The publishers really thought of everything. Going forward, I refuse to converse with anyone unless they own this book.

I have a 15 year old Stokes Guide that I love. The new version is much different in that it provides more photos, descriptions and migrations, however it lacks to provide information on what the bird eats - seed, insects, etc - and its prefrence on where it eats - feeders.

I love watching the different birds that come to my feeder this book is a great help in identifying them.

We are birders in Georgia. The STOKES Field Guide to the Birds of North America was our favorite source for verifying observations. However, that book was a bulky burden to bring to every outing. This book chops the weight by ~60% and it is specific to the birds that we are most likely to observe. This is an essential book to consult for any birder, and it is mobile enough to take with you while birding. Great buy.

We have a few Stokes guides and their photos and information are beautifully presented and fun to read. Purchased as a present for a friend who only had Audubon guide with color drawings-she loves the Stokes guide!

Great field guide. Wonderful photos and I love that it has photos of the birds from different regions and at different ages. This is pretty helpful in identifying birds as the bird you see at your house might not look exactly the same as the one I see at mine. I prefer field guides with photos over illustrations and the photos in this are top-notch.

This is just the right size for reference or for taking with you. The information is well organized and the photos are terrific.

Bought this as a gift for a bird lover. She really loves the book and will be able to identify more birds now. Was appreciative of the book.

My favorite field guide. Each bird has multiple (beautiful) photographs displaying male, female, winter and any other plumage variations. The descriptions are thorough and give you enough detail to confidently identify birds. It is fairly large and will not fit in your pocket. I usually carry it in my packet. You can use the classic back of the pants approach if you would like. Highly recommended. My only complaint is that it is only available in paperback. I wish that there was some sort of turtleback or plastic/vinyl cover option.

Like this edition a lot. Wish the pages were edge marked to reflect the color of the birds in a particular section. Would make it a lot easier for a novice to find a bird once seen.

I've used the Western Edition of the Stokes Field Guide for the last two years and purchased the Eastern Guide three months ago after I moved to the East Coast. The Stokes' produce stunning books with excellent, in-depth info for every bird lover, whether you're a beginner or a seasoned boring veteran. You can't go wrong with this guide!

It's probably a good guide but I can't find the birds I see. Hard to use (for me). Seems you need to know what kind of bird species you are looking for first I have these red birds not cardinals and I can't find them. Anyway if you buy this I hope you have better luck than me.

Having used this book regularly for a few years, I would like to amend my review by making an even stronger recommendation. For decades, birders have debated whether a field guide should be based on artwork (e.g., Peterson, Sibley)or photography (e.g., the old Audubon series, and now Stokes). That debate is now over, and both sides win. Until the new Stokes guides were published, starting in 2010, paintings were always superior to photographs because they emphasized the essential features for identifying the birds. But Don and Lillian Stokes have elevated the quality of the photography and reproduction (plus excellent descriptions) to a level that makes their books very competitive. The advantage is that the photos show what the bird actually looks like, not a stylized representation. For the past two years, I have gone out regularly with the Sibley app on my phone and Stokes in my pocket. It's a great combination, so why choose only one? And here is my original review: The new Stokes regional guides are a must. I have been using Sibley ever since his guides came out, and I will continue to do so - alongside these new books. Sibley uses paintings to highlight each bird's key features, which is a very useful technique pioneered decades ago by Roger Tory Peterson. But paintings do not show what a bird actually looks like, and that is where the Stokes guides excel. They use very clear and representative photos--several for each species--so that you can compare what you're seeing in the field with what the species looks like. Subtle differences in shape or color become clear. If you can carry two field guides, make this one of them. If you're only going to carry one, then you'll probably continue to use Sibley, but the Stokes guides (either the new regional ones or the larger book that covers all of North America) will still be very useful to have at home for post-trip verifications.

Very nice and informative birding field guide. I like the many different photos of each bird on perches, flying, in alternate plumage as well as differing looks for adult and immature birds. Sacrificed is a larger photo but the many shots do help for identification purposes. I am enjoying the written descriptions as well.

Book tells you all about backyard birds and other birds in a new bird watcher

Awesome pics , love everything about this book .. good job!!

Great information and multiple pictures of species in different lighting and different angles. Recommended to me as a beginner by a friend who is a life-long birder. A welcome edition to any set of guides (because let's face it- we all have more than one)

Book well written and informative

I really am very happy with this book. It has wonderful pictures that help me to identify birds better than my other book. I highly recommend it.

I have the same book but an earlier edition from 1998 publication. The old book has been used so much and rained on - etc. that it was time to get the newest edition and it is even better than the old version. I would recommend this to anyone that likes to identify birds. It is very thorough and the pictures are very close to what the actual birds will look like, making identification very easy. It is also very helpful to understand what they eat, where they nest, and what type of habitat they like to be around.

This was a gift for a bird lover and he says it is the best guide he has ever owned.

I bought my first Stokes Bird Guide in 1996 and it is care worn and served me well. Super happy to have a new one! Shipped super fast and arrived in great shape!~

Nice but overly large size for a field guide. But is a great reference to study at home or leave in my car. Has good photos and nice descriptions of the Birds.

Awesome book easy to follow great pictures

Amish school used book to learn about the birds around this area

Very nice pictures and descriptions, easy to use. All books like this have their pros & cons. This one has very few, if any cons. Great for a one and only bird book.

Stokes bird guides have been my favorite since I was a little kid. Their exquisite photography and easy-to-lookup color-coordinated tabs on the page edges makes it quick and effective to find your bird.

I spend a lot of time looking at birds. This is a great reference. My friend recommended it.

Awesome book...I appreciate the notations for spring a fall plumages and the pictures of juvenile birds.

I'll admit, I ran into Don Stokes while birding and thought it would be kind of neat to pick up his book. I was not expecting anything like I got. The photos are superb and the descriptions are clear and concise. I really love this book and find that I'm grabbing it all the time instead of my Sibley's. Great!

Gift

I have used the first edition (1996) for some time and like it very much. Purchased this latest edition as a gift for my daughter. Although it contains a lot more information than the 1st edition, we found it to be harder to use -- harder to locate the pages you want to see and much harder to find the information you want on the pages for individual species. The layout/formating of these pages doesn't seem logical and it is time consuming to wade through it all to find the details you want. The older editions with nice clean page formating would get a 5-star rating.

I got this book because I heard such good reviews about it. I love the fact it has real pictures of the birds, from adult to juvenile to 1st and 2nd winter plumage. You have to have some idea of what you're searching for, otherwise you'll be flipping through the book. Something to note as well is that, though it notes subspecies, it may not show the pictures of those, so plumage may vary.

I use this book all the time. I have orioles,hummingbirds, eastern Phoebe,Eagles and many more birds on my twenty acres. I make it better year to year with bird houses,feeders and bird baths it has been fun. This bird book will give you more understanding of the birds in your back yard. Enjoy!

This book is packed full of great information. I bought this for my child because she loves birds. I was hoping for an in depth look at lots of bird species, it fits all the above. I'm sure we will be using this as she gets older in our homeschool as well. Good purchase!

An excellent guide book: high quality both in contents and printing, easy to use, and very inexpensive.

I was sure I reviewed this already. I like it very, very much. All pictures instead of diagrams, including male, female and juvenile. And maps showing where and when you might see the birds. Very large number of birds too.

Great variety of photos rather than drawings. Many variants shown.

This is my favorite photographic field guide. It is slightly larger than my Sibley guide and doesn't fit into a pocket as easily. It has been incredibly helpful with identification.

I purchased this on Amazon after being disappointed with some other well known bird books. This book has the multiple photographs and descriptions I need to identify birds as a beginner. It is well organized and easy to use.

A must for bird watchers. I bought this for some friends who just moved from the city to the country and they were amazed at all the birds they could see from their house. Now they are avid bird watchers.

My dad owns the older version of this. He had me order 2 for my Sisters' families. It is a great table book especially if you live where birds are seen often. Everyone enjoys seeing something and looking the bird up from time to time! Great book!

I've owned several bird books along the way and this is the only one I really want to use. I also looked at children's bird books and purchased this one instead. The grandkids who received it were aged 4-10. They all know how to use it. Of course I use the Western Region one for me in CA

This book is very thorough, almost too much so for the novice. It has a great amount of information, but not real helpful unless you know what you are already looking at. I have used other books that sort the birds by primary color, that way a beginner like myself can actually find and identify the birds. Also, due to the amount of information, this book is really a desk reference rather than a field guide... it is just too big to hike around with. But with that said, it is a wonderfully informative book. I find myself identifying the birds with a pocket guide, then researching further with this volume. Overall, I am happy to have it in my library.

I bought this for my father-in-law. He loves to watch birds and this book has been an excellent guide for him. He absolutely loves it.

Stokes books are great for photographs of birds, and I use them together with Birds of North America and the drawings in that book. Glad to get an update. Multiple photos for each bird are helpful.

The new Stokes books live up to expectations. I like having multiple pictures for a bird. There is often appearance variation within a species and this helps in that case.

Great book with photos of actual birds, great field resource.

Great book with excellent pictures and descriptions. I enjoy being able to see both the birds in an adolescent stage and adult to help me learn how to identify the birds in my area.

This was a birthday gift for my son, a knowledgeable bird watcher and he is very enthusiastic about it. He really loves it!

Very useful information. I rely on this book when identifying birds. Very satisfied with this purchase.

Without repeating others' reviews, I find this book easy and fun to use in the field. I have other books, including the excellent National Geographic's guide, but this one has very useful photos of the birds in various seasons and locations. No field guide is complete in every way, but Stokes field guide redefines the "user friendly". Also, I specifically bought the Eastern and Western bird editions separately, not to carry a heavier book in the field, although it's a more expensive approach.

One of the main reasons that I really liked these guides was because of the format. My brother had the North American one and I definitely preferred the Eastern Region. If you are just trying to read it, then it is really boring. The old guide had just one or two paragraphs and the important stuff for identifying was bolded. It is a really great book, but it is in my opinion that The Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region is better than the New.

Beautiful but does not truly tell you what they eat or what will attract them.

Limited number of birds in this book. Very disappointed.

We have watched birds for years but don't belong to any birding club. We have the first edition (1996) and consider it our most useful bird book. We got this for my brother-in-law, a complete novice, and think he will like it even better with all the additional pictures (even though the cover isn't as pretty as the first edition).

This book is perfect for identifing my back yard birds. I looked every where for a book that shows the female birds. Although the male birds are pretty to look at, identifing the females is tough. This book also shows pictures of the yearlings that I found helpful.

This is a fabulous book for reference or for a gift to any budding birders in your family. Makes identifying birds a snap!

I prefer my 1996 edition format to the new format. You can find at a glance eating habits, nesting, habitat voice. It was very easy to find exactly what you want to know.

Excellent perfect balance of price, quality and size of pictures and information. Now we can correctly identify the many birds we get around our house.

Love this book! Lots of pictures of the same bird so you can see it from different angles. Highly recommend This Book!

We have several bird books, but this is the best. If you are serious about identifying birds, the photographs and description in this book are great.

Great guide for the beginner..... Everything I need to know!

Present for daughter who lives near a bird sanctuary. She keeps it in the car and uses it all the time.

Love the maps and photos. What's lacking is a description telling you how common a particular bird is. That would be helpful

Very, Very Nice Field Guide--- Details Are Just What You Need. Better Get This One!!

This book is great even for someone starting to bird watch. This book shows how close birds look alike and are different in size and various colors

Great book.

Love the photos. Easy to follow.

I purchased this as a gift~it was brand new & arrived in excellent condition before the expected date of arrival. A wonderful book~I'm planning to buy one for myself.

was given as a gift. and they like it very much..

I bought this book for my daughter-in-law who lives in Pennsylvania. I have the western version. You can't beat Stokes!

This is my go-to guide. I find using photos as apposed to drawings as an identification tool so much better. I also use drawings and other sources for identification but this one I ALWAYS use.

Great guide.. been using mine for several months now. I like using photos instead of drawings. Nice compact field guide.

We love this book and use it every time we are out looking for birds.

Stokes field guides are the best and this is no exception. The illustrations are wonderful and the explanations are clear.

Comprehensive and great photos. Best book for identifying birds.

Love it

Love the Stokes Guides; our old one is worn out after heavy usage.

HUBBY LOVES!!

Another great field guide by the Stokes.

I keep this handy near the window. Great print, with nice photos.

Very good guide for the birds in the eastern half of U.S. Clear pictures and informative for each bird listed.

Absolutely love this guide!

Quick delivery. Comprehensive book. I would prefer to reference a book organized by color of birds to more quickly identify the birds in my yard.

Cant live without this guide.

The best field guide I've ever used! It makes identification faster and easier. It shows you how the species look at different stages.

My daughter-in-law loves it.

Love this book. So much more depth than even my Sibley or my Peterson bird books. Wish I could get it downloaded to my iphone 5

This is the third Stokes book that I have purchased. It is easy to use and I recommend this book for any bird watcher novice to expert.

My husband found this book at the library and loved it. It was so easy to go to Amazon, find the book and know I would get it in good condition in just a few minutes.

Excellent reference book!

I love the portability and organization of this book as well as the pictures of the different plumages.Each bird gets at least four different photographs. Others, like the troublesome Red-tail Hawk gets eleven shots! I like the idea of including the state and the month where the picture was taken; if I see a juvenile Western Sandpiper in September it looks like this. You can guess what book I am taking for spring and fall migration trips.

Easy to use, beautiful color illustrations. Would recommend to any new or experienced bird watcher. Very helpful in my new hobby.

Very helpful

Cool Reference for SC birds.

Our second copy to have in Florida.

I'm not a birder, but I like to take photos of birds, and when I post the photos online, I like to caption them with the common name of the bird. This book fits my needs perfectly with clear photos and descriptions, and plenty of additional detail. The book provides several photos of each bird, which really helps in distinguishing the species, age, and sex of the bird. Designed to be more portable than the authors' earlier "Birds of North America", it's still a hefty paperback. That's not a problem for me, because I will leave the book at home while shooting my photos, and I'll refer to the book while editing the photos on my computer.

I have two other bird identification books but I could not resist this latest guide by Donald and Lillian Stokes. The photos are both gorgeous and helpful and the text is thorough, including descriptions of seasonal plumage and appearance in flight. It's not as large and heavy as The Crossley ID Guide, making it somewhat more portable though because it's loaded with photos it's heavy for its 8.5" x 5.5" size. It's more weight than I want to carry with me, but I was able to use it to easily identify birds I saw while out walking once I got back home.

My copy of this book is getting dog-eared by frequent use. One of the best bird identification books in my library. I highly recommend this book.

The photos are what make this a perfect field guide.

Great quality, like new. Shipped very quickly. This book has great photos including variations of the seasons and ages.

I enjoy looking up the different kinds of birds in different parts of the country.Very pretty photos.

Lovely book. As it turns out I mostly have 3-4 birds, but it's still fun to look.

Geary book

Loved it. Very detailed in description and clear. Great photos.

Very detailed information.

not enough written info about birds. pics are good but wanted to know more about them.

Love it!!!!

Arrived in excellent condition!

this is a great bird guide. I have lots of others, but find that i go to this one more often than the others since it's so detailed.

Use all the time

Fantastic!

Never leave home without it.

THE STOKES FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS IS GOOD, JUST WISH THE PICS. WERE A BIT LARGER

Excellent...as expected.

Actually - Bird photography. This year I started to take lots of photographs of various birds but I didn't know what kind I was taking pictures of so I bought this book. Overall It is a good book but since I'm taking pictures I really don't need to know what kind they are right as I'm taking their picture - I'm more concerned that I get a good picture. Anyway for me I find that the pictures in the Field Guide are a little small and that the book doesn't have as much information as I would like for identification. It is sometimes hard to figure out what type of bird I took a picture of even with the book and my picture of it right n front of me. So I ended up buying the "American Museum of Natural History Birds of North America" (I saw it at a local store). It is a big book but since I don't need it in the field it works out better for me because it has more information and bigger pictures. The Field Guide was published this year (2013) and the "American Museum of Natural History Birds of North America" was published in 2010. I doubt if it makes a difference but I do wish that the bigger book was as current as the Field Guide.

This is my fourth Stokes field guide and again does not disappoint. The pictures are spectacular and means of identifying from State to State is easy. The captions under each picture gives the location and month, which makes this guide invaluable.

Book described perfectly. Extremely quick ship. Excellent service and LOVE this book.

beautiful pictures

Whenever a new Stokes guide comes out, I snap it right up! These guides are so very helpful, well-done,informative, and of course, very user-friendly. The photos are fantastic! I have mine here ready to accompany me next month on a Notth Eastern trip. It is my official Birding Bible. Don't leave home without it!

A very good reference.

Thanks...Good Service, as always, as expected!!

I take it everywhere for quick reference and have given it as gifts to my friends and grandkids. Don't leave home without it. Absolutely 10/10 stars.

Beautiful photography.

Useless if you don't already know what type of bird it is. Not at all what I expected.

In 2010 the Stokes published "The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America". This legendary book has set the standards for complete field guides. The key characteristics of this book are 1. Outstanding photos showing birds in many different plumages and poses 2. A thorough description of shape, which is often a key to identification 3. Identification tips for groups of birds 4. Dates of plumage changes 5. Inclusion of sub-species 6. A thorough compilation of the birds, even the rarities Unfortunately, by making this book so complete, it is too large to conveniently carry in the field. Thus, the genesis of the two new books - an eastern version and a western version. The Stokes have drawn the geographic line through popular birding states such as North Dakota, Kansas, and Texas, and have often included the birds found in those states in both books which makes both the eastern and western versions more complete. Happily, these two volumes have kept the great parts of the first book. To make it more portable, the Stokes have simply removed the very rare birds, and also the birds that don't appear in either half of the country. The result is a great pair of field guides that people of all skill and knowledge levels can enjoy. While still a little large for some pants pockets, they will fit into most vest pockets. Bottom line - buy them! Karl Werner

I was really surprised to find that the older version (1996) had definite advantages over the newer one. This version does not include information about eggs and nesting, conservation status, and feeding details. I was really shocked. This version emphasizes descriptive detail over understandable language. The older one gives you a feel for the bird, and is less scientific. The newer version does improve on photographs, both in quality and in number. I am glad to have both and look forward to comparing the two bird by bird First picture is the 1996 version, 2nd the newer for comparison

Here's a short story about why I NEEDED this guide: I realized I was taking more and more pictures on my iPhone 5S. I read a few tips online and instantly started taking MUCH improved pictures. At the same time I realized how much I needed ZOOM. This led me to researching cameras. I did not want to start out with a full blown DSLR, but wanted better zoom than a pocket camera. Discovered bridge cameras. Found out the legendary Canon SX50HS was being offered refurbished from Canon at $229 shipped. This was a $500 camera with a 50X optical zoom! So I pounced on that deal. (It has now dropped to $199 as of this writing). Ok, so what pics do you take with a 50x zoom camera that can do anything from macro pics, to pictures of the moon? Well, most anything you want honestly, but I realized at my rural area home we have a ton of different birds of all types from hummingbirds to Eagles and everything in between. But WAIT!!!! I don't know anything about birds or how to identify any of them outside of blackbird, Cardinal, Hummingbird basic stuff like that. And this is where this book comes in. I saw Lillian Stokes post some comments on a message board and realized she has a SX50HS that she loves, and both her and her husband I guess are big time birders and authors of these books. I found them here on Amazon and read the rave reviews. I just happened to be close to the Books-A-Million book store that day. Amazon was actually $5 cheaper but when I saw how awesome the book was, flipping through it, I had to have it that moment. But to be clear I buy almost EVERYTHING from Amazon, and use the reviews daily so I wanted to contribute to the community here with the review. I'm not going to go into details about the book as that has been covered well by better reviewers than I, but this book is FANTASTIC. It has taken me from knowing nothing about identifying birds, to becoming an enthusiast myself and although kinda big and heavy to carry around, worth the effort. I take it out on the golf cart whenever I'm out with the binoculars and/or camera. I live on the Delmarva Peninsula (Southern Delaware) so this book covers everything that flies here. The pictures are fantastic as is the information. This book is all you need! Unless you live in the Western half of the U.S. and then of course you buy the Western edition. My favorite feature of the book is how they show male/female/juvenile photos that make I.D.ing so much easier. This book is worth $100 to me personally if not priceless, and for $14.99 you gotta give it up. You can tell the hard work that went into it. P.S. I am disabled and over the years have lost most if not all the outdoor hobbies I once loved and thanks to the golf cart, the 50X zoom lens and THIS EXCELLENT BOOK, I get to enjoy life again on a level I didn't think was obtainable to me. I cannot believe that for 46 years I saw birds as just something that targeted my cars paint job, but now I've seen the light! Very addictive hobby!

Stokes is a nice guide with very clear and good-sized pictures that show different seasons, mature vs. immature, morphs, etc. For years I just used Peterson, but the newer guides like Sibley, Stokes, Kaufman are much more helpful, especially in identifying more difficult birds in different plumages. I carry Kaufman in the field and use Sibley and Stokes at home for further identification if necessary. Casual backyard birders might find Sibley too large and overwhelming, and Kaufman a little too difficult to help in their identifications. Stokes would make a great choice for its ease of use.

There seems to be a new system for tabs (the fast way to narrow your search). They used to have the tab index at the back, and the color tabs along the side of the book. Now the index is at the front, but not quite (lost moments looking for the index) and then the tabs are along the bottom of the book, where there is not enough room for all the tabs. Now, once you find the index, you puzzle along the bottom of the book (more lost moments) was it the pale orange or is it really this rose color? Is it the medium green or the slightly darker bluish green? Meantime, the bird has flown. I was using this guide for really unfamiliar birds as I am not from the eastern region, but I could get the bird into the right family. Then: good luck; you will need it. Otherwise it is as always, as excellent source for corroborating information such as calls and songs, general behavior, and similar species.