Edward S. Brinkley, Foreword by Craig Tufts, NWF Chief Naturalist
For those of us who grew up with just two or three bird guides to choose from (Peterson, Golden and later, Audubon), we tend think, “What else can they do different?” Here’s what the NWF guide does different. Imagine a slide show (and for those of you who grew up with more than three guides to choose from, a PowerPoint presentation!) showing clear, beautiful pictures of males, females or juvenile birds in their natural habitat, AND having text that points out the key identifying characteristics. That is how this book illustrates the more than 750 birds covered (it omits the rare, vagrants, or captive birds with just one record in Texas (for example) in the 1960s). Is this type of illustration better, or easier to use than a drawing with an arrow pointing out the unique characteristics? Maybe, because you can look at the picture and read what the arrows would be indicating rather than scanning the text to learn what the arrows mean. Maybe not, because the arrows may be intuitive, less distracting and require less time with your nose buried in the book reading captions. As with all field guides, it’s up to the user to decide! The style limits the number of birds to four on a two-page spread; two pages are dedicated to the Red-tailed Hawk. I also like that their Parts of a Bird section shows the parts on both a drawing and photograph of the same bird. The front cover has a flap with the ‘how to use this book’ information and the key to the range maps (something I appreciate!). The cover is also waterproof which is a great feature for any field guide. Although it doesn’t have the nice color tabs to help you find a group of birds quickly, it does have a visual key as part of the table of contents.
From the publisher, “From the National Wildlife Federation comes the most up-to-date, all-photographic field guide to North American birds. Birders will find it indispensable: this single, portable volume features more than 750 species, along with more than 2,000 stunning images by leading nature photographers showing birds in their natural habitats. Captions highlight important field marks, and comprehensive species accounts describe habitats, behavior, flight, migration, songs, and plumages. Other features include: more than 600 maps showing bird distribution in every season; strategies for watching and identifying birds; a complete species index plus a quick-flip index; a glossary of terms; and a checklist of birds. The guide’s unique waterproof cover makes it especially valuable for use in the field.
About the author: Edward S. (Ned) Brinkley is the editor of North American Birds, the American Birding Association’s quarterly journal of ornithological record. A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Ned has birded since age six, his interest sparked by the southern warblers of the Great Dismal Swamp and later, the seabirds of the Gulf Stream off North Carolina. Ned currently guides birding tours to Africa, the Caribbean, Iceland, Mexico, and Central America for Field Guides, Inc.
Paper, 528 pages, 4 3/4 x 7 ¾ inches, 2,100 full-color photographs, 600+ four-color range maps showing distribution in all seasons, glossary, checklist, complete species index and quick-flip index, June 2007."
