Bird Country US Guide to the Field Guides of North America's Birds

National vs. Regional

Field Guide vs. Desk Reference

Photographs vs. Artwork

Other Considerations

By the Numbers

Species-by-Species, Book-by-Book Comparisons

The first piece of equipment that any birder purchases is usually a field guide to the birds of their area. Even the most novice among us realize very quickly that without proper identification of the birds we see and hear, it is impossible to take any sort of conservation measure, whether it be an intensive survey or simply installing a nestbox. In other words, everything in birding begins with the accurate identification of birds. That's why the field guides we choose are the first and probably the most important decision any of us will make in our birding careers. But, field guides are not all created equal.

Just a few years ago, most folks carried either the Peterson guide or the National Geographic guide. There really was not all that much more on the market. But today, things are quite different. Field guides have exploded on the market, so now your choices much more difficult (unless, of course, you throw caution to the wind and buy them all, like we did). But, alas, it's one thing to have a good field guide and another thing altogether to have a library of field guides. The library is nice to have, but what most birders are really interested in is their own personal field guide.

So, which one is the best one to have? That question probably crops up more than any other single question at our outings. What's the answer? Well. we usually say something like, "It's all personal preference. Do you like photographs or artwork?" "Is the size of the book important to you? "How would you like to have the birds arranged in the guide, by color, size, taxonomic order?" The questions in response to the question go on and on because, in the end, the answer should always be "the one that best helps me identify birds." But is there one particular guide that does it better than the others. That's what we're going to try to find out in the Bird Country US Guide to the Field Guides of North America's Birds.

We are going to look at some of the more challenging identifications in the birding world, birds that might easily be mistaken for another species, and look at the information in all eight guides and see which one(s) best help you make the correct identification. Read on below to see how we picked the guides for our comparisons, how they compare in general to one another, and the criteria we'll be using to rate each one. Then, when you're ready, go to the Species-by-Species, Book-by-Book Comparisons to see what we've found. Hopefully, there will be something that helps you decide which field guide can help you become a better birder.

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National vs. Regional

"Field guides" come in an assortment of sizes. Length, width, and even thickness all play a role in what makes a good field guide, simply because if it is not easy to carry in the field, then it's value as a field guide is greatly diminished. So at some point we have to set a limit on how big a book can get and still be able to easily carry it with you into the field. One of the first considerations when choosing a field guide is the are of coverage - should you buy a guide that covers the entire nation of continent or, is a regional guide the best way to go?

Sooner or later, most people start checking out birds in locations other than their home state. Maybe you're visiting family across the country, taking a few hours of "me time" while on a business trip, or just on vacation. If you live in the East and travel west, or vice versa, you're going to want a national guide. For that reason, we're going to focus on comparing the guides that cover , more or less, North America's birds. The guides that fit into this picture are:

Birds of North America (Golden Field Guides)

Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America

National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to the Birds of North America

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America

Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America

The Sibley Guide to Birds

The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America

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Field Guide vs. Desk Reference

Several years ago we bought a field guide case at the gift shop at Corkscrew Swamp. It seemed to fit everything we wanted in a field guide case; size, shape, number of compartments, shoulder strap, etc. and we weren't wrong. It was even the right color. We continue to use it to this day. It is the perfect size for not just one, but both of the field guides we tend to carry in the field along with the Bird Country US Field Observation Notebook. The bottom line: it's a great field guide case. So if a field guide can fit in this case, it is a true field guide (maximum size - 5-1/2" x 8-1/2"). Anything larger is a desk reference. So here's the list of the guides that fit this criteria, what we are calling a true field guide:

Birds of North America (Golden Field Guides)

Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America

National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to the Birds of North America

But there are several more good guides out there and by no means should you cross them off your list just because of the way Bird Country US distinguishes what is or is not a true "field guide." These other guides are what we call desk references, although a more accurate term might be "armchair reference," or, in our case, "recliner reference." It all boils down to where you're sitting when you are perusing the book. The books we consider to be desk references are:

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America

Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America

The Sibley Guide to Birds

The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America

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Photographs versus Artwork

As we stated before, any book that helps you better identify birds is a good field guide. The most common use a field guide gets is not in the text that comes along with each species, but the images of the birds. And this is an important consideration for many folks: photographs versus artwork. There are many folks that prefer art work, and probably just as many that prefer photographs. So which guides have photographs and which ones employ artwork? Here's a quick and easy reference chart:

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Other Considerations

Beyond the images portrayed, there are certain other considerations that may come up as a person becomes a more advanced birder that you may not think about in the early stages of birding. For instance, differentiating sexes might become important to you. The same holds true for identifying the various age classes or plumages that you might encounter in a particular species. Any of the field guides mentioned above can harbor that information, but not all of them do, at least not in the form of an image. We'll tell you which ones do and which ones don't.

Vocalizations can be another useful tool in the birder's arsenal. Some of the guides we'll look at come with CDs of bird vocalizations. However, none of them come with CDs of all the birds' vocalizations. We'll tell you which ones do and which ones don't. If the guide doesn't include a CD of sounds, we'll look at any mnemonics in the text of the guides. Which ones make sense? Which ones can actually help you identify the bird?

We'll also look at  the other information the guide provides, such as range maps, habitat characteristics, and seasonal variations in where the bird can be found.

Finally, we'll rate each book on a scale of 1 - 5, with 5 being the book we think you would be happiest with for that particular species. As we add more and more species to our comparisons, we think you'll eventually see a pattern emerging, so check back periodically as we add more and more species to the Bird Country US Guide to Guides. As with anything Bird Country US is involved in, if you should ever have any questions, never hesitate to contact us. We're always happy to do whatever we can to help you become a better birder.

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Guides by the Numbers

Move on to the Species-by-Species, Book-by-Book Comparisons

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