This book is compact; it measures 4" x 7-1/2" x 1-1/2" thick, just the right size to fit into your pocket or day-pack if you're inclined to take it on a walk.

It's very thoughtfully and logically organized with four major sections, as follows:

INTRODUCTION
This includes a discussion of both the art and science of birding and the organization of the book. It includes a highly detailed rendering of a "typical" bird with all the anatomical points used in the book identified by their common names.

COLOR KEY
The avian kingdom is broken down into categories (long-legged waders, gull-like birds, owls, pigeon-like birds, hawks, tree-clinging birds, hummingbirds, perching birds, and so on.) Each category is assigned a silhouette. The categories are further broken down into families. So, in the category of hawks, we have ospreys, caracaras, vultures, hawks, falcons, harriers, kites, and eagles. Each family has its own silhouette symbol.

COLOR PLATES
This is a series of color photographs of 676 birds. The photographs are organized by the categories mentioned above. Most of the color plates show adult males, but some distinctive females and juveniles are also shown, along with seasonal changes in plumage. Each photograph identifies the bird by its common name, gives its overall length, and cites the page on which you can find more complete details about it.

Each color plate page has a thumb index with the silhouetted symbol for the birds on that page. The birds are arranged within their families by their predominant color, and the silhouettes are colored accordingly, to make it even easier to find your bird.

SPECIES ACCOUNTS
These are the write-ups cited in the color plates. Each citation gives the pages on which photographs may be found, the common and Latin names for the bird, and brief descriptions of the birds physical appearance. It also includes information on its voice, habitat, nesting habits and eggs, and range. There's even a tiny map of North America with its range shaded in gray.

At the end of this section is information about bird-watching, conservation, a glossary of terms used in the Guide, photographers' credits, and an index in both English and Latin.

What makes this Guide so easy to use is the way the color plates are organized, Without knowing anything at all about birds, I was able to identify a brightly colored bird that was hopping around my garden one day, and it took me less than one minute to do so. All I had to do is flip through the color plates, using the silhouettes, until I found the one of the right shape and color. My bird was on the second page of that section.

I also love the compact size and sturdy leatherette binding. This book will fit easily into a pack or pocket, and will stand up to damp weather.

If you're a life-list birding obsessive, this book might not be enough for you because it doesn't picture every color variation of every bird in every species and family. For that, you probably need Sibley. But for people like me, who enjoy backyard birding and want to know what we're looking at, it can't be beat.


Good book with a few issues   January 16, 2003
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

The pictures and how they are categorized are good. The only issue that I came across was that when given pictures of what some birds look like in Winter and Spring they weren't always next to each other. One would be on one page and then a few pages later there would be the other shot.
I would have liked to have seen shots of both male and female versions of the birds since in most cases they do look quite a bit different. And in some cases with this book there were those shots.
I liked the fact that it gave you what pages to go to to read about the birds. Instead of having to look up alphabetically.
The cover of the book is durable to withstand the turmoils of bird watching.
Overall the book is good for a newbie to bird watching.


Pocket-sized and Field Worthy   September 29, 2002
 22 out of 22 found this review helpful

The saving grace of this bird book is its portable nature. It is small enough to fit in a back pocket when traversing over hill and dell tracking down that Northern Flicker. The cover is also of durable material to weather the dirt, grass, the weather, or whatever you put it through. Those are the good things.

The detractors are that when compared to other bird books, the format isn't the friendliest. To find all the scoop about a particular bird it is easy to locate the picture, however there is a separate section identifying habitat, range, behavior, etcetera. Then there is a numbering system separate from the page numbers that make all this cross-referencing and flipping back and forth between the pictures and the descriptions somewhat confusing. Another confusing thing about the picture sequencing is that two different views of the same bird aren't always placed together. For instance, on frame number 185 (not the page number mind you) we find the Pied-billed Grebe winter plumage and then a couple pages over oddly enough on frame 195 we find what the Pied-billed Grebe looks like the rest of the year. So now we want to know more about this feathered-floater, we are directed back to the back of the book...pg. 341 (we are back to going by page numbers) to find out that this little guy has earned the local name, "Hell Diver."

So for an easier to use guide to read from the comfort of your living room or from a car's passenger seat, I would point you to the Stokes Guide to Birds. Audubon's book does have some good info and unique details on particular birds that can't be found elsewhere, can be carried into the field with ease, and does include some pretty good pics. The two complement each other nicely, but if I had to choose one...it'd be the Stokes.


amazing field guide with GREAT photos!   August 7, 2001
 9 out of 10 found this review helpful

I LOVE this field guide. This field guide is excellent as books by Roger Tory Peterson, who illustrated the birds. It's perfect for any age or any people who's interested in ornithology. This field guide only tells the birds in western regions of North America. This field guide have been helpful to me a lot of times. I've identified birds easily with this guide. Although this book was published a while ago, it looks as new as it was made these days! The photos are in full color. I think it shows all western region birds. Informations of each birds are also well written. So if you're intersted in North American birds, get this guide right now!