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| National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition | 
| Authors: Jon L. Dunn, Jonathan Alderfer
Publisher: National Geographic
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy New: $13.49
You Save: $10.51 (44%)
New (45) from $13.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  43 reviews
Sales Rank: 4210
Media: Paperback
Edition: 5
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 504
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.4 x 1.1
ISBN: 0792253140
Dewey Decimal Number: 598.097
EAN: 9780792253143
ASIN: 0792253140
Publication Date: November 7, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Ships immediately! Perfect and New! Has a publisher remainder mark. 5th Edition. 2006 Paperback.
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| Customer Reviews:
Super guide February 11, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Nice to have the indent tabs for easy indexing....also nice to have infor mation on the inside front and back covers...really handy bird guide!!
excellent update for Geo. January 29, 2007
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This guide follows the latest AOU criteria and has included additional accidential species. Many of the maps and illustrations are new. The introduction is incredible and well worth reading and re-reading.
The best, but not the best for beginners January 21, 2007
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Among field guides to birds of North America that can readily be carried into the field, this is the most complete and most thorough. It's the one that I've used for years, and newly updated and improved to boot.
But if you are a beginner or casual birder, you might do better to make your first field guide one that is aimed more at beginners. For that I'd recommend the Kaufman Focus Guide to Birds of North America. If you advance beyond the beginner or casual birder stage, and start to look at things like empidonax flycatchers and gulls, you will know that it's time to supplement that Focus Guide. Then, this would be the one to buy.
national geographic guide to the birds of north america, 5th edition January 19, 2007
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
our best bird guide available
 Good but some disappointments... November 29, 2006
60 out of 62 found this review helpful
I purchased this 5th edition NG guide so I would have all the up-to-date species names and splits. This guide incorporates changes made in the most recent (2006) 47th Supplement to The A.O.U. Check-list of North American Birds, Seventh Edition.
This version is slightly larger than my old 3rd edition guide. Same height and depth, but pages are about 3/8" wider which allows for slightly larger range maps. Some may find this new version is a bit too large to be considered a "field" guide. The upside though is much larger pictures of the birds than those tiny ones found in other popular field guides, such as the much smaller sized Sibley's Eastern or Western N.A. guides.
Compared to my 3rd edition NG guide the colors are not as rich and vivid, but generally the illustrations of each species are still quite good. Some of the pictures have been redone by different artists from those in the 3rd edition. I found a couple improvements, but unfortunately there are also a few which are simply dreadful in comparison. For example see the Horned Grebe page. Oh well, no field guide gets them ALL right.
The new inset tabs really work well. There are just enough to help you zero in on key sections of the guide - any more would have just got in the way. The front and back covers have a fold out flap which I've found is handy for bookmarking a page in the guide. The quickfind index on the back flap is fantastic! No more flipping through the index pages trying to find where they've put the Meadowlarks. On the inside of the front cover there are several "bird topography" drawings which show the terms used in identifying various feathers and markings on birds. This is much improved over the few drawings in the 3rd edition, that were also harder to find.
There is an extra section at the back of the guide on Accidentals and Extinctions - probably not something I will use, but an interesting addition.
The species illustrations are generally well done and include comparisons of male/female/juvenile and summer/winter plumages. Also some extra pages such as ducks, hawks, gulls, and sandpipers in flight. Description of each species includes many helpful clues for identification, such as tail-flicking habit, prefers spruce bog, song is insectlike buzz. The range maps are large enough to be useful. A beginning birder might find a smaller regional guide or a backyard birds guide easier to start with, but would soon wish they had this one. In conclusion, a good choice for anyone interested in birds and birding.
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