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What our customer's say!

"Waste of your money!!!!!!!", The fifth edition is going to come out on Nov. 7, 2006 but I already have it!!!! It's much more updated and is much better since it has 7 thumbtabs (Hawks, Sandpipers, Gulls, Flycatchers, Warblers, Sparrows, and Finches) and the quick-find index is now on the side and there's even a map on the back!!!!! The taxonomy is not up-to-date. Canada Goose had been separated as well as the Blue Grouse and many others. I do NOT recommend you to buy this guide. Either wait for the Fifth Edition or go look for other good guides such as Kaufman (this one is a tiny bit outdated(Blue Grouse not split yet) but is easier to use because it has color tabs instead of thumbtabs) or the Sibley Guides (even more outdated). This Edition is a waste of your money so do NOT buy!!!!!!!!!


"Still a fine work", My natural history interests are mainly in botany and mycology, but I also have an interest in birding, and I own dozens of bird identification books, and this is one of my favorites. Although there may be better books for the field or for home reference now, such as the newer Sibley, Kaufmann, or Smithsonian books, this is still a good work for general identification purposes, and it's served me well for that. Since this one was written there has even been a large, Reader's Digest volume about 10 years ago that was actually pretty well done, I thought, so everybody seems to be getting into the act.

As another reviewer here perceptively pointed out, the paintings in this book are more modeled and 3-dimensional looking, compared to the classic Peterson book, which look flatter and less solid. Also, the colors are more muted, and therefore more realistic to me. Both the Peterson and NG books have good field notes and tips on behavior which are useful. The 3-volume Smithsonian guides have great pictures, of course, but they're better for home use since carrying three books in the field usually isn't practical.

There are other specific differences between this and the Peterson book, but others have already pointed these out here, so I'll just conclude by saying if I had to have just one guide, this would definitely be in my top 3 for the honor.

"No longer required", 5 years ago this field guide was required for all serious birders but with the new field guides this one isn't need any longer. It's a bit too big to easily carry around the field and Sibley's is a better guide for the home. Kaufman's Birds of NA is a better book to carry around.

If you like to have bird guides this is one of the best but it's no longer the best.

"A bird book for the car......", For years, I've used the Peterson field guides to identify birds. Most of my bird watching has taken place in the Eastern U.S. mountains and north and south of the coastal area where I live, as well as WI (summer) and LA (winter). The Petersen guide book for the Eastern region meets most of my needs, but I also own several other books (Smithsonian and Audubon). I became interested in the National Geographic book BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA because I admire the NG magazine.

The NG is a heavier book than the Eastern Peterson, perhaps because it shows birds from both the Eastern and Western areas of the country, but the Peterson maps show the full range of "Eastern" birds--even if a range extends to the West. Both books show ranges that extend into Canada. The NG book is nifty because the little maps that appear in the back of the Petersen books are on the same page as the bird illustrations.

The birds illustrated in both books are clustered by category. For example, Petersen shows male and female Downey, Hairy, Northern Three-toed, and Black-backed woodpeckers together, as does the NG. The Petersen guide has little arrows that point to distinguishing marks, but NG does not. I find these indicator arrows very helpful when I am trying to tell two closely marked birds apart. The NG does show a tiny row of variants across the bottom of the page (For example, the woodpecker page = fasciatus, dosalis, orius, etc.)

The bird colors are less differentiated in the Peterson than the NG illustrations. For example, stripes on the Peterson Three-toed woodpecker's belly are less articulated than those shown on the NG bird. I don't think this matters as one seldom gets close enough to see the mottling. The Peterson birds are hand drawn and relatively flat, while the NG birds are more rounded, i.e. modeled. The Petersen birds look like the Audubon paintings. The NG illustrations remind me of digital photos of taxidermist stuffed birds (probably why the colors are so differentiated).

Both books provide measurements and Latin names. The Peterson book provides text that describes birds that might prove confusing with your bird of interest. The NG book provides text that describes the attributes of regional variants. This latter feature won't help you in the field since you almost never see regional variants in the same location.

If you are a serious bird watcher you will probably want both books and the Audubon and Smithsonian books as well. If you can only afford one book, I recommend the Peterson book. I have used my Peterson book for so long it just falls open when I hold it in one hand, so I am probably prejudiced.

"Great Field Guide", I've been birding for about 5 years, and this is the book I always have with me on birding expeditions - it's small enough to portable (though not small enough for a pocket,) and the illustrations are excellent in quality. Has very nice comparison pages, showing several similar-looking species, such as ducks, hawks, gulls, and warblers. The descriptions are generally very good, and contain useful distinguishing information.

Generally, I prefer drawings/paintings to actual photographs when using birding books - I've found that often times, the photographs in birding books are less than good examples of several species, especially when there are one or more variations. Also, with illustrations, the artist controls the lighting, the angle, et cetera. Since this book uses illustrations, so perhaps I'm biased toward it in that way.

I have about a dozen birding field guides, and the only one I like better than this one is the Sibley; however, the extremely large size of that book prevents me from taking it on any but short trips. The NGS book here is more than sufficient for most birders, I would imagine. Another plus is that it's all the birds of the continent, period; no need to buy an Eastern/Western edition when you travel to other areas of the country.

An excellent book, all around.

Read this reviews before You buy...

"THE ONE to get if you only get ONE -- THE BEST gift !!", I have been birding for 20 years. My life list is a respectable 445 species in North America. While some reviewers may not carry this book around, I will guarantee you the National Geographic Society (NGS) Field Guide to the Birds of North America is the #1 choice among every birder I know. On my shelf I have a dozen guides...in fact probably every one published. This one is HANDS DOWN my favorite. What makes it so good? With due respect to Roger Tory Peterson, the illustrations and written clues in the NGS guide are unmatched. Secondly, in the 3d edition, National Geographic has demonstrated a fervent desire to keep up with the ever-changing naming conventions from the American Ornithological Union. Other guides are simply not keeping pace. If you are new to this hobby, this is THE guide. If someone told you they are interested, but they don't know where to start, this is THE guide.

The one to get if you only get one. The one to use if you have many.

"Has some good aspects.", I've had this field guide in my possession for quite a while. While it does have some good features, I still don't take it along with me into the field. The reason is that I don't feel totally confident with the full-color illustrations. I don't think that the illustrations are bad; however, some are unrealistic. That aside, I have respect for other facets of this field guide. This field guide covers all of the birds of North America--exotic species are also included. The introduction is also quite informative, and there's a section of it that points out the various parts of a bird. The text information and range maps are on the left page, while the illustrations are on the right page. Habitat backgrounds are usually used in conjunction with the illustrations, too, while individual species in varying plumages are also represented. The text information includes the description, habitat, vocalizations, scientific name, length, and behavior. The average wingspan of large birds in flight is also included. There are seperate sections that display illustrations of ducks in flight, shorebirds in flight, gulls in flight, and female hawks in flight. The index of bird species in the back of the field guide can be used as a checklist for the species identified. A check-off box is situated next to each common-name entry for this purpose. Even though I don't take this field guide with me whenever I go birdwatching, I still find it to be a helpful back-up reference at home when I need to glean some additional information.

"Not the best, but decent", This book is not the best of all the bird guides out there. Firstly, it is too bulky to be practical to bring anywhere. Second, the art work looks fake. The pages of this book are glossy and are difficult to maneuver through when in a rush. This book may be one of the newest out there, but if you are going to buy a bird guide, buy the Blue Golden Book-Birds of North America, or maybe the Peterson guide. My personal favorite is the Golden book and I believe that most experienced birders will agree with me. The artwork in the Golden book is far more accurate than in any other book on the market. If this is your first time buying a field guide, don't buy this one just because it the most popular one on the market, buy one of the other two I mentioned.

"The Standard for North American Field Guides", I was suprised at all the negative reviews of the third edition. This is a thorough updating of the second edition and is well done. The taxonomy and range information is up to date and accurate.

This field guide goes with me everywhere. It's the best all-in-one North American guide, period.

"Better than all the bird books I have", I really enjoy this bird book because I can find the bird that looks like the bird at my feeder or in the bird bath or on the fence post. I don't take bird walks, etc, but I have many, many birds visit my yard year round. This is the best book I've found, and I have Audubon and Peterson as well as Reader's Digest and other bird books. I can usually locate the bird in this book.