Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Western Region

by Donald W. Stokes, Lillian Q. Stokes

The easiest-to-use and most comprehensive field guide to North American birds-from the country's preeminent writers on birds and nature Drawing on more than twenty years' experience as bird and wildlife experts, Donald and Lillian Stokes have produced field guides that are factually, visually, and organizationally superior to any other books you can buy. You'll find: * All the identification information on a single page-color photographs, range map, and detailed description. No more fumbling to match photos with text! * For fast reference-a compact alphabetical index inside the front and back covers. * More than 900 high-resolution color identification photographs. * An illustrated Quick Guide to the most common backyard and feeder birds. * Convenient colored tabs keyed to each bird group. * Concise and comprehensive text, with information on habitat; plumage variation; feeding, nesting, and mating behavior; bird feeder proclivity; and-for the first time in any guide-population trends and conservation status.

Genres: Birds, Nature, Nonfiction, Field Guides, Science, Reference, Animals

560 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1994

About the author

Donald W. Stokes and Lillian Q. Stokes are widely recognized as America's foremost authorities on birds and nature. Their books include the bestselling Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, the Stokes Field Guide to Birds, the Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds, the Stokes Nature Guides, and the Stokes Backyard Nature Books. They live in New Hampshire and Florida.

Reviews

[Puja · Rating 5 out of 5]

My summer this year was spent visiting the US on a holiday. I was stationed in California other than a trip to the famous Yellowstone region. As a birding enthusiast, it was only natural that I began to observe the birds in my surroundings and was curious to know their identities. I thus looked for resources and a trip to the local public library resulted in me scanning a wide variety of books and guides with special emphasis on different geographical regions or the type of birds. Eventually I checked out two books and this field guide was one of them. What appealed to me was how it was both comprehensive and user-friendly. It was a perfect size for a guide and accompanied me to most excursions outside the city and to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
The book begins with plenty of practical information on how to be a birder in the 21st century, there is a guide on the basic anatomical parts of birds, an instructive section on how to use the book and a very useful guide to common urban birds. The color photographs in the book are of excellent quality - it is quite a relief to use a guide that has photos instead of paintings or sketches as photos better represent the birds thus making identification easier. The guide categorizes the birds according to their species. Each bird has a page devoted to it with all the necessary information on it - photos, description on identification, the feeding and nesting habits and any other details worthy of noting. The description and photos are as per seasonal appearances (breeding season, winter etc.) and there are details/photos on identifying the birds in their juvenile/sub-adult stage and according to their gender (wherever possible for females). In addition, there is a map of the United States with different coloring to show the year-round range of the bird. The voice of the bird and the conservation status are indicated as well. What makes this guide extra helpful is a color tab index which makes it very easy to go to the page you need to. There is also an alphabetical index in the front and back cover pages.
All in all, this is an excellent birding tool. When it was time to leave the country and return home, it was hard to say goodbye to the new birds I had gotten to know and return the book back to its abode.

[Nora Justice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite bird book. Found 108 confirmed Montana species this year and this is the only one I carry!

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good summary of birds indigenous to the western region of the United States. The book groups birds according to their species. Each grouping contains color pictures of the sub-species of birds in that species, together with a brief commentary as to identification, feeding and nesting habits, habitat, voice, and other behavioral traits. On the page describing each sub-species of bird, a map of the western United States is presented, with areas shaded in yellow, green and blue showing the summer, winter and year-round range of the particular sub-species. We have some bird feeders in the courtyard area of our home. This book has been a good resource to help us identify the different varieties of birds which visit our feeders.

[Scott Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

The large format photographs are helpful, however I'm not sure how helpful is the color tab index to locating bird groups (better than nothing, I suppose). This is a good guide to augment other guides (like Sibley, National Geographic), if for nothing else, the large photographs are excellent!

[Lafcadio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent photographs, and when paired with Stokes Western Bird Call CDs, indispensable.

[Louise Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought on sale at Tattered Cover. Another Bargain find for my birthday! Yippee!

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my review of the Eastern Region Stokes Guide to Birds. They are both wonderful.

[Stanley Hall]

I have an older edition, but great photos