Birds of Chicago

by Chris Fisher, David B. Johnson

These attractive guides identify the birds most likely to be seen in your city's backyards, streets and parks. The books introduce the fascinating and popular pastime of birdwatching and include advice on building feeders and birdhouses. Color illustrations help you identify birds quickly while the text provides interesting information about each bird. These books are easy-to-use references for the urban birdwatcher.

Genres: Birds

160 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

Reviews

[Emily Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this whole field guide in one sitting at a coffee shop in two hours. I absolutely love the drawings and the comparisons of male and female birds of the same species! Plus the authors throw in some unnecessarily hilarious roasts of the birds, such as the likening of the field sparrow to “a teenager prior to his first shave” LOL. Great read, probably got some weird looks for giggling to myself at a freakin bird field guide at 4:30pm on a Sunday afternoon, but hey I enjoyed it. Now I want to use it to help me and my students identify birds on our walks!

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book for birders in this area. But it is missing seasonal migratory birds which could cause some major confusion in May. For instance, during migration there are more Thrashers than wood: gray checked, swainson's, hermit. These are listed under similar species but there are no illustrations or profiles. This can be especially confusing with sparrows too.
However, the book has quite a few good points:
* good breakdown of birds families
* abundance charts listing a bird's abundance in various months of the year
* excellent habitat indicator icons for quick glance
* good listing of birdwatching locations, some of which are major hotspots like Ryerson Conservation Area
* nice several page long section on "Watching birds" going through seasons, optics, birdsong feeders, and Chicago-area bird societies
And there's a checklist in the back!
It is so good but you would have to have an extra book on seasonal birds so I can't give it all the stars.

[Bre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for learning about the birds in the area. It will make identification, at my feeders, easier. There are pictures of each type and it also shows both male and female of each type.