Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern 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, Reference, Nonfiction, Nature, Science, Field Guides, Animals

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

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

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

An indispensable tool for helping me identify all of the avian visitors to my backyard as well as those who nest here.

Provides excellent photos, identifying descriptions, geographic ranges, feeding and nesting habits, as well as other interesting factoids.

Recommended for anyone wanting to learn about their everyday avian neighbors.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books features pictures over drawings, which is very nice (and preferable IMHO), however the picture quality isn't always that great. There is a "New" Stokes Field Guide and I wonder if the pictures were updated - cameras have improved since 1996 when this book was copyrighted. Most birds have 1-2 pictures, a few have more. There are short descriptive paragraphs of the birds' appearance, behavior, voice, etc. There's also an easy to read map.

The two down sides I see are the poor photo quality (which, again, I still think is superior to drawings) and the fact that most birds have no information on how to distinguish them from similar appearing birds.

I prefer the American Museum & Natural History's Birds of North America Eastern Region to this one, but I'll probably still be an obsessive birder and try the "New" Stokes guide to see how it compares.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

We bought this bird book and its companion for the Western Region because we were living in a motor home and traveling all over North America. While I love the Golden Book guide to birds of North America, this one has photographs rather than drawings, and sometimes I need to see a photo of a bird to identify it. The Lewis's Woodpecker is one example of that situation. We saw the bird, looked in the identification book we had and still couldn't figure out what we were seeing. The photo in the Stokes Field Guide was an easy fix.

[Lucy Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

No, I haven't read every word. But this book is really well illustrated, and much more comprehensive than the pocket guide I borrowed from Alex. Have been able to effectively tell the difference between hairy and downy woodpeckers, and various kinds of finch and sparrow. It lives by the dining room window...

[Sara-Juliette Hins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il s’agit d’un livre d’ornithologie qui appartenait à ma mère. J’ai mis beaucoup de temps à le lire d’une couverture à l’autre parce que c’est intéressant, mais ça se lit moins bien au quotidien qu’un roman. Le style de l’ouvrage commande un genre beaucoup plus factuel. Je conserve précieusement cette petite bible de référence pour m’aider à identifier les oiseaux que j’observe

[Benjamin Plume · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is excellent for amateur birders, though I wouldn't recommend it as a comprehensive guide for very serious hobbyists. It was perfect for me, because its "learning pages" help beginners identify some of the differences between similar birds.

[Louis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great beginners guide to bird watching.I never realized how many different types you could find just on the island of Montreal.

[Deb Rankin-Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law for gifting me with this great birding book! We use it frequently and are tracking our "life list" on its pages, when we are able.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful pictures and information but enjoyed National Gegraphic Guide Book better

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plenty of details about nesting, diet, plumage, vocalization, and great pictures. I'm glad I found this book! I almost bought a different bird field guide the other day-glad I held off.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can never go wrong with books by Donald and Lillian Stokes . I use this book when I go hiking and find a new unidentified bird , Great reference book !!