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Peterson Field Guides #2
A Field Guide to Western Birds
"The Birder’s Bible" for more than 60 years, Roger Tory Peterson’s classic Field Guide to Western Birds includes all species found in North America west of the 100th meridian and north of Mexico. Featuring the unique Peterson Identification System, Western Birds contains 165 full-color paintings that show more than 1,000 birds from 700 species. Summer and winter ranges, breeding grounds, and other special range data are shown on easy-to-read range maps. Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world's greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars, and the Peterson Field Guides are credited with helping to set the stage for the environmental movement.
309 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1941
21 people are currently reading
276 people want to read
About the author
Roger Tory Peterson
319 books42 followersRoger Tory Peterson was an American naturalist, ornithologist, artist, and educator, and held to be one of the founding inspirations for the 20th century environmental movement.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 12, 2023
I have the third edition with a copyright date of 1990. It's well worn and looks lived-in.
December 26, 2007
My first bird guide and my old stand by. It has accompanied me on more hikes than my husband and been baptized in the waters of the West Walker River. Sure, the colors are often quite off , the owl pages are bad and it's a bummer it doesn't show the birds in their most likely habitat. But, like the husband, just because it has its faults, it doesn't make me want to toss it. Its frayed edges and waterlogged state become all the more endearing as the years pass. You will have to pry this bird guide from my dead hands.
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July 30, 2020Written on the inside cover of my dog-eared copy of this book is, "Love to Blaine, (birthday) 1967, mom and dad." I grew up with this book, led by my dad who was a birding enthusiast, naturalist, and lover of the outdoors. Also inside are dozens of penciled bird lists of trips going back to the 1970s.
At the time, the book came with a couple dozen very small sticky-back index tabs for each of the colored plates which had to carefully be added by the owner. This made for quicker access to ID the birds via Peterson's paintings. After 53 years, mine are still readable and functional.
Birding has changed as have the names of many birds since this edition came out but this was the book that serious birders started with prior to the (better overall) Sibley's, Audubon, Nat Geo, and now app guides. Personally I now use the iBird and Merlin apps for iPhone and mostly keep this book for great memories.
At the time, the book came with a couple dozen very small sticky-back index tabs for each of the colored plates which had to carefully be added by the owner. This made for quicker access to ID the birds via Peterson's paintings. After 53 years, mine are still readable and functional.
Birding has changed as have the names of many birds since this edition came out but this was the book that serious birders started with prior to the (better overall) Sibley's, Audubon, Nat Geo, and now app guides. Personally I now use the iBird and Merlin apps for iPhone and mostly keep this book for great memories.
July 18, 2018
A Field Guide to Birds of Western North America (Fourth Edition), attributed to Roger Tory Peterson, was most recently published in 2010. Peterson Field Guides compete directly with The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America and Princeton Field Guides on similar areas of focus, although there may not be a direct equivalent for North American birds from Princeton Field Guides. It also competes to a degree with the National Audubon Society’s field guides, which are actually in a narrower format and more portable in some cases.
(Due to the similarity of the books, if you’ve read our review of Peterson’s A Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America (Sixth Edition) then the remainder of the review and our conclusion regarding the functionality of the book is identical with only minor changes where appropriate relating to the number of species represented, color plates, and so on.)
This Fourth Edition claims substantial overhauls compared to previous editions and Paul Lehman and Michael O’Brien have gone to great lengths to improve the accuracy and provide updated range maps for numerous species while Michael DiGiorgio improved the digitized plates. The Field Guide offers a number of useful features, some duplicated for ease of access at the beginning of the book and at the beginning of the appropriate section, achieving an ease of use that will help novices quickly identify birds but may not provide enough detail or have a comprehensive enough format to satisfy more experienced birders.
There are 367 color-coded pages describing the size, voice, habitats, scarcity, classification, nomenclature, and “similar species” of almost 600 species comprising 32 families of birds with ranges within Western North America. This does not compare favorably to the 703 species in the Sibley field guide for the same region. The 176 color plates contained within the Peterson Field Guide primarily offer illustrations for adult plumage of males and females, with some species getting the requisite illustrations for adolescent plumage or seasonal changes which are essential to identification. Over all, the color reproduction and clarity from the Fourth Edition series are on par or better than what is found in Princeton Field Guides, although we can’t speak to the accuracy of the color reproduction with respect to actual bird plumage, since individual species’ plumage can vary significantly from one region to the next. National Audubon Society field guides on birds have color photos which some people may appreciate more, however the plates found in the Peterson Field Guides are so large and life-like that there are unlikely to be many complaints beyond plumage accuracy. Videos on the Peterson Field Guides’ YouTube channel are a free supplement to this guide.
About one hundred pages (pgs. 370-469) are dedicated to enlarged “range maps” depicting the same ranges accompanying nearly all of the bird species described, but with the benefit of being a larger size. These range maps are fit 6 to a page and have both a map number and the page number of the corresponding species, making it incredibly easy to turn to the larger range map when wanting a more detailed view. This feature also makes it very easy to plan trips around what birds will be in their seasonal or year-round ranges simply by looking at all the range maps side-by-side and deciding on what areas will help you check off your "life list."
The last ten pages before the index feature a "life list" with a checkmark spot beside each species so readers can make a note of whether or not they’ve observed this species (with enough space to write in a state abbreviation to denote where they’ve seen it). Life lists are a key way for novice and veteran birders alike to keep track of what species they’ve had the pleasure of observing and such a functional – and essential – element for birding enthusiasts is a great inclusion in this Field Guide.
Like many field guides, the index lists all the bird species described within. The Peterson Field Guide offers a functional twist on the traditional alphabetized index by providing an alphabetically sorted list of both scientific and common names together, making it very easy to find the page number, or range map, of a specific species regardless of which name springs to mind first. Over 75 silhouettes of bird species are also included to round out the last pages of the field guide and make rapid- or distant-identification easier.
The Field Guide is laid out in a way familiar to anyone who has used field guides from other publishers and provides a good entry-level bird identification book with some features that may provide better subjective functionality in some areas while falling short in others. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America and The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America may offer a superior overall format and more comprehensive collection of individual species and illustrations depicting identifying features and seasonal or regional variations and should be the first consideration for those seeking to invest in a standard-sized field guide. For those looking for something more compact and portable with a similar coverage of information then National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Western Region and National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region are great choices.
(Due to the similarity of the books, if you’ve read our review of Peterson’s A Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America (Sixth Edition) then the remainder of the review and our conclusion regarding the functionality of the book is identical with only minor changes where appropriate relating to the number of species represented, color plates, and so on.)
This Fourth Edition claims substantial overhauls compared to previous editions and Paul Lehman and Michael O’Brien have gone to great lengths to improve the accuracy and provide updated range maps for numerous species while Michael DiGiorgio improved the digitized plates. The Field Guide offers a number of useful features, some duplicated for ease of access at the beginning of the book and at the beginning of the appropriate section, achieving an ease of use that will help novices quickly identify birds but may not provide enough detail or have a comprehensive enough format to satisfy more experienced birders.
There are 367 color-coded pages describing the size, voice, habitats, scarcity, classification, nomenclature, and “similar species” of almost 600 species comprising 32 families of birds with ranges within Western North America. This does not compare favorably to the 703 species in the Sibley field guide for the same region. The 176 color plates contained within the Peterson Field Guide primarily offer illustrations for adult plumage of males and females, with some species getting the requisite illustrations for adolescent plumage or seasonal changes which are essential to identification. Over all, the color reproduction and clarity from the Fourth Edition series are on par or better than what is found in Princeton Field Guides, although we can’t speak to the accuracy of the color reproduction with respect to actual bird plumage, since individual species’ plumage can vary significantly from one region to the next. National Audubon Society field guides on birds have color photos which some people may appreciate more, however the plates found in the Peterson Field Guides are so large and life-like that there are unlikely to be many complaints beyond plumage accuracy. Videos on the Peterson Field Guides’ YouTube channel are a free supplement to this guide.
About one hundred pages (pgs. 370-469) are dedicated to enlarged “range maps” depicting the same ranges accompanying nearly all of the bird species described, but with the benefit of being a larger size. These range maps are fit 6 to a page and have both a map number and the page number of the corresponding species, making it incredibly easy to turn to the larger range map when wanting a more detailed view. This feature also makes it very easy to plan trips around what birds will be in their seasonal or year-round ranges simply by looking at all the range maps side-by-side and deciding on what areas will help you check off your "life list."
The last ten pages before the index feature a "life list" with a checkmark spot beside each species so readers can make a note of whether or not they’ve observed this species (with enough space to write in a state abbreviation to denote where they’ve seen it). Life lists are a key way for novice and veteran birders alike to keep track of what species they’ve had the pleasure of observing and such a functional – and essential – element for birding enthusiasts is a great inclusion in this Field Guide.
Like many field guides, the index lists all the bird species described within. The Peterson Field Guide offers a functional twist on the traditional alphabetized index by providing an alphabetically sorted list of both scientific and common names together, making it very easy to find the page number, or range map, of a specific species regardless of which name springs to mind first. Over 75 silhouettes of bird species are also included to round out the last pages of the field guide and make rapid- or distant-identification easier.
The Field Guide is laid out in a way familiar to anyone who has used field guides from other publishers and provides a good entry-level bird identification book with some features that may provide better subjective functionality in some areas while falling short in others. The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America and The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America may offer a superior overall format and more comprehensive collection of individual species and illustrations depicting identifying features and seasonal or regional variations and should be the first consideration for those seeking to invest in a standard-sized field guide. For those looking for something more compact and portable with a similar coverage of information then National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Western Region and National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Region are great choices.
November 19, 2020
Great guide for amateurs and beginners... excellent tour! Quite informative and well written!
July 17, 2022
Great book for daily use. Tested in southern California.
October 22, 2024
Nostalgic.
January 18, 2016
As with many birders, I started with this guide to help identify common backyard birds in college (sure beat studying for exams!). I will always remember the old Peterson bird guide because it contained a separate section for "Introduced Hawaiian land birds." For the life of me I could not figure out an unidentifiable backyard bird until the Rare Bird Alert manager returned my message to tell me that the my "rare" bird was the female house sparrow, only illustrated in the Hawaii section of the field guide. Duh!! Peterson's guides have since been updated and reorganized (which would have resolved my problem!). However the Sibley & National Geographic guides have surpassed Peterson's guide in quality of information and illustrations, IMHO. Still the natural history & birding community is indebted to Roger Tory Peterson for his pioneering spirit and love of nature.
November 11, 2010
I like the content of the book, but the actual publication of it is
terrible
! I am a living room bird watcher, and as such the book has never been outside, but the pages are falling out of it as if I had beaten it to an inch of its life. Poor, poor publication. For me, the living room birdwatcher, it is mildly inconvenient, but I can't imagine using it in the field.
March 29, 2010
This is our favorite bird identification book because it is the easiest one to use. All the pix of the birds are in the center, so you can flip through them to find the bird you're looking for, then look up the description.
January 14, 2008
Ever wonder what that little flying dinosaur was? Gorgeous illustrations, straightforward layout so you can easily ID the feathered friend in question.
February 4, 2008
Oh, Peterson, oh...
July 23, 2009
Very helpful. I use it often.
October 27, 2013
A great book for any birdwatcher
December 9, 2011
Covers over 1,000 birds from over 700 species in the western United States; This full color reference book is great for bird watchers of all ages.
February 24, 2013
Never fully "read" a book like this, so marked as currently reading. Excellent field guide to birds.
April 6, 2015
Getting old and raggedy just like all well loved guide books should...
August 12, 2015
Best bird identification system there is.
November 29, 2016
Tight Organization with lots of pictures. Seems cramped
Want to read
August 7, 2018My copy, gifted by Clint, is the 1941 hard backed edition with a few missing pages at the beginning, but the black and white illustrations are great.
February 15, 2021
I am enjoying this version very much. I love the larger illustrations and the size of the book.
https://imgs.plurk.com/QzI/MTT/cymEeR...
https://imgs.plurk.com/QzI/MTT/cymEeR...
August 11, 2012
Excellent field guide, my favorite all round.
September 6, 2012
Very good field guide.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews