The New Birder's Guide To Birds Of North America

by Bill Thompson III

“I love this book. It is fun to read, beautifully laid out, and accompanied by exquisite illustrations. The sections called ‘Wow’ and ‘Remember’ on each page will elicit 'I never knew that!' from many readers. This is a winner for the new birder from four to one hundred and four.”
—Jane Alexander, actress and former board member of the American Birding Association What a new birder needs is a field guide that shows most of the birds he or she is going to see but doesn’t overwhelm with rarities unlikely to be seen. This is that book. Covering 300 of the most common birds in the United States and Canada, this guide has just the right amount of information about how to identify birds, where and when to look for them, what they sound like, and how they behave. The New Birder’s Guide includes easy-to-understand descriptions and maps, clear photos, drawings of common and interesting behaviors, and fun “Wow!” facts for each bird, plus expert advice on identification basics, how to get started, and how to improve your birding skills.

Genres: Birds, Reference, Nonfiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2014

About the author

BILL THOMPSON III is the editor of Bird Watcher’s Digest and the author of the Peterson Field Guide Young Birder’s Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, along with many other books. He lives in Ohio with his wife, the author and illustrator Julie Zickefoose, and their two children.

Reviews

[Cy Abney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m new to birding and was looking for a field guide to help identify birds. I found this one, and it has been very helpful for a beginner birder. It is very well laid out, and I love the “WOW!” short facts about each bird. I bring it to my kindergarten class every day. We have a class set of binoculars and go out at recess looking for birds. My class loves helping identify them and reading the fun facts about each bird. If you’re a beginner birder or want to get into birding, I would highly recommend this book it is very insightful!

[Connie D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, entertaining guide for new birders, very readable.

Besides the basic intro to birding, there's a guide to most common birds in North America. Each bird has photos, a drawing of the bird's behavior, a map, and we're told what to look for (key identifying features), how to identify the song and/or call, reminders of big things to help ID the bird, amazing features or behaviors, and habitat.

And of course an index to refind the birds. :-)

[Belinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading each page...over 300 birds. Neat feature- sections called ‘Wow’ and ‘Remember’... facts I did not know. Each bird has a place on the page to write where you saw the bird and when. Great to use with your own backyard feeders.

[Bee Ostrowsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not a new guide, it's a guide for new birders, which is me! Good practical advice and somewhat simplified information, with an acknowledgement that the 300 birds included will not cover all the birds you're likely to encounter.

[Molly Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this guide! It's an excellent selection of many of the birds most of us in the U.S. probably see most often.

The book is scattered with little snippets of interesting facts throughout the book, such as tips on where to find or how to attract specific birds, how to tell apart birds that look pretty similar, some trivia related to characteristic behaviors or calls, and other such knowledge.

It includes a range map for every bird included in the guide, which is extremely helpful in identification, as birds that are definitely not in range of a sighting of a similar-looking species can be ruled out from the start.

Additionally, this book features a small section at the bottom of each bird's page where one can check a box indicating if they've seen that bird before, as well as a couple of lines for including the date, location, and maybe a short note about the sighting. This is AWESOME for new birders who may have not started their own life lists yet, and is a good way to start getting used to recording sightings and taking notes.

I would recommend this book to anyone thinking of starting birding, and will probably buy a couple more copies as gifts for some of the younger naturalists in my life :)