Good field guide, could use better organization

books:


	• Birds of California Field Guide (Our Nature Field Guides) Stan Tekiela Adventure Publications, 2003 - 430 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Good field guide, could use better organization

This book is small enough for field work, yet contains a great deal of information. The full-color photographs have insets which show juvenile, seasonal, or sexually dimorphic plumage where appropriate, as well as showing some birds in action shots: a hawk soaring, a willet showing his colors, etc. The species information is concise, readable, and relevant, with color-coded range maps and bulleted information on size, weight, color, food, eggs/incubation/fledging, similar species, and migration information for hundreds of different species, all in a standard one-page per species format. The "Stan's Notes" contain interesting specifics are not included in the bullet points.

My only problem with this book is the organization of the species by color. If the reader sees a very small black and brown bird, for example, they will potentially have to thumb through dozens of black birds and then brown birds, some of them very large, or water birds, or birds of prey, or from a different part of the state. I'd rather not spend my time in the field poring through pages of ducks, owls, doves, and eagles trying to figure out what species of thrush i'm looking at. Also, if a species has enough sexual or seasonal dimorphism in the color of their plumage, it may fall into two or more different color categories. While this field guide does cross-reference these by page number, that makes for even more page turning.

This is a very good field guide, but a more granular organization, perhaps by general bird type (songbird, bird or prey, etc.) within geographical area (NorCal, desert, Sierra, etc.) would have made the look-up process more concise. As it is, plan on taking plenty of Post-it bookmarks along with this book.

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Quick and Easy Reference Book

I am merely a casual bird observer with my young boys, but compared to other bird identification books I've owned and looked at, this is by far the most user-friendly for those of any age with no 'birding' backround. The ability to look for the birds by color is just the easiest way to look them up. The ability to view a photo of every bird, both male and female, makes this book outstanding! It also shows where on a California map they can be found during various seasons of the year, nesting, egg identification info., food sources and misc. info. on each birds' habits make it an excellent resource and my kids LOVE using it too. It is also small enough (4"x6") to fit in a jacket pocket when hiking. I think every parent of young children should own at least one.

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Very easy to use

This is book is great for beginning birders. I can recognize obvious differences in bird species (dove versus duck, for example), but I can't always tell the difference between similar species (i.e. sparrow versus finch). So the fact that this book is organized by color rather than type is really useful. Using this book, my family has been able to identify all but one bird that has come to our backyard feeder.

Birding books

I love Stan Tekiela's books because as a beginner-birder, I find that the color coding is very helpful in identifying birds. His "Stan's notes" section under each bird is also quite informative - something I've not found in most bird books. It's small - fits in most pockets - for easy reference in the field and the pictures are great.

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reviews: page 1, 2

Learn about and identify birds using Stan Tekiela's state-by-state field guides. The full-page, color photos are incomparable and include insets of winter plumage, color morphs and more. Plus, with the easy-to-use format, you don't need to know a bird's name or classification in order to easily find it in the book. Using this field guide is a real pleasure. It's a great way for anyone to learn about the birds in your state.

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