Field / Identification Guide
New Edition
By: Ted Floyd(Author)
592 pages, 4,000+ colour illustrations and colour distribution maps
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About this book
Customer reviews
Biography
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About this book
America's beloved bird field guide just got even better with this completely revised 8th edition, created for a new generation of birders. Updated ID guidance, descriptive details, and annotated art on more than 1,000 species, including new range maps powered by eBird technology.
This new edition of the trusted National Geographic field guide combines fresh new text, updated taxonomy, expanded art including 240 new illustrations, and authoritative, data-derived maps, organized in the user-friendly format for which National Geographic field guides are known.
For the first time including the birds of Hawaii as well as Alaska, Canada, northern Mexico, and the continental United States – a total of 1,150 bird species – all these revisions make this new edition the most authoritative birding book on the market, whether you have treasured our previous editions for decades or you are selecting a bird field guide for the first time ever.
Written by Ted Floyd, editor of the American Birding Association's Birding magazine, this new edition features larger pages and flexible yet durable paperback binding, with thumb tabs and a visual index inside the covers for quick reference.
Its easy-to-read layout includes:
- convenient page layout, with maps and text on the left and matching art on the right
- up-to-date taxonomic organization
- new maps developed with eBird data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- key statistics in bulleted lists
- new text, emphasizing not only bird IDs but also habitats and evolution
- images by the world's top bird illustrators, including important details
- annotations on the images, pointing to field marks critical for identification
Combining exciting new features with tried-and-true traditions, this new edition of a beloved field guide will satisfy birders young and old, experienced life-listers and backyard birdwatchers alike.
Customer Reviews
Biography
Ted Floyd is the editor of Birding, the magazine of the American Birding Association. He has written some 150 articles and book chapters on birds and natural history and five books, including Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America (HarperCollins, 2008), which received a starred review in PW; How to Know the Birds (National Geographic, 2019); and the East and West regional editions of this title (National Geographic, 2024). Recognized for his birding acumen and quirky intellect, Floyd is a frequent speaker at birding events globally. He has taught bird watchers of all ages and abilities and is especially interested in how new media enhance the observation and appreciation of nature. Floyd lives in Lafayette, Colorado, near Boulder.
Field / Identification Guide
New Edition
By: Ted Floyd(Author)
592 pages, 4,000+ colour illustrations and colour distribution maps
Reviews of the the sixth edition:
"[...] National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Sixth Edition is a great guide. In my review of the fifth edition I qualified my recommendation, especially for owners of a prior edition. Not so with the sixth – it belongs in every birder’s library! From beginner to expert, it will be useful to any birder. And for those interested in geographic variation, it is a must."
– Grant McCreary (29-12-2011), read the full review at The Birder's Library
"Wow! [...] a 10% increase in illustrations, plates now sprinkled with text to point out key features, updated range maps, comprehensive subspecies maps, and other useful new features. This classic guide just keeps evolving and improving. This is "the" guide you want with your field gear."
– J. V. Remsen, Distinguished Professor and Curator of Birds, Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University
"Jon Dunn's masterful field knowledge of North America's birds and Jonathan Alderfer's unparalleled artistic ability and direction shine throughout this up-to-date overhaul of a classic guide. Birders at all levels of experience benefit from a guide that is both comprehensive and accurate, and National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America is exactly what they need."
– Kimball L. Garrett, Ornithology Collections Manager, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
Reviews of the fifth edition:
"[...] Field guide preference is very personal and subjective if you have several quality guides to choose from. Personally this new edition is not going to take the place of Sibley as my primary field guide. This guide includes more species, but the Sibley has more illustrations of each included species, and arrows pointing out the major field marks. But one can never have too many field guides! I would highly recommend this fifth edition to any North American birder who does not own a previous edition, or who uses a previous edition as their primary guide. On the other hand, if you have a previous edition that is used as a backup/secondary guide then the decision to upgrade is more difficult. For those birders I would recommend getting the National Geographic Complete Birds of North America instead, as that would be more useful than an updated field guide."
– Grant McCreary (01-02-2007), read the full review at The Birder's Library
