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Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America | 
 enlarge | Author: Ted Floyd
Publisher: Collins
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $15.12
You Save: $9.83 (39%)
New (33) from $15.12
Avg. Customer Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 9630
Media: Paperback
Edition: Pap/DVD
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 528
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.4 x 1.4
ISBN: 0061120405
Dewey Decimal Number: 598.097
EAN: 9780061120404
ASIN: 0061120405
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20080806211334T
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
This new field guide provides a suite of modern tools to effectively aid in the identification of more than 750 species of birds across North America. It introduces a "whole bird" approach by concisely gathering a collection of information about birds into one portable and well-organized volume. - 2,000 stunning color photographs of birds in natural habitats show the most important field marks, regional population differences, life stages, and behaviors
- 700-plus detailed and up-to-date color range maps show summer, migration, winter, year-round, and rare but regular occurrences of every major species
- A DVD of birdsongs for 138 major species (587 vocalizations in all for 5 hours of play); each high-quality MP3 file is embedded with an image of the bird, perfect to view on home computers and portable MP3 players
- Concise descriptions of habits and ecology, age-related and seasonal differences, regional forms, vocalization, and informative captions pointing out the most important aspects of the bird
- 46 group essays with information outlining taxonomy, feeding, migration, habitats, behaviors, and conservation status
- A thorough and accessible introduction to birds and birding includes sections on parts of a bird, plumage and molt, food and feeding, migration, habitats, conservation, tips on bow to become a better birder, and more
- A detailed glossary of terms, species checklist, and quick index
The new Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America is perfectly designed to give birders the most powerful and user-friendly collection of information to carry into the field or wherever they enjoy learning about birds and nature. A Look (and Listen) Inside the Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America
Click on an image below to sample one of the 587 different downloadable bird songs included with the guide.  |  |  | | American Wigeon | Common Loon | Mallard |  |  |  | | Red-Winged Blackbird | Mourning Dove | Northern Cardinal |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...
 What a DELIGHTFUL book- My kids keep fighting over it August 7, 2008
I have been a home educator for quite a few years now, and when I got a copy of this book- the SMITHSONIAN FIELD GUIDE TO THE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA to review, I was not expecting the reaction I got from my family.
My son got the book and ran with with it. Once I managed to get it away from him, my daughter booknapped the book and ran with it, studying it in depth.
What ensued was a burst of creativity that was invigorating. Not only did my son gain from the book, I got inspired from his love of a few bird photos, to design a new makeup look ( I am a makeup artist). I came up with some of the most unique looks I have enjoyed to date.
My daughter has been glued to the book searching out all birds in our yard and she is all excited about birds where before, she was interested, but nothing like this.
The DVD included in the book is a collection of MP3 files of all different kinds of calls of different birds in the book. They are very pretty and I really enjoy them. Be aware that this is a DVD - NOT a CD.
BASIC CONTENT AND LAYOUT OF THIS BOOK
The book is laid out with lots of lovely photos. Each section is based upon categories
Waterfowl
Upland Game Birds
Loons
Tubernoses
Pelicans and Allies
Herons and Allies
Flamingos
Hawks and Falcons
Rails Limpkins and Cranes
Plovers
Oystercatchers
Sandpipers & Phalanropes
Gulls, Terns and Skimmers
Skuas & Jaegers
Auks, Murres, and Puffins
Pigeons and Doves
Parrots and Parakeets
Cuckoos and Allies
Owls
Nightjars
Swifts and Hummingbirds
Trogons and Kingfishers
Woodpeckers
Tyrant-Flycatchers
Vireos
Jays & Crows
Larks
Swallows
Chickadees & Titmice
Nuthatchers
Wrens and Dippers
Kinglets
Gnatcatchers
Thrushes
Babblers
Mimic Thrushers
Wagtails & Pipits
Waxwings and Silky Flycatchers
Olive Warblers Wood Warblers
Tanagers
Sparrows and Allies
Buntings and Allies
Blackbirds and Allies
Finches
Glossary
American Birding Association Checklist
Index
WHAT IS THIS BOOK LIKE?
The way that every bird is set up is very easy to look at. There is
Code of the bird is listed from common to almost extinct (1-6)
Species name
Photos of the adult male and female is shown
Length
Wingspan
Weight
specific unusual features of the bird
Map with places the bird is usually found
Description of the birdcall
WHAT DO WE THINK OF THIS?
The whole book is delightful. Although it is 512 pages long, the book is paperback with flaps for further description on it (in lieu of a slipcover). The size is 6x8 inches which is just small enough to carry with you in the field while watching birds, but not so small that it is easy to lose.
The DVD is lovely and the birdcalls are well recorded- again it is in MP3 format.
FINAL COMMENTS
This Book is well loved by my children who have been raised to learn as much as they can, enjoying every bit that they can. I was very surprised at how much my children fought over this book and how often I see them curled up in the corner with this book.
That says more than any amount of words I can expound with. If you are looking for an educational book that will capture the hearts of your children, this book is well worth the time it takes to get it.
It is a lovely resource to have and if you are a homeschooler- by all means, take a look at this. It will be a book you will use for years.
I am very glad we got it- and my kids are too.
Excellent book. August 4, 2008
My review:
"Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America by Ted Floyd is a newcomer to the bird field guide scene. This guide offers a new combination of features that may make it the best choice as the primary guide for a small number of birders, and as an excellent second (or third) guide for most birdwatchers. Given the guide's qualities and price (it is not expensive) if you are a North American birder (anywhere in the region) this is a must-have for your collection, and if you know a birder who is having a present-able event (birthday, etc.) any time in the next couple of weeks, get this as a gift because they might not even know about it yet and you will gain mucho brownie points.
Having said that, I do think there is room for improvement in this product, so do please read the fine print."
So much info in a small package! August 4, 2008
There is a lot of information packed into this smallish book. There are almost 500 pages, mostly presented in two columns per page. The bird photos are small, but very clear and detailed. For most species, there are photos of both adult and juvenile specimens.
Most of the book is dedicated to terse descriptions of the birds, including their size, and where they live. However, there are some interesting essays as well, mostly given as chapter introductions. For example, the chapter introduction for Parrots & Parakeets explains how native species such as the Carolina Parakeet have been replaced by exotics.
The included DVD is a collection of 587 MP3 files. Each MP3 presents a bird sound. When I listen to these MP3s on my computer, I can see a small photo of the singing bird, along with a few explanatory remarks. Technically, these visuals seem to be encoded as MP3 lyrics. Anyway, I am enjoying this DVD as a source of background "music" in my home.
A word about the binding. This book is obviously meant to be thrown into a day pack for a bird watching adventure. The binding seems to be up to the task. The "tough but flexible" cover will serve to protect the book, but it will show major wrinkles almost immediately. Finally, I suggest using a stout rubber band to secure the book before firing it into ye olde day pack. Maybe two rubber bands.
getting to know your feathered friends.... August 2, 2008
First off, I'd like to say, that though I love watching birds I do not have an intense interest in "birding", so this review is from a novice who appreciates our feathered friends, but is in no way, shape or form someone who knows a lot about them.
This guide is put together by the Editor of "Birding" magazine, Ted Floyd. Mr. Floyd is clearly very knowledgeable and has worked hard to put a guide together that would be accessible to all those that love birds and want to know more about them in a very user friendly book.
The book is filled with beautiful photography of each bird listed, and under each picture (or pictures, in most cases), is some basic information about the bird and a short paragraph about them. Details given are the length of the bird, wing-span, weight, molts per year and other important facts, followed by a short description of the bird and the sounds that they make.
The beginning of the book breaks down for you the range map color coding, showing where the bird breeds, where they are during winter, year round, their migration and whether they are rare, ABA codes, showing whether they occur regularly, rarely, casually, etc. in North America, and a short terminology box that explains terms regarding plumage, molt and age related words.
As someone who lives in the San Francisco Bay area, we live close to a shoreline interpretive center, where we often see many types of birds. We also are within a mile and a half of a community park with a man-made pond where we often see ducks, geese and other water fowl. Before now, it has not been easy to identify these birds (except for the really easy ones, like a mallard) and I was excited to thumb through the book (organized by type of bird ex: waterfowl, sparrows, blackbirds, etc) to see if I could find the bird that I saw and to learn more about them.
As an addition to this well put together book you also get a dvd on bird calls. We down-loaded a couple to i-tunes, and up comes the bird (where your cover art would be) and several different calls. This will be nice to have though I doubt it will be used as much for me and my husband as the book will be. Maybe once we really start to get good at identifying new birds this will be something we would use more often.
If you are interested, even casually, in birds and identifying what is in your area and learning more about them, I would highly recommend this beautfully photographed and well researched book. It is well laid out, easy to use and beautiful to look at.
A very well done book!
 A great Reference Guide for the Bird Lover July 31, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am a huge lover of the birds and consider myself a hobbyist in the area. For folks like me, this book and enclosed birdsong DVD are a wonderful addition to my reference library.
Since I like to compare items to ones I have used in the past, I decided to compare it to my Audubon Field Guide (linked below).
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds--E: Eastern Region - Revised Edition
The Audubon guide is one I have used since the 70's and it shows. For "fit and finish", I prefer the Audubon book over this one because of the Audubon's size and it's vinyl cover. For a true "field guide", I think that durability is important. If I want to take the book out birding, I need to be sure that it will live up to my expectations and abuse. The Smithsonian Field Guide is just a tad more bulky than I would want. The size and heft of the book are the reason for the 4 stars.
On the positive side, this book as a reference and a tool for finding bird species is fantastic! The pictures are gorgeous and I especially appreciate multiple pictures per bird species that show the male, female and sometimes the adolescent bird. This is extremely helpful in identification. There is a quick index near the back flap that makes finding the bird in question a breeze.
The one caveat about the Smithsonian guide is that one must have a basic working knowledge of bird species in order to use the reference guide properly. For example, if I don't know what a Tufted Titmouse is by shape or color, it would be difficult to locate the bird in the book. If you are a novice birder, I would recommend spending some time going through the guide in order to familiarize yourself with different species in your area. Pre-study will help a lot!
The birdsong DVD that comes along with the book is a nice addition. It is logically arranged by directories stating different bird types (example: Baltimore Oriole). The directories contain various songs per bird and the variety is amazing and deep.
I don't think of this book as a "Field Guide" per se (something you'd think of taking in your pocket) as much as I do "The Ultimate Reference".
As a hobbyist, I highly recommend it as an addition to your reference library.
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