Focus Guide to the Birds of North America

Amazon.com
World-renowned birder Kenn Kaufman addresses a long-running paradox of bird field guides with his Focus Guide. While beginning birdwatchers prefer photographic guides like those by Donald Stokes, the physical traits that make identification easier are more readily discerned in the idealized paintings of illustrative guides like those by Roger Tory Peterson and National Geographic. Kaufman's groundbreaking work combines the best of both approaches by digitally enhancing photographic images to show the characteristics that are sometimes not apparent in photographs.

FROM OUR EDITORS

This innovative field guide from birding expert Kenn Kaufman is perfect for both beginners and more experienced birders wanting a quick reference. By digitally enhancing the photographs to emphasize key markings (thus combining the best attributes of photography and painting), the publishers have helped make bird identification easier. The book also includes handy migration maps that are placed right next to the illustrations for each type of bird, providing an additional aid in confirmation.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Beginner or expert, every birder needs a field guide that is accurate, readable, and easy to use. Birds of North America is a back-to-basics guide produced by one of the foremost birding experts, with a clear and direct approach to recognizing every North American bird. Kenn Kaufman's innovative technique of combining the best features of photographs and paintings results in the most accurate and helpful images ever to appear in any field guide. The photographs, by some of North America's top nature photographers, are digitally enhanced to illustrate the field marks necessary for quick and easy identification. New hardcover and flexible bindings make this indispensable guide even more durable for hard use in the field.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

The "Peterson Field Guides" series have long served as the benchmark for field guides. Now come two new birding titles that certainly meet the Peterson standard of excellence, with such features as basic information, range maps, voice descriptions, comparisons with similar species, scientific and common name indexes, the specification of field marks, and the inclusion of exotics. Rather than using the typical drawings and paintings, birding expert and Audubon field editor Kaufman selected over 2000 digitally edited photographs, enhanced to improve contrast, color, and the like. The excellent result will appeal to beginning birders perhaps intimidated by illustrations. In order to make useful comparisons, Kaufman varies the organization a bit from the American Ornithological Union (AOU) standard. Helpful headers, color coded to groups (e.g., wading birds), break down further into categories such as huge waders and waders with odd bills. Kaufman's text is simple and uncluttered, a plus for novices. Noted avian artist Sibley provides more than 6000 detailed illustrations (including pictures of the flying bird from above and below, a first in a birding guide) that are as excellent as Kaufman's photos. His text is far more substantial in detail, including flight patterns, more plumage variations (young juvenile, juvenile, adult) for nearly all the birds, and more detail in range maps. Although it is larger and heavier that Kaufman's title, this guide will serve experienced birders extremely well, However, it might provide more information than a beginner needs. The bottom line: both guides are highly recommended for all collections, Kaufman to serve the novices and the unsure, Sibley to delight the more experienced as well. [Kaufman's book was previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/00; for more guidance on field guides, see Christina Peterson's "Tracking Nature Field Guides," LJ 6/1/00, p. 83-87.--Ed.]--Nancy Moeckel, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

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