Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America
by Kenn Kaufman
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Book Summary Information
Author: Kenn KaufmanBrand: Liberty Mountain
Edition: Turtleback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2005-04-14
ISBN: 0618574239
Number of pages: 392
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Book Reviews of Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America
Book Review: An Excellent Overall Guide to Bird Identification
Summary: 5 Stars
Previous reviewers have commented on the beauty of the computer-enhanced pictures, and with this I fully agree. Thumbing through several bird guides before deciding on this one, I found the pictures to be of superior quality. Even if they are over-idealized, this itself may be a useful feature for the beginner (a possible over-enhancement to make the point).
The content of the book should offer sufficient depth without sacrificing portability, and this is true of this book. It is reasonably priced. You get a lot of bang for your buck. Each species of bird has a short-paragraph description.
The book is divided into color-tabbed chapters according to everyday groupings (not necessarily strict taxonomic groupings). This allows for a quick placing of most birds into readily-identifiable categories. As several previous reviewers have pointed out, the range maps are outstanding. An index of bird names is provided in the back, and a box is provided next to each bird name, enabling the reader/birder to check off the names of each bird seen during a lifetime of observation, especially as one travels across North America.
Summary of Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America
In 2000 Houghton Mifflin first published the Kaufman Focus Guide to the Birds of North America. Critically acclaimed for its innovative design, the Kaufman guide began introducing a new generation to birding. In 2005, this new Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America is now the most up-to-date field guide, including dozens of changes by the American Ornithologists' Union in official names of birds; the addition of new species to reflect the latest scientific discoveries; and dozens of updated range maps. Additional information helps beginning birdwatchers get started, all in the same compact format that has made this guide the easiest to use for fast identification in the field.
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.
Some other distinguishing features include:
- The guide is organized by bird family groupings rather than strict taxonomic classification; this is a feature that will appeal especially to beginners.
- Text descriptions and range maps for each species appear on the page facing the plate of respective bird images.
- Important field marks are highlighted.
- Color-coded tabs identify each grouping of birds (waders, warblers, sparrows, etc.) for quick thumb indexing.
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