This "armchair" reference to the birds of North America will bring a whole new level of expertise to the birder's library, all in one category-killing volume. Information on behavior, nesting, and habitat, omitted from many field guides, is included throughout, while books on behavior don't include the wealth of identification information, in as accessible a format, as does this book.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"[A] massive, authoritative reference book that belongs in every birder's library." --BookPage, April 1, 2009 (Circulation: 500,000)
"BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA," by Franis Vuilleumier, American Museum of Natural History, 744 pages, $50.
When browsing for a new book, you would likely pass by any volume priced at $50.
However, this handsome, authoritative reference is a real bargain.
Twenty experts, with renowned ornithologist Fran?is Vuilleumier as editor-in-chief, have assembled a wealth of information on more than 650 North American bird species.
A page is devoted to each bird, with colorful illustrations and photographs, color-coded maps, details of important plumage variations and descriptive texts. Details include information on behavior, nesting, voice (the bird's call), flight patterns and similar species. --Deseret News
"BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA," by Franis Vuilleumier, American Museum of Natural History, 744 pages, $50.
When browsing for a new book, you would likely pass by any volume priced at $50.
However, this handsome, authoritative reference is a real bargain.
Twenty experts, with renowned ornithologist Fran?is Vuilleumier as editor-in-chief, have assembled a wealth of information on more than 650 North American bird species.
A page is devoted to each bird, with colorful illustrations and photographs, color-coded maps, details of important plumage variations and descriptive texts. Details include information on behavior, nesting, voice (the bird's call), flight patterns and similar species. --Deseret News
About the Author
After obtaining a PhD at Harvard University, Francois Vuilleumier began a long association with the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, serving as the Chairman of the Department of Ornithology before becoming a Curator Emeritus. He is the author of 250 papers and one book and once taught ornithology at the College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine. His research has taken him all over the world, with a focus on South America, allowing him to watch birds from the Canadian High Arctic to Mexico; his life list numbers around 4,000 species.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Looking for a book on birds;what one should I buy?,
By
This review is from: Birds of North America (American Museum of Natural History) (Hardcover)
As an avid Birder for more than 20 years,I have built up a rather extensive library of "Bird Books",now exceeding 1200.Why so many? There are so many because there are so many people interested in birds and not only are their interests different,but also their knowlege and experiences.Just to mention a few;some are interested only in local birds,some are interested in all of North America,some in certain countries ,some in the whole world. Some are deeply interested in certain birds such as Gulls,Hawks,Ducks,Songbirds,etc.Some want a book to take "in the field" to assist in identification;while others want one to have at home.Some are interested in great detail such as behavior,reproduction,migration,eggs,nesting and habitat,and on and on.Therefore there are books that cover all these things in a general way;while others deal with only one aspect buti in great detail. Before buying a book for yourself ,it is worth reading a lot of the reviews of books here on Amazon.Generally,the reviewers point out the good and not so good points of the books;and then you have to decide which points apply to you. No book meets all the needs and very few people interested in birds are satisfied with only one book.If you are buying a book as a gift for someone else,a brief discussion with them or someone who knows their birding interests,will be a lot of help in deciding. I have posted Reviews on quite a few of the more popular books you will find in the larger bookstores or here on Amazon. This paticular book is an excellent choice for several reasons.It is well constructed,and needs to be for its large size 10.9 X 9 X2 inches,and weighs nearly 6 and 1/2 pounds.It's definitely a book to use at a desk or table,it lies flat when opened,the photographs are large and excellent,normally a complete page for each bird species,large sized print,excellent quality paper, printing,and color reproduction.For each bird there is one large photo,an in-flight illustration,identification features pointed out,comparisons with similar species showing differences,range maps showing where the species is found in the various seasons,various plumages of young,adult,breeding and non breeding stages,photos showing habitat, flight diagrams and much more information. There is a short text on each bird that covers occurrence,voice ,songs and sounds,nesting,feeding,etc. So,this book covers just about everything that most people would want in a book on birds and would be greatly appreciated,useful and enjoyable . Hoewver,you must remember ,this is not a book you will want to "carry around with you". For that purpose,I strongly recommend ,what has become the most popular book for Birders,and one that most people use and take wherever they go. That book is "The Field Guide to the Birds of North America" By National Geographic.(See my review) Both of these books are excellent but they serve different purposes.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fabulous at-home reference,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Birds of North America (American Museum of Natural History) (Hardcover)
Earlier this summer I was looking at our bird feeders. I love looking at fledglings begging their parents for food. But one caught my eye: a brown bird was begging for food from a bird that had a brown body, a black head and a black neck. They were both of comparable size, both had brown eyes, but the fledgling - fluttering its wings and gaping to be fed - had a short bill; the bird that fed the fledgling had a long beak. OK, the fledgling was a cowbird, but what was that bird feeding it? A hatch-year starling? A young grackle? An immature redwing blackbird?
I looked in our various references and decided I did not have enough information. I looked on the web. Not enough info. So I ordered the American Museum of Natural History's Birds of North America from Amazon. It cost hardly more than copies from associated sellers, and my wife tells me that DK books are beautiful and useful these days (in the past they were more pretty that useful). She was right. You open the book's large pages and find yourself looking at large posed photographs as explicit as drawings or paintings. Because of their size and careful posing, you see much more than you do in other books. More: Photographs from the wild. Spread-wing paintings. Scientific classification. The birds are grouped, with page edge coloring that show the groupings. Lots of summary data in tables on the bottoms of pages. One page per species for almost all the birds, so there is room for lots of information. A quarter page (these are big pages - 8.5 x 11 inches) for the rare species, and a list of "vagrants" (visitors from other continents). I was entranced when it arrived. I looked at page after page. Finally, I pulled myself from browsing and searched for my bird. I found it on page 634: a common grackle. Other books tell me juveniles have dark eyes. That and the fact that the bird was not shiny suggests it was a young female from an earlier brood. I thank grackles, for they led me to this book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great guide for the novice bird watcher,
By
This review is from: Birds of North America (American Museum of Natural History) (Hardcover)
Though not thorough by any means, this guide gives the novice bird watcher a good place to start. Great coffee table book!
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