Birds of San Francisco and the Bay Area (City Bird Guides) [Paperback]

Joseph Morlan (Author), Chris C. Fisher (Author), Gary Ross (Author), Ewa Pluciennik (Author)

Book Description

Series: City Bird Guides | Publication Date: October 12, 1996

These attractive guides identify the birds most likely to be seen in your city's backyards, streets and parks. The books introduce the fascinating and popular pastime of birdwatching and include advice on building feeders and birdhouses. Color illustrations help you identify birds quickly while the text provides interesting information about each bird. These books are easy-to-use references for the urban birdwatcher.

Editorial Reviews

Review

There's a small but wondrous art to the writing of a nature guides, and you'll see it instantly in "Birds of San Francisco and the Bay Area. The text is simple, succinct and stunning…Each page is a small work of art...an exhaustive, entertaining and vastly informative guide... --San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

CHRIS FISHER is a university-educated naturalist with a background in research in endangered species management and wildlife interpretation. He has conducted birding expeditions extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Thailand and is the author or co-author of eleven books on birds.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Lone Pine Publishing (October 12, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551050803
• ISBN-13: 978-1551050805
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #474,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Chris Fisher is the author of seventeen wildlife & bird guides to regions throughout North America. His experience with wildlife compliments his passion for travel through which he has guided adventures to every continent and over 70 countries. His books and writings hope to reinforce our connection to the wonders of the natural world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Beginner's Guide, June 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Birds of San Francisco and the Bay Area (City Bird Guides) (Paperback)

I have carted this book along on many outings since my relocation to California. This has come in very handy for quick identifications and a brief summary of the birds' typical habitats and even their mannerisms.

The main reason I enjoy this guide is that, if the species is included in the book, I can usually find it within thirty seconds. Often times the bird is still in sight and I can easily compare its markings to those found in the guide.

I highly recommend this book as a quick reference guide.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Guide for the Novice Birder in S.F. Bay Area., February 15, 2007

By 

Lawrence Bain - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Birds of San Francisco and the Bay Area (City Bird Guides) (Paperback)

For several decades I have been a casual bird observer in the south San Francisco Bay Area and my curiosity had led me to acquire several of the acclaimed major 'Bird Guides' ( Peterson's, Sibley's, National Geographic, etc.) However, I seldom was able to ID birds I saw with confidence using those guides, there were just too many possible candidates in the guides for each of my sightings and I seldom could narrow down the possibilities to one species. The 'Birds of San Francisco' solved that problem for me.

The 'Birds of San Francisco' guide focuses on approximately 120 of the most common species found in the Bay Area. It allots one page per specie which contains a large color illustration and references to other S.F. Bay Area species that have a similar appearence. There are also very useful graphic keys which quickly indicate the preferred habitats of that specie along with migration and breeding timeframes. Also included is a textual description and behavioural information useful for identification.

The 120 species covered are grouped into 23 (quasi phylogenetic) families for quick look-up within the guide ( e.g. Shorebirds, Woodpeckers, Sparrows, small-Songbirds, mid-size Songbirds, etc. ).

Using BoSF in conjuction with the major guides mentioned above is particularly powerful. BoSF often points me to a candidate specie (while I am still not confident about it) and the major guides provide more variations on specie colorings, subspecies, etc. This usually confirms or dismisses the candidate. In my experience, BoSF starts me on the right trail for identifying my Bay Area bird sightings with confidence over 80% of the time.

At only 156 pages, BoSF is also highly portable compared to most of the major guides, so I am much more likely to take it along on 'non-birding' events.

My only regret about this book is that I did not find it 11 years ago when it was first published (1996).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, Compact Guide, May 23, 2008

By 

mkcbunny (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birds of San Francisco and the Bay Area (City Bird Guides) (Paperback)

I live in Oakland and have many in-depth bird guides, but this particular guide remains in the car for any outings. It's quite portable and specific to the birds we see in this area.

In addition to the positive comments listed before, I would add that this book gave interesting, fun facts about species that I had never read in perusing all of the more "substantial" bird books I have. It's also great for beginners to sort out the most likely candidates for identification. I recommend this book for birders at both beginner and intermediate levels. It may not be as revealing for experts, but I do know a lot about local birds and still find this a great book to have on hand.