Customer Reviews

Birds of Oregon: A General Reference

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
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If you live in the Pacific Northwest and have more than a passing interest in birds, you'll eventually invest in this book. It is not a field guide. It has very few illustrations. It is a reference. As such it is filled will information on distribution, phenology, behavior and much more regarding the 480 plus birds that have, so far, been recorded in Oregon. There is no other modern source like it, at least for Oregon. The last reference to come close was written in 1940 (Gabrielson and Jewett's Birds of Oregon).

Is it perfect? No. Many of the distribution maps generated from the Oregon Breeding Bird Atlas are suspect. A few of the accounts are, arguably, incomplete. Many authors contributed to the final work, this is no a criticism in and of itself given the number of accounts that had to be written, but this has led to some inconsistencies in completeness. For example, Ring-billed Gull shows up on the Breeding Bird Atlas for the lower Columbia River, but this is not mentioned in the written account.

Nit picking aside, this is a impressive work. The bibliography alone makes it worth the price.

Not a book on bird identification, but rather a reference work, Birds of Oregon replaces the 1940 work on Oregon's birds by Gabrielson and Jewett [G&J], until now the standard reference work on the subject. But in the last 60 years much has changed: David Marshall notes the decline of "collecting" birds with a shotgun, made unnecessary now by affordable, high-quality optics. Roads are better, there are regular pelagic trips to document Oregon's seabirds, and there are more birders and many of them are more knowledgable, so coverage of the state is much better. The result is that where G&J dealt with 338 species, Birds of Oregon can treat 486. All the birds that occur regularly in Oregon -- about 330 species -- receive extended treatment, the remaining rare visitors have shorter articles.

A large group of contributing scholars is responsible for the individual articles. The extended articles cover 1) general distribution -- the bird's North American range, 2) Oregon distribution -- descriptions of some 200 species are supplemented with maps showing roughly where the birds breed in Oregon, 3) habitat and diet, 4) seasonal activity -- when migrant species arrive and leave, seasonal changes in abundance, timing of courtship and nesting, 5) detection -- how, where, and when to find the species, and how likely the bird is to be found, and 6) how the species is faring, population trends, particular needs the species requires to do better, and the like. These articles typically run from about 1000 to 1200 words. Many of the accounts are illustrated by fine pen & ink drawings by Elva Hamerstrom Paulson.

Rare visitors to Oregon, like the Broad-billed Hummingbird, receive short articles that describe the frequency of sightings, and where the bird has been seen -- records that have been accepted by the Oregon Bird Records Committee [OBRC].
A separate chapter treats special species: extirpated in Oregon, introduced species -- domestic birds, game birds, parrots, and songbirds; it also has a short section on records the OBRC considers questionable.

Other sections present 1)essays on Oregon's nine major ecoregions, 2) a glossary of terms, 3) a list of the names -- common and scientific -- of plants and animals, 4)descriptions of the OR Breeding Bird Atlas, Breeding Bird Survey, and Christmas Bird Counts, and 5) a list of sources and personal communications that runs more than 90 pages and will daunt all but the most diligent readers. A list of contributors follows and an index closes the book.

The size of Birds of Oregon is sobering. G&J is a work one can comfortably hold in the hand; Birds of Oregon -- in its quarto size and at 5.25 pounds must lie on the table. Of course, as editor David Marshall shows, we know much more about birds in Oregon than we did back at the time of G&J, and it requires more space to present all that knowledge. Still, one wonders, what size will the next Birds of Oregon be? Surely a multi-volume work, if the trend continues. There IS virtue in being selective -- one protests even as one admires this tome.

That said, the wealth of authoritative information this work offers on each of Oregon's 486 species makes it a convenient and indispensible reference for students of birds and natural history, wildlife professionals, and environmentalists in the Pacific Northwest. It is printed clearly on excellent paper and bound attractively. The publication of Birds of Oregon was subsidized by a number of donations, so that even at the list price of $65 the book is a bargain. At this price the edition will surely sell out soon. It's a pleasure to own and use Birds of Oregon.

This is a great book to have. NO COLOR pictures, but I use it to learn more about the birds I have already identified with my field guides. Highly recommend it if you are learning about birds in our State. Information on diets, nesting, migration and very detailed areas of sightings.

I received this book for Christmas, and where it was well organized, I guess I expected the pictures to be in color. Not being an experienced bird-watcher, I think I'll have a hard time identifying most of the birds without color. This book would not have been on my wish list had I known that the pictures were in black-and-white.

The reviews so far seem to refer to the original hardback edition.

Are there any differences in content between the hard and paper editions?

I sure should have read the reviews before buying this book. If you want color, feast your eyes on the dust cover because that's all you get. Be sure you have your field guide handy.

A week or more ago I wrote a review for this book. What happened to it?