Customer Reviews

Birds of Pennsylvania Field Guide, Second Edition

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got this basically to use while walking back and forth from work. I don't know anything about birding, and I wanted something small to put in my jacket pocket. Not the typical ways of choosing a reference. It has beautiful closeup pictures, and its compact size means I can have it with me while walking around, as opposed to Audubon, Peterson or Sibley guides which would either require a big pocket or cause said pocket to be bigger. The book is organized by color, than size. I think that the organization into type, then size as the major field guides do is more useful, but this is not bad. Also, while the pictures are great, the major field guides use drawings that teach how to identify birds (field marks) and drawings may be better for that. Most useful as an introduction for someone that does not have a background in biology and has no contacts with other birders who know what they are doing. Also useful as a backup for field guides that are too big to carry around. The companion audio CD (available separately) also helps getting used to listening to sounds in the field.

This little book is fantasic! The pictures are great and the discussions of each bird include tips that are very helpful in identification.

My family loves this book. We keep it by the window overlooking our bird feeders. We have identified quite a few bird visitors.

i bought this book for my mom who is home bound and watches birds a at a feeder. She enjoys talking about the antics of the birds. She knows what kind of birds are there. It is an easy book to find a bird in .

This is a great little book. Easy to find birds (by color or name) without having to illiminate all the birds that aren't common in PA. Love the comparison section. Lots of information for the price.

A good resource for learning about the birds at your feeder. It is not as comprehensive but is certainly a good aid in learning who your dinner guests are!

We enjoyed the first addition very much and purchased the second addition to see what changed. Many, maybe most, of the photography is updated and much nicer. The book is organized, like the first edition, by primary color of the bird. This works nicely and it's fun to browse. I like that each bird has a paragraph that explains what other birds are similar and easily confused with each other. Very handy, it points you to details you might not have properly observed had you not known they were important. Second edition will be kept handy just like the first edition, great stuff.
Brent

If you have a bird in your yard, and you don't know what it is, how would you find out? If you live in PA, you would open this copy. It's catagorized by the primary color of the bird for quick reference. Then, in those colored sections, the bird names are organized by size: smallest to largest. So, if you have a small gray bird with a red head, you can find his name within seconds. Each entry has a brief description, migratory pattern with map, mating habits, call description, and more.

You won't find a whole lot of information about each bird in this book, but that's not its primary purpose anyway. When you want to identify a PA bird quickly and on-site, this is your book.

In fact, I just purchased a second copy to give as a gift...it's that good.

I really like this book. First, it only lists birds of PA, so I don't have to page through other bird species when trying to locate a bird reference in my back yard. Second, the pictures in the book are outstanding, making bird identification a snap. Also, the birds are listed in order of color, with separate identification for male and female, where there is a difference in their color.

This was an excellent purchase. Easy to use and set up according to bird's main color which is good because I am just starting birding and my knowledge is minimal. It is very informative, again probably best for novice birders, my wife and I love it! I should have purchased the audio cd that compliments the book...my next purchase.