Customer Reviews

Birds Of Pennsylvania

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A must have guide to Pennsylvania Birds. Have a question? The answer can be found in this easy to read and take along book.

One of my favorites! I love bird watching. This book is most helpful to me. I will be referring to it very often!

This book exceeded my expectations after years of owning and using numerous different bird books. The narratives, range maps and illustrations (painting sketches) make it a good buy and a welcome addition to a birders' library. I recommend this book for novice and experienced birder alike in Pennsylvania.

Although I am a devoted fan of the Roger Tory Peterson guides, I sometimes find some of the information either dated (migration patterns and rarity have changed) or in need of supplement to make an identification. When I first got this book, I expected it to be my secondary guide, but it quickly became the one I consult first. Because it covers only birds found in Pennsylvania, it can devote a full page to each bird, with hints on how to ID, what the bird eats, its voice, habitat, current status (for example, "common"), size, and, best of all for avid birders, the best state parks and nature reserves to find it. Each is preceded by a punchy paragraph about the bird. The entries are also accompanied by a state map that shows, à la Roger Tory Peterson, the regions and times of year when the bird has been sighted.

Like the Peterson guide book, this one relies on drawings, both of the bird in a characteristic resting state and in flight, that detail identifiable traits. In my experience, books that use photographs are more difficult to use since the birds are captured in varied light conditions and habitat, making it a challenge to compare to what I've seen.

Birders in the field will especially appreciate the thumbnail reference guide in the front which allows you to quickly scan small drawings of birds instead of having to page through the entire book whenever you see something new. (The reference guide points you to the correct page number.) The birds are grouped with like kinds, although the categories aren't always clear -- why hummingbirds get grouped with nighthawks and swifts is beyond me. Haas and Burrows include birds that are rarely seen in the state, which makes it useful in case one of these accidentals ends up in your backyard.

Whether you are birding in the state as a visitor or are a resident, this guide will make an excellent birding companion. Its tough, softbound, plasticized cover promises to keep it in one piece even if you thumb through it as often as I do.

-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann