Birds of the Southwest: A Field Guide (W. L. Moody Jr. Natural History Series) [Paperback]

John H. Rappole (Author)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John H. Rappole is a research scientist with the Conservation and Research Center of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park, Front Royal, Virginia. He is coauthor of Birds of Texas: A Field Guide also published by Texas A&M University Press, and has written several other volumes on bird identification and migration.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: TAMU Press (February 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890969582
• ISBN-13: 978-0890969588
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,117,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Ouch!, January 28, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Birds of the Southwest: A Field Guide (W. L. Moody Jr. Natural History Series) (Paperback)

This is one book that can be judged by its cover: why on earth is there a Dickcissel of all things on the front of a book about the American Southwest? This sort of sloppiness recurs throughout, and is particularly irksome (and for new birders downright dangerous) in the many, many misidentified photos that illustrate the text. The bird-finding section is useless, and the author's coy suggestion that any errors in the directions given should be treated as "part of the adventure" is simply unacceptable. Keep this book out of the hands of beginners!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars General intro to SW birds; many misidentified photos, May 10, 2011

By 

Soleglad (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birds of the Southwest: A Field Guide (W. L. Moody Jr. Natural History Series) (Paperback)

BASICS: softcover; broader overview of the 457 species found in the Southwest region of AZ, NM, southern CA and southern NV; a single color photo (quality ranges from poor to good) shows only the male for all but a few of the species; another 45 b&w photos show various habitats; text describes the bird plus addresses habits, voice, habitat, seasonal presence, and possible locations to find the bird; range map given for each bird; at least 17 species misidentified in the photos

(Perhaps 2.5 stars versus 3). This is really the only book to focus on showing and discussing all the expected (non-rare) birds found in the Southwestern US (see Wyman's book of 1925). The region covered is Arizona, New Mexico, the southern third of California and, the southern tip of Nevada. In all, 457 species are discussed and shown with a range map; and, all but one (Gilded Flicker) are shown with a single, medium-sized color photo of varying quality.

This book is not really a field guide nor an identification guide. This is due to its layout, the amount of text dedicated to natural history, and the selection of photos. Although the photos and information may be a helpful resource for some of the species, all but a dozen of the photos are limited to only the breeding male. In a sense, this book is an extra long, annotated checklist. It's a reference to document all the birds expected in the Southwest. The quantity of photographs (just one per bird) and their quality (poor to good) serve little more than to give the reader a generic view of the bird's appearance. For some birds, the photo is too small or dark to be of use for identification. At the extreme for "poor" photos, at least 17 birds are misidentified.

Some of these errors might be understandable, such as switching the Cassin's and the Western Kingbird. Less likely races for the Southwest are shown, such as a "Myrtle" Yellow-rumped Warbler and the "Slate-colored" Dark-eyed Junco. Mistaking a Tree Swallow for a Violet-green is pushing the envelope of reasonableness. However, there are some truly inexcusable errors. At least six (6) of the shorebirds are wrong. A breeding Sanderling is labeled as a Pectoral Sandpiper. Worse, the Surfbird is actually an American Dipper. The Marsh Wren is really a Dickcissel; a winter plumaged Lark Bunting is labeled as a Sage Sparrow; and, how could anyone confuse a House Finch with an Olive Warbler? Perhaps it was the tiny size and low quality of these photos that attributed to these editorial gaffs.

Another interesting choice of photos was showing the Gray Hawk and the Northern Goshawk as immatures. On a different note, additional 45 black-and-white photographs are interspersed throughout the book to show various habitat types across the Southwest. These help to give a nice representation of the wide array of environments to be encountered in the area.

The text for each bird ranges from one-quarter to one-half page. This material gives a general description of the bird, covering the plumages for gender, age, and season. These descriptions offer the basic portrayal of the birds, sometimes giving a few specific points that might help with the bird's identification. The remainder of the text covers voice, habitat, abundance, distribution, sometimes a similar species, range and, where to find the bird. This last bit of information lists several places by name where the bird may be most likely to be seen in the four states. These place names are given more detail in Appendix 2.

Accompanying each bird is a range map. The bird's range is denoted with four different black-and-white patterns that represent summer, migration, winter, and permanent.

A very handy addition to this book is a 37-page appendix that lists 406 birding sites across the SW region. Although brief with 3-5 lines each, they provide concise, detailed directions. These include specific highway exit numbers, road names, and driving distances. Of the six or seven sites in Arizona I randomly examined, the directions were correct. I can't speak for the accuracy of the other 400. The breakdown for the number of sites per state is the following: Arizona=128, California=136, Nevada=22, New Mexico=120.

For those birders who buy this book, the two things considered as useful will be the range maps and the specific birding sites. These will help to familiarize the birder with where the birds are found across the region; and, will help guide him to locations for any target birds. If you want a book that is geared towards truly identifying the southwestern birds, you will be much better off with a western guide by Sibley, Peterson, or National Geographic. Those books have more plumages, higher quality artwork; and, identify all the birds correctly. - (written by Jack, shown with sample pages at Avian Review, May 2011)

I've listed several related books below...
1) Birds of Southeastern Arizona by Taylor
2) San Diego County Bird Atlas by Unitt
3) Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution by Garrett
4) California Birds: Their Status and Distribution by Small
5) Field book of birds of the southwestern United States by Wyman
6) Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America by Sibley
7) National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America
8) The TOS Handbook of Texas Birds by Lockwood

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Birds of the Southwest, June 2, 2009

By 

Donna Brown (usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Birds of the Southwest: A Field Guide (W. L. Moody Jr. Natural History Series) (Paperback)

I was very disappointed with this book. I used to have one that showed pictures of both the male and female birds, this does not.