Customer Reviews

The Birds of Texas

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The remarkable thing about this book is the beautiful close-up colour pictures of almost every species. Not all the pictures are flawless--anyone who's ever photographed birds knows how hard it is to get a good, detailed, well-lit close-up shot--but they are very high quality and make this both a gorgeous coffee table book and a valuable identification aid.

The coverage is not as complete as, say, Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds of Texas, which I also own. The Peterson has, for example, many more of the confusing fall warblers; the Tveten explicitly says that detailed coverage of the warblers is outside its scope. But the differences in coverage are generally of the rarer birds; anything a casual bird-watcher is likely to see will be in the Tveten; and the Peterson has few good colour plates.

This is a larger book than is really convenient out in the field, though. Plus the descriptive sections, while well-written and interesting, aren't organized in a way that makes it easy to quickly find important field marks or check the range. If you want to get just one book I'd recommend this one; get another for completeness or for use in the field.

This colorful book thoroughly covers the wide range of birds in Texas. The close-up photography is stunning and provides for easy identification of birds encountered in the wild. Every aspect of each bird is described in depth in lively and interesting prose. The excellent organization of this book allows the reader to find the bird they are looking for quickly and efficiently. I highly recommend "The Birds of Texas". I only wish I had bought the hardcover edition instead of the softcover.

This book has beautiful photographs of Texas birds. It describes their songs, how they eat, mate, nest, care for offspring, and all in an interesting manner. The way the author describes birds, you know he has a great love for these winged creatures. Cedar Wax-wings are "courteous", Loggerhead Shrikes have "the inclinations of a hawk", Grackles are "bullies", Carolina Chickadees are "acrobatic", Horned Larks have a "rakish, devilish air", etc.. Believe it or not, these descriptions actually help me remember what the birds look like and what they are called. Highly recommended.

Dear Readers,

For all you bird lovers, this is the book. IT is the most detailed and well made book that has ever been made. You will never have a problem trying to discern one bird from another. The pictures that Tveten takes are some of the most detailed and close pictures ever. God knows how hard it is to get good close-ups. While it is a little hard to carry in the field, the hard copy makes one of the best coffee table books ever. You might also want to check out Shearer Publishings state atlases, the best and most detailed maps in the country. I strongly support these fine books from Fredericksburg, Texas.

The photography in this book is superlative and the main reason to purchase it is to admire the lush color photos of Texas's birds. However, I also enjoy the book because it allows me, as a novice birder, to learn to correctly identify various species. This book is much superior to an Audubon guide or a National Geographic Filed Guild to birds because each photo is huge and shows the birds to their best advantage. The photos of the various migrating birds aresimply outstanding!

I recommend this book for anyone who has an appreciation of birds in the Lone Star state and wants to vicariously see them through this medium. It will definitely prompt every armchair birder to take to the field and spy these wondrous creatures in their natural habitat. There are several birds I saw in this book which captured my fancy immediately. By seeing these photos, it prompted me to go out and beat the trails and shorelines to see each of these birds up close and "in person." A great book!

This the book to get if you want answers to the questions "what bird is that in my yard/in the park/at the beach?", and "what makes that bird special?". Even the best field guides give no answer to the second question, and their answers to the first question are often frustratingly complicated to the casual or beginning birdwatcher. Most people who call themselves birdwatchers (92% of them according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) can't even identify 40 species. You can use this to identify the easiest and most common 150-200 or so of Texas birds, and then go out and get a field guide to take you through the more difficult identifications.

However, you'll never find a field guide that will show you what makes each bird unique, and where each bird fits into the landscape. The descriptions are engaging, personal, and informative regarding behavior and location, and the photographs catch much about the lives of birds that can only be seen otherwise in the field. Tveten's pictures, including mockingbirds attacking raptors, songbirds calling from brush, and the activities of feeding and nesting birds, catch the essence of why people go out and look at them over, over, and over again.

This book will make you enjoy finding and looking for birds.

This is a very fine book with photographs taken in the field. Another reviewer suggested this book "if you're only going to have one bird book." My wife and I prefer another book, but this one contains excellent information to supplement the other which is more of a field guide. This book also describes the evolution of the bird classification system, and how the names and designations of some birds have changed with DNA evidence. The author is clearly an expert in his field. Some sources list a hardcover version, but when we tried to get it, it was out of print.

This book has a lot of good information and photos of birds in the Texas area. My favorite so far.

I'm an amateur. I just like to watch the birds in the backyard and be able to share what they are with my family. I put seed out and wait to see what happens.

I already have a field book that I got here to use to identify the different types of birds, and it has not failed me. This book is different.

My first surprise was how thick the book was and how many great pictures there were. The box was so heavy when it arrived that I thought maybe it contained the wrong book. It didn't, there is that much information and pictures inside of it. I really enjoyed reading the text for the birds, it contained a lot of interesting information.

The reason 4 stars instead of 5 is due to the way the book is organized. It is arranged by type of bird - such as "birds of prey". While an Owl is certainly a bird of prey, I would rather find it under "O" or by the region they are found in. I'm sure this is personal preference on my part and not sure how others would feel about this, but when I look a bird up and it is a sparrow for instance, you have to know where they put it. (I can't remember where sparrow is located in the book right now, that might be a good example)

It is a good book and I'm glad I bought it.

This is a great book just for bird lovers in Texas. Wonderful pictures included.