Customer Reviews

The Book of North American Birds

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was my "beginner" book, but has also remained my favorite guide to identify my local feathered friends.Large and full colour pictures of the species allowed me to match my sightings simply by flipping through. Later as I became more fluent in typing my birds the I found the index easy to use. Descriptions of the individual birds were informative, but also entertaining with tidbits about each that were not strickly scientific. There are aspects of this guide that I have even yet to put to use, but hope to: the traveler's guide to birding sites of North America.

This guide is wonderful! Each bird is clearly pictured in full color while a map shows its range. A three-paragraph description of each bird is supplemented by recognition points, habitat, nest description, and the bird's food preferences.
Although each bird gets a full page, the types are grouped so one can flip through looking at similar birds. The groupings include birds of prey, large land birds, smaller open country birds, smaller woodland birds, ducklike birds, gull-like birds, large wading birds, and shorebirds.
Reader's Digest maintains its reputation for producing colorful, useful books for the home reference library.

The illustrations are what make this book unique. Stories that go along with each description are really interesting and provide great insight. The only issue I have with the book is that there doesn't seem to be a quick way to go about looking up a bird that you have sighted. Despite this drawback, it's still worth purchasing.

The book provides much information regarding birds found in North America. It would be a great book if it provided average measurements of birds regarding wing span, body size, eye size, and foot size.

I bought this book for my husband as a birthday present and was happily surprised how much he liked it. Each page is devoted to one bird. My brother visited and enjoyed looking at it so much that we got him one for his birthday, too!

I was surprised to come upon a Reader's Digest book on the wondrous subject of birds. I ordered it, and when it arrived, I was very pleased with what I saw. In its 576 pages, the book covers the birds of North America very well. The book has a large print-type, making reading easier, and very beautiful pictures of the various birds covered. I also like the fact that it is a good length. Most field guides that I have read have been a mere 200 to 300 pages, but here we have 576 pages of birds in all their glory! Although the book was published 21 years ago (1990), it is fresh, vibrant, and stunning in every way. I highly recommend this book, both for the detailed write-ups on the various species covered, and for the wonderful pictures throughout.

I loved browsing through this book. As a novice bird watcher and recent new home owner, I enjoyed identifying the birds!

I have had this book since shortly after it was first published in 1990. I can say that it has been a more valuable reference than some other guides I have had. Obviously it is not one you would carry into the field, but the information on each bird, a page devoted to each, and the true colors in the illustrations are superb. Other guides using photos often have a problem with replicating true colors due to matching problems when printing; not this one. My neighbor is infatuated with my copy, so I'm getting her a copy for her birthday.

My parents gave me this book years ago as a gift. I couldn't count how many times it has helped me to identify unusual species of birds that I did not recognize. The illustrations and detailed info are so interesting that you can just page through it and read even if you aren't looking for a specific bird. The nephew used it for a 7th grade project and received an A, thanks to this book! He liked the book so much we bought him his own!

This book surpassed my expectations. The commentaries on the birds are absolutely excellent and done with information and wit. I had trouble deciding between some other books and am so glad to have chosen this one. The one thing it doesn't have that I'd prefer, is a true picture of where the birds can be in the northern hemisphere - it doesn't show Mexico, and I wish it would. But I do have another bird book that I can look to for that. Because of how well written the information is, I actually sat down and read most of the book the day I received it. Wonderful.