This popular field guide offers the most authoritative and comprehensive information on all 443 species of Alaska's birds.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A truly beautiful book but not necessarily enough,
By
This review is from: Guide to the Birds of Alaska (Paperback)
Armstrong's book is filled with beautiful photographs and covers all the regular species that you will see in Alaska. It is a great introduction to the birds that inhabit the area. Every Alaskan birdwatcher should have a copy.
But, if you are a beginning birder, or new to the Northwest you might need a different field guide. Animals are illustrated with one, two, or three photographs. Unfortunately photographic guides are often deceiving in the field. I recommend you take another good field guide with you. Each species has 90 to 100 words to cover field marks, similar species, voice and habitat. In some cases like the Black-Backed Woodpecker, only 56 words are used. The writing is great, but the scope of the book does not allow in-depth coverage of each species. Range finding is limited to a chart with six rows for regions and four rows for seasons. In Alaska, six regions are equal to six average states in the lower forty eight and saying Common, Uncommon or Rare in a region doesn't help pinpoint the species much. A map would do better to give an idea of locations (at least pointing out a species as coastal, or centered on mountain ranges in a given area etc.) I wouldn't talk anyone out of getting this book, it is beautiful and well written, but if you are planning a birding trip and need to find locations - try West's A Birders Guide to Alaska, and if you are unsure of your ability to indentify birds in Alaska, at least augment this book with the Sibley or National Geographic Guides. If you going to one of the shorebird festivals, definitely get a specialized guide like Paulson's Shorebird Guide. ***** Update ******* There is now a new edition of this book since this review was written, for the most part, the strengths and weaknesses are the same. However, the one thing that has changed strikingly is that many if not most of the photos were replaced and are even better than those from the last edition. A beautiful book just got more beautiful.
40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT BOOK!,
This review is from: Guide to the Birds of Alaska (Paperback)
This is *the* book for Alaska birding, and it's well-written enough to serve as pleasure reading even for those outside the state. The birds are organized logically, with detailed descriptions of habitat, similar species, and markings. Each description is accompanied by excellent all-color photos, many showing female and male and sometimes seasonal variations. Unlike other large bird guides, this one's easy to use in the field.
29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Book on Birds of Alaska!,
This review is from: Guide to the Birds of Alaska (Paperback)
Robert Armstrong is an incredibly fine and thorough researcher! His books are not only understandably written and informative, but beautiful as well. Every photograph pictures the birds in full color, often showing both the male and female, which adds to the usefulness and value of this book. Definitely a Bible for any nature lover.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Loons are goose-sized swimming birds with sharply pointed bills. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
offshore marine waters, inshore marine waters, pale gray mantle, white wing stripe, dark tail tip, white line above eye, black tail band, white stripe above eye, dark line through eye, white wing linings, white flank patches, thinner bill, white outer tail feathers, black line through eye, rufous color, gray upperparts, greenish yellow legs, brown upperparts, mainland rivers, darker mantle, downcurved bill, barred underparts, wing bars, similar species, dark bill Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, Canada Goose, Herring Gull, Arctic Tern, Mew Gull, Rock Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Pacific Loon, Wandering Tattler, American Pipit, American Wigeon, Boreal Owl, Greater Scaup, Green-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, Long-tailed Jaeger, Willow Ptarmigan, Alder Flycatcher, Arctic Warbler, Bald Eagle, Black Turnstone, Blue Grouse New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Loons are goose-sized swimming birds with sharply pointed bills. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
offshore marine waters, inshore marine waters, pale gray mantle, white wing stripe, dark tail tip, white line above eye, black tail band, white stripe above eye, dark line through eye, white wing linings, white flank patches, thinner bill, white outer tail feathers, black line through eye, rufous color, gray upperparts, greenish yellow legs, brown upperparts, mainland rivers, darker mantle, downcurved bill, barred underparts, wing bars, similar species, dark bill Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea, Canada Goose, Herring Gull, Arctic Tern, Mew Gull, Rock Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Pacific Loon, Wandering Tattler, American Pipit, American Wigeon, Boreal Owl, Greater Scaup, Green-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, Long-tailed Jaeger, Willow Ptarmigan, Alder Flycatcher, Arctic Warbler, Bald Eagle, Black Turnstone, Blue Grouse New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 26
books:
See all 26 books this book cites
22
books
cite this book:
See all 22 books citing this book
- Southeast Alaska: Part 2 (Alaska Geographic) by Alaska Geographic in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- A Field Guide to Western Birds' Nests by Hal H. Harrison in Back Matter
- Discovering Wild Plants: Alaska, Western Canada, The Northwest by Janice Schofield Eaton in Back Matter
- Blue Heron by Philip Ross in Front Matter
- Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest by Dennis Paulson in Back Matter
See all 26 books this book cites
- The Alaska River Guide: Canoeing, Kayaking, and Rafting in the Last Frontier (Alaska River Guide: Canoeing, Kayaking, & Rafting in the Last Fronti) by Karen Jettmar on page 42, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Nature of Southeast Alaska: A Guide to Plants, Animals, and Habitats (Revised) by Robert H Armstrong in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Alaska: Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide (Ecotravellers Wildlife Guides) by Dennis Paulson in Back Matter
- Birdwatching (Discovery Travel Adventures) by Judith Dunham in Back Matter
- The Shorebird Guide by Michael O'Brien in Back Matter
See all 22 books citing this book
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