Customer Reviews

National Geographic Complete Birds of the World

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I'd like to first start with what this book is NOT. It is not a field guide or a reference to all of the bird species of the world. It does not list all of the species in each family or even all of the genera within each family. If you are expecting a birding reference book, this book is not what you are looking for.
This book is a guide to all of the bird families of the world. Each family is listed and and a general overview of the birds in that family is given Some families are given two pages (for example Rheas with just two species in two genera) and others as many as four (Tyrant-flycatchers with 400 species in 98 genera). Each family account includes a general description of the family, followed by descriptions of structure, plumage, behavior, voice, habitat, movements, diet, breeding and taxonomy. a range map is given showing world distribution. Again the descriptions are very broad and general, especially in the larger families. The photos and illustrations are very beautiful and with more than 900 of them, make this a very colourful book.
This book is a nice reference to the bird families of the world for someone with a general interest, but for birders with a very keen interest, I don't feel this book is for you.

I bought this book for my six year old who loves birds. It has lots of photos and brief one page articles on each bird. He looks through the photos by himself or I look up the information he is interested. Each article is divided into sections about habitat, diet, plumage, etc so I can find what my six year old wants to know very quickly- a huge plus for me.

On a recent trip to Europe, I found myself wishing I had a bird book, and was excited to see that someone had done a book covering the world. I was looking forward to being able to identify a bird I'd seen in Keukenhof Gardens, near Amsterdam, Netherlands. Unfortunately, this book is not a field guide, so I will probably end up getting a European bird guide. The book is excellent for general information, however, and include ranges for the different bird families. It is worth reading before traveling, to become acquainted with the different kinds of birds you are likely to see on your trip. That will arm you with knowledge that will help give you a general idea of a bird's identity and make finding specific information easier. Overall, the book is nicely done, as per usual with National Geographic books.