Customer Reviews

Peterson First Guide to Birds of North America (Peterson First Guide (R))

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're looking for a book that will show you the male and female of the species, this is it. It gives size and tells where the birds winter. It has a picture of each bird and if the male and female differ in appearance, it has a picture of both. Great little book. Very reasonably priced

My 7yo daughter and I have had great fun identifying the birds in our backyard with this little book. It features the most common birds one might see. I like how they how it organized by size and type of bird (all the water birds are together, all the birds of prey, all the smaller Fenches and Sparrows, etc. Easy to find that way. There was one bird drawing that was more colorful than the actual bird we saw. This might be due to the fact that they don't picture every type of one kind of bird. It is a GREAT first guide for kids and adults that are just starting. I like also that it shows the male and female of a type.

Are you thinking of birding? Don't know where to begin? If you're reading this, you have found exactly what you need to begin: "Peterson First Guide to Birds of North America (Peterson First Guides)".

Why is that so? I followed Peterson's advice: I familiarized myself with the guide. I also set out Peterson's two guides side by side as I went though them (the other being the full guide: "Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America"). Compare page numbers: 128 in First Guide to 532 in the complete guide. And sizes: 7 1/4 x 4 for First Guide to 9 1/4 x 6 for the full guide.

The next question would be: If the full guide is longer and bigger, why not use it? Answer: More and bigger means a lot more!! A beginner needs the basics to begin birding. My gosh, but the amount of information about birds is almost overwhelming. Peterson's point is to start at the beginning then progress. First Guide begins with the most easily recognizable birds, plus providing the basics in identifying those birds. A few birds in listed in your journal will boost your self-confidence and knowledge that you can, indeed, become a birder.
Here is a list of some of the basics Peterson advises the neophyte to look for:

1. Any basic identification guide begins with marked points. To understand those terms, the birder needs to know the parts of a bird!
2. Use the eight visual categories in which to place the bird in question
3. Size
4. Wing patterns
5. Does it wade?
6. How does it fly?
7. Shape of the wings?
8. Body shape?
9. Tail shape?
10. Bill shape?
11. Does it climb trees?
12. Tail patterns?
13. Wing bars?
14. Eye rings or stripes?
15. Flight pattern?

No, I didn't either (didn't know there are this MANY different things to look for concerning each and every bird!) Again, this is a reason why one must have a guide, so essential in the beginning as a reference point!

Using the list I was able to verify the bird that flies through my neighborhood every January, landing in my huge cypress tree just inside the bayou which runs along the back end of my property. Cormorants. Did I say one? Nay, 15-20 of these huge black birds that make this awful croaking sound while holding out their wings to dry. The first winter I was in this house they awoke me early one Sunday morning croaking and holding out those awesome wings. I thought I was in a horror movie.

My brother immediately identified them for me as cormorants. Having never seen such a bird, I demanded to know how he knew. He fishes--all year! Cormorants live and hunt on and by bodies of water. They are common in this area (Northwest Louisiana) during winter as they migrate through. He didn't know how he knew, but I learned what I wrote just last night when I looked up Cormorants. I can also identify which cormorant--the Double-Crested Cormorant because he is all black. The bayou on which I live is inland.

However, with Peterson's First Guide I can add some information. They hold out their wings to dry. There are six species of cormorants in North America. If one is sighted on an inland lake, it is surely a Double-Crested, but on major bodies of water, check a guide to learn which of the six he represents.

I used "he" in the last paragraph. A slightly amusing statment from Peterson refers to females. As a beginning birder, don't try to identify a female as her markings are designed for camouflage. Instead, check out the company she keeps! (A little Peterson bit of humor referring to male colorations as the identifying factors for a species.)

Ready to go birding? Get your binoculars, a journal and pen to record your sightings, a camera, a bottle of water. Next put on good shoes, put your First Guide in your pocket, and take that first step on your first discovery trip in birding! That's a lot of firsts, but you'll think them worth it at the end.

I have both the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America and the Audubon Bird guide that I use for more in-depth information and identifications, however, this First guide is always sitting in my glove box. It's small and easy to stash in the car or your pocket. I think for anything beyond casual observation, you definitely need a more in-depth guide, but for the common bird species you are likely to see, its great. If you're looking for an affordable, portable reference, this is it. I really like the First Guide series.

This is a nice book for kids --it's not overwhelming in its information and it's easy to carry around. It's fairly comprehensive, considering its large scope.

I bought this for my 9 year old granddaughter. It's the kid version of mine and it's perfect for her. We sit in the window near the feeders with binoculars and identify the birds. We are planning on a birdwatching "field trip" in the spring. She is enjoying the book and I made a special bookmark for her.

I love Peterson Guides. I wouldn't buy anything else. We recently moved to West Virginia from Michigan and the place we're staying has bird feeders and lots of birds. We wanted to identify the species and this book does a great job of that.

It's small enough to fit into my camera bag without adding any weight or taking up too much space.

This is an abbreviated edition... this does not come close to having every bird you could run into, but it has a good variety of common species with pictures of both male and female as well as a little information about each species. I am pleased.

I bought this for my 3 year old to identify the birds that visit our bird feeder. So far we have been able to identify each bird that has visited thanks to this book.

Aside from knowing what a robin and sparrow are I have no clue about birds. I bought this book hoping to identify some of the birds at my feeder and a huge bird that is not a hawk that is sitting in my pine tree. It has been serving its purpose. The pictures are acurate and the description tells me that the birds do live in my area. If you are an expert or are looking for an extensive book on birds this probably will not be enough for you but for the beginner this does the job.

This is a great first book for those who think they may be interested in birding. It is small, easy to carry, and inexpensive. The book begins with a tutorial on the basics of bird identification including wing patterns and shapes, tails, bills/beaks -- and habitat and behaviors. Then if provides some simple silhouettes to guide the reader to likely matches. The color illustration are well drawn and information is given to help identify the differences between male and female birds. A great first resource for young and beginning birders.