Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds : Western Region [Paperback]

Donald Stokes (Author), Lillian Stokes (Author)

Book Description

Series: Stokes Beginner's Guides | Publication Date: October 1, 1996

Is that butterfly outside your window a Monarch or a Giant Swallowtail? What's the best kind of feeder for attracting birds to your backyard? This pocket-size, brilliantly colorful, simple-to-use guide is an ideal introduction to the birds of the Western United States. It contains dozens of full-color photographs that enable readers of all ages to identify the most common species; range maps; tips on attracting and observing firds; information on habitat needs, life cycle, food preferences; and much more.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316818127
• ISBN-13: 978-0316818124
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.4 x 4.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #324,256 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > Ornithology
  • #53 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Zoology > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great guide for the novice, November 7, 2002

By 

Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds : Western Region (Paperback)

I am a neophyte birder and this book was perfect as a beginning guide in identifying and recognizing common birds in the western region. The other bird guides I have purchased (National Geographic and Audubon) were exceptional, but for a novice, they presented too much information and too many birds. This book struck a nice, comfortable compromise. The photos of each bird are excellent and provide you a good look at the features and characteristics of each. They also tell you succinctly where the habitat would be and where you would most likely see each bird.

The best feature was that each bird was divided by color. So if you see a Wilson's warbler in your backyard but don't know for certain if your call is correct, you can quickly thumb to the "yellow" section of the book and see all the yellow birds. Thus you can quickly confirm your identification.

This book would have limited, or no value to an experienced birder, but for the beginning birder, this is a fine introduction to the hobby of birding.

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Basic Bird Watching Guide!, November 25, 2000

By 

Allan M. Gathercoal "fdoamerica" (Norcross, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds: Eastern Region (Stokes Field Guide Series) (Paperback)

I am unabashedly a bird lover. Having birds flock to my feeder is among my top simples pleasures of life. The ability to recognize the variety of birds is very rewarding. "Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds" is the best basic bird guide book I yet used to quickly identify birds (Eastern Region). The pressing argument among bird guides is whether you identify birds by size/shape or by color (for a good guide that uses size/shapes see "Focus Guide to the Birds of North America by Kenn Kaufman). Stokes has used plumage color to identify over 100 species. His full color photographs (separate images of male / female) are wonderful. I especially like the tips for attracting birds and the condensed information on habitats and population change. This would be a great gift for a youngster that is inclined towards watching birds and I am sure that any adult would be equally pleased. Highly recommended.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent source of quick info!, June 19, 2000

By 

Rene Miller - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds : Western Region (Paperback)

This book is great because it's color-coded which makes it easy to find out what feathered friend just visited our yard. My kids have spent hours poring over the book and now know the names and pertinent data of the birds in our region. I keep this book handy and grab it when I see a bird I don't recognize. Chances are good that it is listed in this book!