Birds of Illinois Field Guide

Stan Tekiela (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Learn about and identify birds using Stan Tekiela's state-by-state field guides. The full-page, color photos are incomparable and include insets of winter plumage, color morphs and more. Plus, with the easy-to-use format, you don't need to know a bird's name or classification in order to easily find it in the book. Using this field guide is a real pleasure. It's a great way for anyone to learn about the birds in your state.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Adventure Publications (May 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885061749
• ISBN-13: 978-1885061744
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 4.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #83,733 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great!, January 7, 2004

By	Patricia O'Tuama "rissa" (Illinois) - See all my reviews

Like the other reviewer here, I too, am new to birdwatching. I bought two other large guidebooks that cover the eastern part of the country but while these (especially the Smithsonian Handbooks "Birds of America") were great for providing information on all birds in my half of the country, I didn't find them very useful for determing what birds actually live here in northern Illinois specifically. Knowing what is supposed to be here has made it much much easier for me to identify the birds that come to my backyard feeders so I'm not hot on the trail of what I think is a White-Crested Firecracker Wheat Wren when, in fact, it's really a Black-Capped Chickadee.

I also found the information on what each type of bird eats quite useful as well as the "Stan's Notes" information at the bottom of each entry. Another thing I found very helpful is the fact that where male and female birds differ in appearance, each is listed separately. For example, the female Purple Finch is is listed on pages 84-85 in the "brown" section while the male is found at pages 228-229 in the "red" section, thus making it much easier to determine whether what you are looking at is a sparrow of some sort or, in fact, a female Rose-Breasted Grossbeak.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes bird watching enjoyable., June 16, 2003

By	Nancy Bardouche (Bethany, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a great book, especially if you are new to "birding", like I am. It contains 111 species that you'll find in Illinois and also has a "compare" section...if you aren't sure which finch you're seeing. Very friendly user; the first page is a bird color guide. If you are trying to find a bird that is mostly gray...you flip to the gray section on pages 162-207. I also liked the range map of Illinois which shows the location where you will likely find the bird, and when ... summer, winter, all year or during migration. A lot of information is provided on each bird and includes the size of the bird; the color of the male, female and juvenile; where to find the nest and the color of the eggs; what the bird eats, and if it is attracted to feeders. I especially liked "Stan's Notes", which provides naturalist information and curious little facts that will leave you saying, "Hmmm, I didn't know that!"

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST Book for Identifying Birds!, April 21, 2005

By	C. Metz (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Wow. I am so impressed with this book. I bought about 5 others and this one is, BY FAR, the easiest to use. It is organized by COLOR. All you have to do is pick the main color of a bird - the color that is most predominant on the bird - turn to the color-coded section and voila! The book lists both males and females, because the two sexes are often different colors; for instance, you will find "Cardinal" under the red section (male) AND in the brown section (female). If you are looking to identify birds in your area, this book is foolproof! You can easily identify over 100 birds and read interesting facts about it, such as nesting habits, egg identification & incubation, migration, what foods they eat, and more. Another great feature about this book is that for each bird, their is a "Comparison" listing that tells you what other birds look very similar - so you won't confuse a European Starling with a Common Grackle. An amazing guide - I highly recommend it!