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Kenn Kaufman

Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America Hardcover – Illustrated, April 14, 2005

by Kenn Kaufman (Author)

868 ratings

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Critically acclaimed for its innovative design, the Kaufman guide introduced a new generation to birding. The Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America includes the official names of birds and range maps. Additional information helps beginning birdwatchers get started, all in the same compact format that has made this guide the easiest to use for fast identification in the field.

Print length

392 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Mariner Books
Publication date

April 14, 2005
Dimensions

4.75 x 1 x 7.5 inches
ISBN-10

0618574239
ISBN-13

978-0618574230
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mariner Books; Illustrated edition (April 14, 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 392 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0618574239
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0618574230
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.08 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.75 x 1 x 7.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #40,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #72 in Outdoors & Nature Reference
- #82 in Bird Field Guides
- #2,795 in Reference (Books)

Customer Reviews:
868 ratings

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Kenn Kaufman

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Kenn Kaufman is a legend among birders. A field editor for AUDUBON and a regular contributor to every major birding magazine, he is the youngest person ever to receive the Ludlow Griscom Award, the highest honor of the American Birding Association. His natural history pursuits have taken him to all seven continents, but he has made a special study of North American birds. His books include KINGBIRD HIGHWAY, LIVES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS, the PETERSON FIELD GUIDE TO ADVANCED BIRDING, in addition to originating the KAUFMAN FIELD GUIDE series, which includes books on birds, butterflies, mammals, and insects. He resides in Rocky Ridge, Ohio.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5

868 global ratings

5 star		88%
4 star		9%
3 star		2%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Jeremy L Royce

Great but not actually a hardcover

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 16, 2023

Verified Purchase

I’m just getting into birding and this guid is amazing. The details are amazing and all the extra info is awesome. Only thing keeping it from a 5 star is that it’s not actually a hardcover even though it says it is.

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Miner2341

Comes so close to being perfect

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 16, 2012

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It has been my unfortunate experience that there is no "perfect field guide" out there, but this one comes close. I really like the concise, but extremely helpful, text describing each bird species. For example, Kaufman notes that the American Kestrel "often hovers in one spot on rapidly beating wings" and the Merlin is "A compact, dashing falcon, very fast and direct in flight." I saw a small falcon at a distance and noticed it was hovering over the ground with fluttering wingbeats and would periodically dive to the ground to try to catch its prey. Kaufman concisely matched me up with the bird, and I didn't have to look any closer for field marks. Obviously an expert wouldn't need this sort of information, but I find that Kaufman offers enough of this insight to help a beginning birder make tougher IDs than would be possible on just field marks.

Another part of the guide that I find very helpful is Kaufman's verbalizations of bird songs and calls. For some reason, I really struggle trying to "picture" Sibley's bird calls, but I find that I can often use Kaufman's to help match a bird to its voice. I used this feature in making the final decision on whether I was seeing a Western or a Cassin's Kingbird.

Although other people have complained about it, I like how Kaufman organizes this guide on the superficial appearance of birds instead of their genetic relationships. This means that coots are next to the waterfowl, and swifts are next to swallows. I can understand how someone who is used to the other organization method would find this annoying, but I find this more straightforward. It certainly minimizes the number of trips to the index; I can just page through the first part of the book if I'm looking for a water bird, etc.

Finally, the range maps in this guide are the best I have seen. Instead of just showing a bird's summer, winter, and migratory range, Kaufman has two shades of color for each range so that one can make a rough estimate at how frequently a bird is found at a location at a given time of year. The Sibley field guides, for example, only show "summer, winter, migratory, and rare" and one is left to make a guess at what time of year one might find the rare birds.

For all its benefits, I mentioned at the beginning of the review that this guide is not-quite-perfect. My one complaint is that I have found it difficult to make bird IDs on a lot of the photographs in the book. The photographs for Brown-capped Rosy-Finches make it difficult to see how this bird is different from the other Rosy-Finches. The photos of Swifts and Swallows in flight are mostly blurry and/or have bad lighting, which in my mind renders them useless (and there is no underwing photo of a Barn Swallow!). Many of the fly catchers look essentially identical (even more identical than they are in reality), and the photos really don't seem to exaggerate any of the differentiating features enough to make one able to use them for an ID. Even Say's Phoebe barely shows anything of a ruddy belly in the pictures; compare this to the unmistakable picture in Sibley and you'll see what I'm saying. In addition, the glossy paper which is necessary to print good photos makes it hard to see in sunlight, so an already difficult picture becomes even worse.

The last point is a major drawback to what would be an awesome all-around field guide, but it is perhaps partially redeemed by all the other strong points in the guide. For example, the text for Say's Phoebe emphasizes that the "orange-buff" belly is a distinguishing feature.

The result of this is that I have a dilemma each time I go birding as to which field guide to bring with me: Sibley West or Kaufmann. For someone who wants the finest illustrations for visually identifying a bird, Sibley is the clear (no pun intended) answer. But Kaufman has so much else to recommend it that this really is too close to call. Perhaps someday a genius will pair the illustrations of Sibley with the text and maps of Kaufman, and then we really will have the perfect field guide.

40 people found this helpful

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Great field guide

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 26, 2020

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This is a field guide in the truest sense. It is small in size, relatively thin, and it has a very durable cover. It's made to throw in a pocket and hit the field, so it gets high marks before you even open the cover. Inside you will find a well-laid out guide with all of the essential information, but the details provided are certainly not comprehensive. This isn't a problem for me, as I don't expect encyclopedic details from a field guide. While the text on any given bird is terse, you should have all of the key factors that help you make an identification. Important field marks are italicized in the text, and they are marked in the photo as well. The photos are decent, but not excellent. In some cases I wish there were more pictures, or I wish the picture layout wasn't so confusing. The general format is the left page is text with 2-5 birds described, and the right page is filled with photos of those birds. It can be confusing which photos go with which birds, and while you can certainly figure it out, it is not immediately obvious at a quick glance.
All that aside, the main reason I like this book is the organization and ease of use. This book really helps out new birders with a couple interesting features. First, the book is arranged into intuitive sections like "Aerial Waterbirds", "Chicken-Like Birds", "Wading Birds", etc. Second, there's a pictorial table of contents that shows you examples of what's in those sections. You don't have to really know much to get to the right section of the guide, which is perfect for novice birders. There's also a full index and a short index that will get you to the chosen species quickly if you know generally what you want. If you're a compete novice, there is even a short introduction to birding with advice on everything from binocular choices to bird feeders.
So even with a few shortcomings, this book earns 5-stars because of the novice-friendly organization and the excellent field-friendly form factor. You can find better pictures and more information elsewhere, but Kaufman really shines in these areas and it's worth having in your pocket, especially if you're a new birder.

12 people found this helpful

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Maggie Kay

Great resource book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 18, 2022

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Great books with nice photos and descriptions. Great for identifying our backyard birds!

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Richard Meyer

Best compact size bird field guide

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 24, 2022

Verified Purchase

This field guide is easy to use and easy to carry in the field. The bird images point out the key identifying features for each species. I think I like this book better than the four other bird field guides I own.

4 people found this helpful

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Bruce Crabtree

Great Book for Learning to Identify Birds

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 11, 2021

Verified Purchase

This book provides an easy process for a beginner to successfully learn to identify birds. If you want to learn how to identify birds, do three things: First, download Merlin, the free bird identification app from the Cornell Lab. Second, go out and use the Merlin app to identify a few birds. Third. buy this book.

Once you have tried to identify a few birds, you will see how useful this book is. The inside cover has a pictorial breakdown of bird body shapes so you can easily find the pages that show the birds that look like the one you are seeing. The book explains the parts of a bird that are easiest to use for identification, how to read the range maps to tell if a bird is common in your area, and why birds are listed in a certain order in bird books.

The book is small enough to carry with you (only 390 pages) and the cover is very durable so it should last a long time. This book is easier to use than other bird books. If you progress in your bird watching activities and are looking for more detailed information (meaning a heavier 700-800 page book), the knowledge you gained from using this book will make reading the other bird books easier to understand. And you will STILL carry this lightweight book with you in the field, because the other books are too heavy.

4 people found this helpful

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Di Zastor

Excellent well made pocket guide

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 13, 2015

Verified Purchase

Excellent pocket guide. Once you get used to its format a very helpful book. Also well made.

Alberto Sánchez

Falta presencia de México

Reviewed in Mexico 🇲🇽 on November 28, 2022

Verified Purchase

La guía es excelente, la calidad de las ilustraciones y la información realmente ayudan a identificar las aves. El tamaño y peso son adecuados para una guía práctica en campo. Lo único lamentable es que se enfoca en Estados Unidos y Canadá y se deja fuera el 80% del territorio mexicano. Los mapas de distribución a lo mucho muestran los estados del norte y lamentablemente he encontrado algunas notables ausencias de especies del centro de México. Ni que hablar de aves del sur-sureste, no se muestra prácticamente ningún ave tropical. Para eso es mejor usar la app de Merlin.

One person found this helpful

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John C.

Nice bird book!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 1, 2019

Verified Purchase

A recommendation I seen from allaboutbirds.org whats-the-best-book-or-field-guide-for-bird-identification. I see why it was recommended for sure. It's A top bird book to get for sure. Right full of beautifully done maps and color pictures. I'm glad I got this one!

Gonzalo Marty Ordóñez

fotos representativas buenas

Reviewed in Mexico 🇲🇽 on August 30, 2022

Verified Purchase

Buenas fotos útilies para ver caracteristicas

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Damaris

Es hermosa

Reviewed in Mexico 🇲🇽 on August 10, 2021

Verified Purchase

Amo usarla, no es pesada y el material de la portada es resistente.
La guia combina una tecnica de dibujo con fotografia que hace mas facil la identificación.

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