Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!shadooby!samsung!usc!rutgers!cmcl2!phri!ccnysci!christ From: christ@ccnysci.UUCP (Chris Thompson) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: Bird Identification Books Summary: bird guides Message-ID: <3768@ccnysci.UUCP> Date: 29 Nov 89 20:01:16 GMT References: <23973@vrdxhq.verdix.com> Organization: City College of New York Lines: 28 In article <23973@vrdxhq.verdix.com>, edm@vrdxhq.verdix.com (Ed Matthews) writes: > The Christmas season is upon us and my wife would like to get me a new > birding book since I've not been all that pleased with my Audubon Guide > to Eastern Birds. It just doesn't have enough birds or enough field marks > for me to distinguish a lot of birds around here (Washington DC). I'd > like to be able to identify a bird as more than "it's some kind of sparrow, > probably a female." Can anyone give me a recommendation? -- I'm not a hard > core birder, but I do like to know what I'm looking at. I usually carry 2 with me...the Peterson Guide to Birds of Eastern N.A., and the Golden Guide to birds of North America. Both have their advantages: I think the Peterson has better field marks, and they are shown in a more obvious fashion. The Golden Guide contains ALL North American Birds, so that weird thing up there which is really bothering you will be identifiable as a truly fouled up and lost red-shafted flicker. Also, the range maps in the Golden Guide are opposite the drawings, which can also be quite useful. You'll have to decide which is better for you...my advice is to get both, try them out, and use the one you feel more comfortable with. Remember, though: using any new field guide will take some practice! Chris Thompson -- Chris Thompson [What does not kill us, pisses us off!!] Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com