The Birder's Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds

The ornithology professor who taught a couple of classes I took long ago, recommended this book to his students. I bought a copy way back when & still have it.My daughter recently began taking an interest in ornithology so I was happy to buy her a Petersons Field Guide & this book, the perfect supplement to the field guide.A very thorough book & indexed to be used with all the popular field guides.

This book is very unique in the birding book world on several counts.~ First off, as has been stated in other reviews, this is not a conventional guidebook. It has no pictures or drawings and is clearly designed to be used with other guidebooks, in fact references to page numbers in the major "picture" guidebooks are given for each bird. I would go so far as to say that is has no place "in the field" but rather should be consulted when back home.~ Second, I really feel that this book is truly for advanced birders - or trivia freaks like me (more on that later).~ Thirdly, the layout takes a bit of getting used to but once you "get it", it is ingenious. On the left side of each page layout (even numbered pages) are all the write-ups about all U.S./Canadian birds. The writeups include lots of info not always included in a guidebook including nest shape, food, incubation period and mating system (mongamous vs polyandrous vs polygynous etc) using a simple legend system. It also includes a prose of each bird including unique facts often not found in other guides. The right hand side (odd numbers) is where it gets really unique. The right side may or may not have anything to do with the birds facing it. These pages consist of essays that range from Courtship Feeding to Sleeping Sentries to Bird Biologist - Joel Asaph Allen! Roughly half of the book (actually more) is made up of these essays and informative blurbs. The neat thing is that, if they apply to any particular bird, they are referenced within that bird's description. So, for example, under Wood Duck one will find references to Site Tenacity, Plume Trade and Parasitized Ducks along with the essay's page number. These same essays may be referenced from many other birds and thus are not necesarily near any specific bird.For advanced birders or trivia nuts (like me) it is a fabulous resource. For me, it is kind of like those times when you get lost on the internet and follow link to link to link and wonder how you got to where you are! Only these links contain factoids and useful info re: birds! I guess somehow, that sounds more meaningful and fulfilling than surfing the net for hours.My only hesitation might be that the book may be a bit dated. It was published in 1988 which to some may make it ancient. For birding, other than the taxonomic orders that are constantly changing, I believe the info is all still very timely and accurate.Another interesting thing about the book is that one of the authors is Paul Erlich who was reknowned back in the 60's for his population studies and publications ("The Population Bomb"). Not sure what part he played in the writing and layout but it is certainly a fascinating connection beween birds as an indicator species for the health of the planet and his having a hand in the book.Hope this helps some folks out!Steve

This is the "Bible" of birding! I use several bird field guides when identifying a new bird. These guides may include photos or drawings and THIS book is always a part of the books in my stack I grab! A must have to read all the additional details related to my sighting. No birder should be without this book.

While some reviewers have opined on the absence of illustrations, I quite enjoyed the essays that offered a deeper insight into behaviors. However, I have yet to understand the omission of the entire Corvidae family within the index of species treatments. Entries for common corvids do exist within the body of the guide (pages 404 - 420) but would only be found by happenstance, thereby making this handbook's index nearly useless. Rather disappointing revelation of an initially fascinating, albeit weighty, field guide. Wonder what the odds are of the publishers of a 1988 birder's book might release a revised edition some 34 years later.

If you want a deep dive on a single species or a set of in-depth essays on common traits across species, this book has both. I got my first copy at a library used book sale, but this one was for my daughter who loves it just as much. Caution: this is not a bird identification book; that's a different animal. This one tells you the details like how many eggs per nest, how big the eggs are, what color they are, who sits on the nest, whether the species is monogamous, whether striving or failing, etc.

Great resource for any birder - new to birding or have been for years. My ornithology teacher in college had this book and I'm happy I was able to find a copy to purchase. Haven't read it cover to cover but it is very hand for looking up information of certain birds or topics, interesting stuff inside!

Book condition was way overrated in listing. Listing was for a "very good" copy with "library binding". What I received was a well worn paperback with considerable edge staining of pages. The staining only extends up to about 3/8" in on the pages so it does not affect readability but this plus level of overall wear are not compatible with a rating of very good!

Great resource if you want to know more about the birds than just their markings and ID. Only way to improve it would be to have a cheat-sheet of the symbols so I don't have to hunt for them each time.

For anyone interested in birds , this book is a great source of interesting information on the habits of many birds. I would highly recommend it.

A great supplement to any bird identification book. Lots of information on most bird species and essays on many interesting behavioral topics. This book will turn a bird watcher into a full fledged birder.

This book is fairly good but definitely outdated as there have been species name changes including the split of the Spotted and Eastern Towhees. This can help for some things but there are better newer books available.

A must-have for every birder out there.

Very happy with this book, and very fast shipping