[mou] [mnbird] feild guides

[shawn conrad]

Inexplicably, I actually received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.  I've never reviewed a book and there are definitely lots of people here far more qualified to review than me, but I share my draft of the review here in case any of you are interested in the opinion of another Minnesota birder...
 
This week, I received a copy of Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America by Ted Floyd (HarperCollins Publishing).  I was greeted by a reasonably-sized book with a stunning photo of a Red-headed Woodpecker on the durable cover and a decal promising 587 downloadable bird songs.  (This claim is not exactly true, since many of the tracks are actually recordings of calls, drumming, winnowing, and other non-song bird sounds—and don’t assume that 587 songs means 587 species because there are actually only 138 species recorded.)  
 
Upon an initial flip through the pages, the book is very attractive.  The photography is crisp and beautiful; and moreover, it’s useful.  I have a few other photography books where the main photo of a species may be a shabby, atypical juvenile bird and it nearly useless for identification or only one plumage is represented.  The Smithsonian does a much better job with this.  All of the featured species get multiple photos and the different plumages are generally represented well.  My one complaint here is that sometimes flight photos (or at least good descriptions) were not included where they would have made sense.  This is a problem with other photo guides as well, but to see that several of the ducks and swallows as well as birds like Vesper and Lark Sparrow do not have flight photos—while Yellow Rail does!—detracts slightly from the value of the photography in this guide.  The Common Nighthawk flight photo bothers me as well; it shouldn’t, but it just doesn’t really convey the shape of a flying Common Nighthawk to me…but that’s nitpicking.  I love the fact that each photo includes the location and month the shot was taken—a great learning tool!  
 
The problem with the attractiveness of this guide is that birders who tromp muddy trails and squish mosquitoes and write notes in their guides will be deterred by the looks of this guide from treating it like a field guide.  I took it in the field for a couple of mornings and I just didn’t want to get it dirty and mess up the photos.  The nice, uncluttered layout and the handy color schemes for each bird family add to the clean and crisp look of this guide.  When I leave this book sitting on the table, it just begs to be picked up and looked through.  
 
It’s not all looks though.  The easy-to-read range maps are well done and include separate colors for breeding, winter, migration, year-round occupancy, and rare occurrence.  They seem very accurate (if leaning toward a little generous) for the species in my area.  (I would argue the finer points of a few birds’ ranges like Wood Thrush and Vesper Sparrow.)  Oddly, Blackpoll Warbler gets the shaft as it is the only fully-accounted species with no range map.
 
Ted Floyd’s writing in this guide is excellent.  The introductory section advocates a holistic approach to identifying birds and shares great information.  Also, the family accounts and conservation details (the Diversity Paradox is interesting reading) make for interesting reading and break up the 750+ species accounts quite well.  Regarding the selection of those 750+ species, the use of ABA designations makes sense, but some of the Code 4 species deserved full treatment like Fieldfare and California Condor instead of the abbreviated treatment they received.  Floyd’s species accounts are very good, though he occasionally sacrifices good behavioral information (say shrike flight to a perch, pipit similarity to Palm Warbler) in the name of space—not a good trade in a guide stressing a holistic approach.  He does, however, insert some gems like a photo accompanied by a description of Calidiris flock flight.  The song descriptions are much easier for me to follow than with other field guides—except for the lame treatment given to the beautiful song of the Fox Sparrow!        
 
Unfortunately, I am unable to review the DVD at this time because neither my new DVD player nor my old computer will handle it.           
             
Overall, Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America is a great guide.  I will always love and regularly carry my Sibley (Eastern!) and this guide will not change that.  However, once I get over the fear of putting field wear on this one, it will definitely get field time.  This guide has a lot going for it, especially convenience, considering the quick-find index, the short glossary in the back, the size and variation bar layout for each species account, easy topography illustrations, and emphasis on conservation details.  For a guide this size, I do expect a little more in the way of giving priority to diagnostic field marks and behavior and a better job of covering a species’ flight.  Even though it can sacrifice attractiveness, arrows pointing toward important field marks are really useful.  This guide lacks those arrows.        
Shawn Conradhttp://users.2z.net/itasca_chippewa_birding/ 



Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:37:23 -0700From: deadcandaneus2000 at yahoo.comTo: mnbird at lists.mnbird.net; mou-net at moumn.orgSubject: [mnbird] feild guides




I have the new field guide to north american birds by the smithsonian.I think it is pretty good.Has anyone else seen it?
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