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I love going through new fields guides to see what has changed: new species added, maybe some new illustrations, more features. So I’ve spent a little time going though the new Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, Second Edition page-by-page, comparing it against the previous edition (which was, surprisingly, published about 12 years ago). The changes I’ve found are detailed below. I am not, however, including illustrations and range maps that have been tweaked. I noticed many such instances, especially changes to the colors of existing illustrations. And I’m sure that I missed many more.

New

The big, shiny new feature in this second edition is the inclusion of the Birds of Hawaii! This is a separate, 50-page section following the main plates. The organization is the same as in the main body, with illustrations on the right and text accounts/range maps on the left. The maps are particularly nice, showing both the range against the entire island chain along with zoomed-in depictions of each island.

Gone

Forward and Editor’s Note

Large range maps in the back

You would expect this new edition to be larger than the first, especially with the adding of Hawaii. But in fact, these removals more than offset the additions so that this edition is 24 pages shorter and 15% (6oz) lighter.

Changes

Introduction – largely the same, but with a few minor changes, such as the inclusion of some examples from Hawaii.

Terminology – this edition has “refined and standardized our terminology, replacing such imprecise terms as ‘immature’ with specific age groupings (such as juvenile, adult, first-year, second-winter, etc.) and, for plumages, we have replace the labels ‘breeding’ and ‘nonbreeding’ with ‘spring/summer’ and ‘fall/winter,’ respectively”. Further, the male and female symbols have been replaced with the word.

Sequence – although there is no mention of it in the introduction, the sequence of birds has been changed from strictly taxonomic to one that groups “waterbirds” together first, then “landbirds”, very similar to the order used by The Crossley ID Guide

Range maps – now includes migration range in yellow

Plates (Species in bold are new to this edition.)

• Egyptian Goose
• Ross’s Goose – added dark morph
• Vagrant Waterfowl – Pink-footed Goose (head only) added
• Arctic Loon – added winter illustration
• Common Murre – added illustration of a chick
• Pigeon Guillemot – illustrations completely replaced; added juvenile
• Murphy’s Petrel – in-flight illustration replaced; added a close-up of head
• Hawaiian Petrel
• Atlantic Petrels – illustrations are all replaced
• Atlantic Shearwaters – Sooty, Manx, Audubon’s all replaced; added Cory’s from below
• Pacific Shearwaters – all replaced except for Flesh-footed
• Storm-petrels – almost all are replaced
• White-tailed Tropicbird – added juvenile in flight
• Boobies – added juvenile Brown and Red-footed, head of Nazca
• Large Dark Gulls – added a first-year Glaucous-winged x Western Gull
• Kelp Gull
• Black Noddy – replaced
• Dowitchers – new probing silhouette of Long-billed, previous silhouette (which had been labeled Long-billed) now with the SB
• Rare Shorebirds – fixed the layout error that had cut off the Spotted’s head
• White Herons and Egrets – added illustration of Little Egret (but without a label)
• American Flamingo – added head of first-year
• Purple Swamphen
• Ridgway’s Rail
• Mountain Quail – added female
• Vultures – added heads of: Condor juvenile and 4th/5th-year; Black juvenile
• Bald Eagle – replaced juvenile
• Swainson’s Hawk – all figures replaced
• Broad-winged Hawk – added dark morph perched and in-flight
• Peregrine Falcon – added Pacific (“Peale’s”) juvenile
• Owls – added in-flight illustrations of Short-eared male and female, Long-eared, Snowy (first-year female)
• Mexican Whip-poor-will
• Doves – added standing illustrations of Spotted and female Mourning, Inca, Ruddy Ground, and Common Ground
• Thick-billed Parrot
• Rosy-faced Lovebird
• Red-masked Parakeet
• Empidonax Flycatchers – all replaced
• First-fall Empidonax Flycatchers – new plate with 9 illustrations
• Mockingbirds – the in-flight shrike for comparison removed
• Winter Wren – replaced
• Pacific Wren
• Warbling Vireo – first-fall added
• Tennessee Warbler – immature removed
• Orange-crowned Warbler – added Eastern; immature eastern repurposed (and recolored) as interior West
• American Redstart – added 1st-year male (really, that’s the old female illustration, and that one was copied and the highlights made more yellow for a new female)
• Wilson’s Warbler – added a female to show more variation of black in forehead
• Painted Redstart – fixed the issue where half of the juvenile was cut off the page
• Common Yellowthroat – replaced first-fall female on the fall warblers plate
• American Pipit – added fall/winter ‘North American’
• Eurasian Tree Sparrow – gets full illustration (used to be just head)
• Scaly-breasted Numia – adult replace; juvenile added
• Cassia Crossbill (head of adult male)

Errors

Here are the few errors that I noticed.

• There is a plate of Diving Ducks on the page preceding the Diving Ducks intro. (pages 30-1)
• Egyptian Goose remains on the Unestablished Exotics plate, even though it was given its own full account in the main waterfowl section (page 51)
• Little Egret label missing (page 165)
• Hawks from Below
• pages 210-1: Buteos mislabeled as Kites, Accipiters mislabeled as Pale Buteos
• pages 220-1: Kites mislabeled as Accipiters
• Peregrine Falcon Tundra and Pacific adult labels switched (page 217)
• Nanday Parakeet labeled as Black-hooded Parakeet on plate (page 241)

What It’s Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing-What Birds Are Doing, and Why
by David Allen Sibley

From Knopf:

The bird book for birders and nonbirders alike that will excite and inspire by providing a new and deeper understanding of what common, mostly backyard, birds are doing–and why.

“Can birds smell?” “Is this the same cardinal that was at my feeder last year?” “Do robins ‘hear’ worms?” In What It’s Like to Be a Bird, David Sibley answers the most frequently asked questions about the birds we see most often. This special, large-format volume is geared as much to nonbirders as it is to the out-and-out obsessed, covering more than two hundred species and including more than 330 new illustrations by the author. While its focus is on familiar backyard birds–blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees–it also examines certain species that can be fairly easily observed, such as the seashore-dwelling Atlantic puffin. David Sibley’s exacting artwork and wide-ranging expertise bring observed behaviors vividly to life. (For most species, the primary illustration is reproduced life-sized.) And while the text is aimed at adults–including fascinating new scientific research on the myriad ways birds have adapted to environmental changes–it is nontechnical, making it the perfect occasion for parents and grandparents to share their love of birds with young children, who will delight in the big, full-color illustrations of birds in action. Unlike any other book he has written, What It’s Like to Be a Bird is poised to bring a whole new audience to David Sibley’s world of birds.

Gorgeous art and fascinating information come together here. The organization makes it easy to pick up and read whatever strikes your fancy, while the depth of information means that anyone can learn a great deal. And then there’s the art – lots and lots of it. All that makes this book attractive to anyone even remotely interested in birds.

What It’s Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing-What Birds Are Doing, and Why
by David Allen Sibley
Hardcover; 240 pages
Knopf; April 14, 2020
ISBN: 9780307957894
$35.00

Buy from Buteo Books
(based in the U.S.)

Buy from NHBS
(based in the U.K.)

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, Second Edition
by Roger Tory Peterson

From Houghton Mifflin Harcourt:

For decades, the Peterson Field Guide to Birds has been a popular and trusted guide for birders of all levels, thanks to its famous system of identification and unparalleled illustrations. Since the American Birding Association has expanded its species Checklist to include Hawaii, the Peterson Field Guide now includes the wonderful and exotic species of our fiftieth state. In addition, the text and range maps have been updated, and much of the art has been touched up to reflect current knowledge.

This is the second edition of the “Big Peterson”, covering the entire continent (well, the ABA Area to be specific). This one actually does cover the entire area, as it now includes a 50-page section on the Birds of Hawaii.

I’ll be posting a detailed comparison between the two editions soon.

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, Second Edition
by Roger Tory Peterson
Flexicover; 522 pages
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; April 7, 2020
ISBN: 9781328771445
$29.99

Buy from Buteo Books
(based in the U.S.)

Buy from NHBS
(based in the U.K.)

Birdsong for the Curious Naturalist: Your Guide to Listening
by Donald Kroodsma

From Houghton Mifflin Harcourt:

Birdsong made easy to understand, lavishly illustrated with color photos, and accompanied by more than 700 online recordings

From a leading expert, Birdsong for the Curious Naturalist is a basic, how-to guide that teaches anyone—from beginner to advanced birder—how to listen. In understandable and appealing language, Kroodsma explains why and how birds sing, what various calls mean, and what to listen for from the birds around us. The descriptions are accompanied by color photos of the birds, as well as QR codes that link to an online collection of more than 700 recordings. With these resources, readers are prepared to recognize bird sounds and the birds that make them. Kroodsma encourages readers to find the joy of birdsong and curiosity—to observe, listen intently, be curious, ask questions, and realize that many unanswered questions about birdsong don’t have to rely on scientists for answers but can be answered by any curious naturalist.

No one writes about birdsong better than Donald Kroodsma. This book is the perfect introduction to it for birders or, as the title suggests, ‘curious naturalists’. The many sounds referenced in it are available on its website – birdsongforthecurious.com. Check it out to hear – and read a bit – what it’s all about.

Birdsong for the Curious Naturalist: Your Guide to Listening
by Donald Kroodsma
Hardcover; 208 pages
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; March 10, 2020
ISBN: 9781328919113
$27.00

Buy from Buteo Books
(based in the U.S.)

Buy from NHBS
(based in the U.K.)

There’s already quite an impressive selection of bird books set to be published in 2020. Here are the ones that have caught my eye.

Apparently, 2020 is the Year of the Bird-Behavior-and/or-Senses Book. These topics are endlessly fascinating, so I’m certainly not complaining. I’m really looking forward to all of these:

• What It’s Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing–What Birds Are Doing, and Why
  by David Allen Sibley
  April 14, 2020; Knopf

  This is quite the unexpected title from Sibley, known mostly for his field guides. But this sounds really cool. Plus – life-size paintings! (“For most species, the primary illustration is reproduced life-sized”, according to the publisher’s description.)

• Peterson Reference Guide to Bird Behavior
  by John Kricher
  September 1, 2020; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

  I was really excited to see this one coming; the Peterson Reference Guide series has been consistently great.

• Bird Senses: How and What Birds See, Hear, Smell, Taste, and Feel
  by Graham R. Martin
  July 31, 2020; Pelagic Publishing

  Pelagic Publishing has put out some great books, so I have every reason to be optimistic about this one.

• The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think
  by Jennifer Ackerman
  May 5, 2020; Penguin Press

  Ackerman’s The Genius of Birds was great, so I have high hopes for this one also.

Field Guides

I didn’t notice very many field guides coming this year, but that’s probably because I either missed them or they haven’t been announced yet. However, a new edition of one of the most popular North American guides is a big deal, and the latest addition to the ABA area is getting lots of love.

• Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, Second Edition
  by Roger Tory Peterson
  April 7, 2020; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

  I can’t believe it’s been almost 12 years since the first edition of this continent-wide version of the Peterson Guide was published. But we won’t have to wait long for the new Western (September 8) and Eastern (October 13) editions. And, what’s more, this will now include Hawaii!

• American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Hawaii
  by Helen and Andre F. Raine, photograhs by Jack Jeffrey
  May 4, 2020; Scott & Nix, Inc.

  This is an excellent state field guide series, it’s great that they’re doing Hawaii.

Texas

Texas is the subject of several books this year, several of which look to be of interest even if you don’t live there.

• Parking Lot Birding: A Fun Guide to Discovering Birds in Texas
  by Jennifer L. Bristol
  April 22, 2020; Texas A&M University Press

  Sounds like a unique bird-finding guide.

• Big Years, Biggest States: Birding in Texas and Alaska
  by Lynn E. Barber
  May 6, 2020; Texas A&M University Press

  I’m a sucker for big-year books. Texas and Alaska should provide quite a contrast.

• A Haven in the Sun: Five Stories of Bird Life and Its Future on the Texas Coast
  by B.C. Robison
  June 10, 2020; Texas Tech University Press

  If you’ve been birding for any time at all, you know the Texas coast is special. This book sounds like an interesting exploration of that place, its birds, and people.

Everything else

• Birdsong for the Curious Naturalist: Your Guide to Listening
  by Donald Kroodsma
  March 10, 2020; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

  An introduction to birdsong, from the best writer on the subject.

• Every Penguin in the World: A Quest to See Them All
  by Charles Bergman
  April 14, 2020; Sasquatch Books

  Who wouldn’t want to see every penguin in the world?

• How Birds Work: An Illustrated Guide to the Wonders of Form and Function ― from Bones to Beak
  by Marianne Taylor
  April 28, 2020; The Experiment

  This just looks really cool.

• New Guinea: Nature and Culture of Earth’s Grandest Island
  by Bruce M. Beehler and photography by Tim Laman
  April 7, 2020; Princeton University Press

  It’s New Guinea. What nature-loving person wouldn’t be enticed by this title?

• Birds of Paradise and Bowerbirds: An Identification Guide
  by Phil Gregory and illustrated by Richard Allen
  February 25, 2020; Princeton University Press

  A new guide to the most famous avian denizens of New Guinea.

• Flights of Passage: An Illustrated Natural History of Bird Migration
  by Mike Unwin and photography by David Tipling
  May 19, 2020; Yale University Press

  This topic + this author + this photographer = one amazing looking book.