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Publishers seem determined to test the maxim that you can’t have too many field guides. But who am I kidding? If these have new content, then I’ll be getting them!

• Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America
  Ted Floyd
  May 27, 2008

  Details are available from ABA Sales. This sounds very intriguing, especially the CD with 576 MP3s (from 136 species). And all for less than $20!

• Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America
  Roger Tory Peterson
  August 28, 2008

  This will probably combine the previously separate eastern and western editions. Also, it appears that with purchase of the book you get access to a website where you can view video podcasts.

• National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America
  National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America
  Jon L. Dunn and Jonathan Alderfer
  October 21, 2008

  I assume these will just be regional versions of the current 5th edition of the full North American guide. That guide isn’t nearly as large as the full Sibley Guide, so I’m not sure these new versions are justified unless they will have further updates or some new content.

Here are some bird book and product reviews from magazines and journals published in February, 2008.

If you are aware of any more, please reply to this post below.

I found these while browsing through Amazon (yes, I’m pretty much always looking for books!). I’ve already ordered some of them since I couldn’t find new or used copies for cheaper anywhere else, especially given the free shipping for orders over $25.
Note: Birders and Club George are remaindered/bargain books and thus may have either a sticker on the cover or a black mark along the bottom. But they are new. The copy of Club George I received was a hardcover and had a easily removable sticker over the UPC on the back.

• Bird Songs From Around the World: Featuring Songs of 200 Birds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology – $21.99 (51% off) $20.89 now $29.70
  by Les Beletsky
• Birders: Tales of a Tribe – $3.99 No longer available
  by Mark Cocker
• Club George: The Diary of a Central Park Bird-Watcher – $3.99
  by Bob Levy
• Good Birders Don’t Wear White: 50 Tips From North America’s Top Birders – $4.38 $3.22
  edited by Lisa White
• Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America – $4.07 $10.26
  by Kenn Kaufman and Jim P. Brock
• Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America – $3.87 $3.79 $12.89
  by Kenn Kaufman and Eric R. Eaton

I’m a latecomer to the world of blogs, and I’m not sure why. I guess I just thought of them as personal vanity sites. I was wrong (well, at least about the ones that I now read regularly). There is a great wealth of content and information available in them.

I’ve found many great bird-related blogs, and most of them also post book reviews and news. Here are all of the ones that I’ve found so far. If they have a category for reviews the links will take you directly there, otherwise to the main page. These have also been added to the Links page.

• Rick Wright’s Aimophila Adventures – There are many excellent reviews here.
• 10,000 Birds – Not sure how often new ones are published, but they have an extensive archive.
• A DC Birding Blog – Lots of great, in-depth reviews here.
• Birdfreak: The Bird Conservation Blog
• Birds Etcetera – I couldn’t find a review category, but there has been at least one. It’s a great blog, regardless.
• Born Again Bird Watcher – Has regular overviews of the contents of several birding magazines. Also a great blog.
• The Hawk Owl’s Nest – Posts book news every so often, but not sure if there have been any reviews.
• birdingnet – The author of this new website has just started posting book reviews.

If anyone is aware of any others please let me know!

Periodically I’ll post “Review Roundups” where I’ll link to new book reviews that others have written or list the reviews that have been published in recent magazines.

• The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman’s Fight to Save the World’s Most Beautiful Bird
  Bruce Barcott
  February 5, 2008

  Book titles and cover copy are often flush with hyperbole. Which bird deserves the title “World’s Most Beautiful” is debateable and subjective. But I’m not going to argue with the publisher of this book. I’ve been fortunate enough to see some wild Scarlet Macaws and they are easily the most spectacular creatures that I have yet to see.

• Flights Against the Sunset: Stories that Reunited a Mother and Son
  Kenn Kaufman
  April 21, 2008

  Sweet, a new book from Kenn Kaufman!

  Book Description (from Amazon.com):
  In a moving story about a son’s relationship with his mother, a world-famous birder relates the essence of his passion for nature.

  At the age of sixteen, Kenn Kaufman left home to travel the world in search of birds. Now a grown man and a renowned ornithologist, he has come back to visit his ailing mother and to try to explain to her what drove his obsession with birdlife. His explanation takes the form of a series of interlocking tales from the frontier where the world of birds intersects with the world of the humans who pursue them. The stories range over settings from Alaska to Africa, from trackless jungles to parking lots. They delve into subjects from first dates to last rites, from imagination and desire to sleep deprivation, from poignant encounters with eternal mysteries to comical brushes with biker gangs and secret agents. But as the stories unfold, the ornithologist comes to realize that he can still learn some things from his mother, about life and even about the meaning of birds.

  Flights Against the Sunset brings together nineteen of Kenn Kaufman’s best essays from his long-running column in Bird Watcher’s Digest. They are woven into an original story that examines how we communicate about our passions with those who do not share the same level of interest, and that celebrates the world of infinite possibilities and wonder.

To See Every Bird on Earth: A Father, a Son, and a Lifelong Obsession, by Dan Koeppel

I have yet to read this book, but I just jumped on this deal and it will be added to my queue of books to read.

• Paperback – $4.99 at Amazon.com No longer available
• Hardcover – $6.99 at Amazon.com

Welcome to the new, and hopefully vastly improved, Birder’s Library. I have built this new version using the wonderful WordPress blogging software. While I suppose that technically makes this site a blog now, the purpose and basic functionality of the site has not changed. But it will make it much more convenient and easy for me to post reviews and updates.

And it also allowed me to add some really cool features that I wanted to include from the beginning:

• Reader’s Rating – site users can now give the item their own rating, in the standard 5 star format.
• Comments – readers can leave a response to reviews and any other post. Feel free to comment on the review itself, on the item being reviewed, or anything else related to the post.
• Subscribe to posts and/or comments – posts and comments are available on a RSS feed. You can use special sites or software to view them, as explained here. If you subscribe you will never miss a post and won’t have to keep checking the website for new content.

So take a look around and test out some of the new features. Then please let me know how you like the changes. And most definitely make me aware of any issues or problems you have viewing or using the site. You can do so by submitting a response to this post, or by emailing me at the address on the contact page.