A Field Guide to the Photographic Field Guides of North America

	Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America	National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Birds of North America	Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America	Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern AND Western*	National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds – Eastern Region**
Author	Ted Floyd	Edward S. Brinkley	Kenn Kaufman	Donald and Lillian Stokes	John Bull and John Farrand, Jr.
Publish date	May, 2008	May, 2007	September, 2000***	1996	September, 1994
Price (MSRP)	$24.95	$19.95	$18.95	$17.99	$19.95
Size (width x height x thickness)	6″ x 8″ x 1 1/4″	4 3/4″ x 7 3/4″ x 1 3/8″	4 3/4″ x 7 3/4″ x 3/4″	5″ x 8 1/8″ x 7/8″; 5″ x 8 3/8″ x 1″	4″ x 7 1/2″ x 1 1/4″
Weight	2 lb. (with disc and booklet removed)	1 lb., 13 oz	1 lb., 1 oz	1 lb., 5 oz; 1 lb., 8 oz	1 lb., 4 oz
# pages	522	530	384	496; 544	800
# species	750+	~760	749	unspecified, but I would guess 450; 500	508
Species per page – min/max/avg	1 / 3 / <2	1 / 3 / <2	2 / 8 / >4	1 / 2 / ~1	2 / 3 / ~2.5
Photos per species – min/max/avg	1/ 10 / 2-3	1 / 10 / ~3	1 / 8 / ~2.7	1 / 4 / ~2	1 / 2 / 1.27
Plate layout	Pics and text on same page; species arranged both vertically and horizontally	Pics and text on same page; species arranged horizontally	Birds shown on the right-hand page, with species accounts on facing page	Pics and text on same page	Photographs together in their own section, accounts in back half
Captions	Captions in the margins with sex/age; identification notes; place and time taken	Captions within the image with sex/age and identification notes	Pointers to important field marks, a la Peterson	Captions under each image with sex/age	Captions under each image with sex/age, length, page # for species account
Species order	“closely” follows AOU taxonomic order	AOU taxonomic order, with some modifications to group similar birds	AOU taxonomic order (outdated now), with modifications to group similar birds	AOU taxonomic order (outdated now)	Shape, then by color or pattern
Topography diagrams	Duck, songbird, raptor perched, raptor in flight above and below, gull, shorebird in flight	With both photos and line drawing based on that photo – 2 different perched songbirds, closeup of sparrow’s head, gull in flight both above and below	Songbird, close-up of head, raptor in flight	Songbird, generic underwing	One (very poor) perched songbird
Range maps	Color; breeding, winter, resident, migration, and rare	Color; breeding, winter, resident, migration, and rare	Color; breeding, winter, resident, migration; with lighter shades for all 3 indicating rare	Color; breeding, winter, resident	Black-and-white; breeding, winter, resident
Family intros	Usually a full-page	1/2 – 2 pages	short paragraph – 2 pages	Some of the more difficult to ID families get a 2-page intro	short to mid-sized paragraph
Species accounts	Length, wingspan, and weight Variation (molt, age, sex, seasonal, and other) Habitat and ecology Voice	Length and wingspan in inches and centimeters Habitat and habits Voice	Habitat and habits Identification notes Voice	Identification notes Feeding Nesting Other behavior Habitat Voice Conservation	Description Voice Habitat Nesting Range Various notes

Notes:
* Where the eastern and western editions differ, a semi-colon separates the values, and the eastern data is given first.
** There is also one for the Western region, but I do not have the revised edition so I am not including it here. Originally published in 1977, these guides were revised in 1994. They have been reprinted many times since then with different covers, but as far as I know, the content has not changed.
*** I’ve got the original version with the Scarlet Tanager on the cover. It has since been republished with the cover seen here. I’m not aware of any updates to the content, but there are now 8 more pages. The info here is from the version that I have.

Recommendation

The choice of which field guide to use is highly personal. As long as the guide meets certain requirements, foremost among which is that it actually helps you identify birds, there are no “wrong” choices. Thus, what I say here is only my personal opinion.

Well, there is one wrong choice. Don’t bother with the Audubon field guide. This guide will always have a place on my shelf because it was my first field guide as a kid. But that’s the only reason. The organization just does not work. And while some of the pictures are fantastic, there are not enough of them for most species. Need help with a raptor you saw in flight? This guide won’t help – most raptors are only shown perched.

The Stokes include more kinds of information than the other guides, and the layout is simple and uncluttered. Thus, it is most appropriate for kids or those who may want to look up a bird now and then. It does not include enough illustrations of most species for use as a primary field guide. And, like the Audubon guides, it is too out-of-date in terms of taxonomy.

Of all of these, the Kaufman is probably the best choice for use as a first field guide. It is simple, and for the most part has enough pictures of each species.

The NWF and Smithsonian guides are extremely similar. The species included, number of photos per species, range maps, and layout are almost identical. The Smithsonian is slightly wider, taller, and heavier, but is correspondingly thinner. A bonus DVD of bird songs is also included with the Smithsonian (full review of the Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America). They are both good, and I would recommend either.

The Kaufman, NWF, and Smithsonian are all worthy field guides. Check out those three to see which would be the best for you. Personally, if I could keep just one it would be the Smithsonian. It and the NWF book are both great, but the DVD puts it over the edge for me.

Posted by Grant McCreary on June 9th, 2008.