Changes in 7th Edition of National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America

National Geographic recently published a new edition of their popular bird field guide. As always, this new edition incorporates new species (1,023, up from 990) and the latest taxonomic updates (as of 2016), but also has a range of other changes and improvements. Most of these are new, replacement illustrations. In this case, new is improved – these are all definite improvements. The maps have also been extensively updated, with 50+ new range maps (vagrants, i.e. Smew), 16 new subspecies maps, and “hundreds” of updated maps. I’ll offer my thoughts on all of this in my full review. But in the meantime, here are all of the changes to the plates, as best I could tell, whether they be new species, new or replacement illustrations, or changes to the annotated notes.

Egyptian Goose – new (moved from Exotic Waterfowl to main section)
Tundra and Trumpeter Swams – bills of the juveniles are more pink, and Tundra has a new note that there is “extensive pink at base of bill on juvenile”
“Mexican Duck” – added note that female is similar to male and both lack dark saddle on bill. Nice addition since only the male is illustrated
American x Eurasian Wigeon hybrid – new
Harlequin Duck – new notes on female
Common Merganser – new illustration of the head of displaying “Goosander” adult male
Swan Goose – addition to Exotic Waterfowl
Graylag Goose – moved from Exotic Waterfowl to Accidentals section
Sooty Grouse – new illustrations of displaying male sitkensis and hooting male howardi
Rock Ptarmigan – new illustration of Attu evermanni summer male
American Flamingo – new illustrations of Lesser, Greater, and Chilean Flamingos
Jouanin’s Petrel – new
Providence Petrel – new
Zino’s Petrel – new
Flesh-footed Shearwater – replaced illustration; added illustrations of one taking off and one sitting on water (with comparison to Heermann’s Gull)
Manx Shearwater – in-flight top view illustration replaced; one of the in-flight bottom views removed
Audubon’s Shearwater – both in-flight illustrations replaced; added 2 illustrations of birds on the water
Barolo Shearwater – split from Little Shearwater. Previous illustrations of Little replaced; added bird on the water
Nazca Booby – new
Tricolored Heron – new illustration of in-flight breeding adult (very needed addition)
Little Blue Heron – new illustration of in-flight adult
Green Heron – replaced in-flight illustration
Osprey – new illustration of ridgwayi
Mississippi Kite – in-flight illustrations have been replaced and an in-flight 1st summer added
Swainson’s Hawk – in-flight illustrations have been replaced and an in-flight juvenile added
White-tailed Hawk – added in-flight 2nd year
Ferruginous Hawk – replaced in-flight adults and juvenile
Rough-legged Hawk – replaced in-flight adults, and totally new annotations
American Kestrel – added in-flight female
Prairie Falcon – replaced in-flight image
Peregrine Falcon – replaced in-flight adult, added in-flight juvenile
Gyrfalcon – replaced in-flight image
Limpkin – added in-flight
Yellow Rail – replaced in-flight image
Black Rail – replaced image
Sora – added in-flight juvenile
Corn Crake – added in-flight
Ridgway’s Rail – added Bay Area obsoletus
Clapper Rail – added worn adult
Common Gallinule – replaced the breeding and juvenile images, added inset of the head of Eurasian Moorhen adult breeding
Sandhill Crane – replaced in-flight image
Common Crane – replaced in-flight image
Little Gull – juvenile added
Bonaparte’s Gull – juvenile added
Franklin’s Gull – juvenile added
Heermann’s Gull – juvenile added
Yellow-legged Gull – added 2nd winter
Bridled / Sooty Terns – added detailed comparison of adult heads
Caspian Tern – juvenile added
Elegant Tern – juvenile added
Common Murre – winter replaced, juvenile removed
Pigeon Guillemot – in-flight winter adult replaced (mislabeled as breeding in 6th ed.); breeding adult in flight added
Cassin’s Auklet – both illustrations replaced
Ancient Murrelet – all illustrations replaced
Guadalupe / Scripps’s / Craveri’s Murrelets – all illustrations replaced and new ones, such as close-ups of heads, added
Atlantic Puffin – in-flight replaced
Band-tailed Pigeon – juvenile (head-only) added
Common Ground-dove – all illustrations replaced, with new ones added
Ruddy Ground-dove – all illustrations replaced, with new ones added
Ruddy Quail-dove – both images replaced
Greater Roadrunner – image replaced, in-flight illustration added
Long-eared Owl – added in-flight and Eurasian otus ssp
Short-eared Owl – added illustration of domingensis (Carribean ssp)
Northern Saw-whet Owl – added brooksi ssp
Common Pauraque – replaced both sitting and in-flight birds
Mexican Whip-poor-will – replaced image
Elegant Trogon – juvenile added
Hummingbirds – ALL replaced (except for Lucifer) and many new images and details added
American Three-toed Woodpecker – Rocky Mountain male replaced with a female
Northern Flicker – added image of intergrade male Red-shafted x Yellow-shafted
Pine Flycatcher – new species
Eastern Kingbird – adult and in-flight replaced, juvenile missing
Thick-billed Kingbird – both images replaced
Great Kiskadee – perched bird replaced
White-eyed Vireo – inset of an immature added
Blue-headed Vireo – replaced, added female
Cassin’s / Plumbeous / Gray Vireo – all replaced
Yellow-green Vireo – replaced, immature added
Black-whiskered Vireo – replaced, added altiloquus
Blue Jay – added in-flight
Florida Scrub-jay – image replaced
Yellow-billed Magpie – added juvenile
Purple Martin – all images replaced except for western female in flight
Northern Rough-winged Swallow – all illustrations replaced
Bank Swallow – all illustrations replaced
White-breasted Nuthatch – images replaced, added male aculeate
Rock Wren – replaced
Cactus Wren – added saniegensis
Winter Wren – illustration darkened
Sinaloa Wren – added (moved from Accidental section)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – added female obscura
Willow Warbler – added fall illustration
Artic Warbler – fall xanthodryas removed (7th ed. Informs us that ssp is now split as Japanese Leaf Warbler, which is unrecorded in N.A.)
Common Chiffchaff – added
Wood Warbler and Pallas’s Leaf Warbler – added (moved from Accidental section)
Bluebirds – all lightened up
Aztec Thrush – all replaced
Gray Catbird – lightened
Blue Mockingbird – lightened a bit
Brown / Long-billed Thrasher – both replaced
Common Myna – added in-flight
Eastern Yellow Wagtail – removed juvenile
White Wagtail – added breeding male alba
Bohemian Waxwing – adut replaced, added centralasiae and in-flight
Cedar Waxwing – added in-flight
Lonspurs – added wing tip detail for each species
Magnolia Warbler – all replaced
Black-throated Gray Warbler – added immature female
Cerulean Warbler – added fall immature male
Red-legged Honeycreeper – new
Rufous-crowned Sparrow – the interior and coastal adults have been replaced, southwestern scottii added, and juvenile image retained, but darkened a little
Field Sparrow – all illustrations replaced
Bell’s / Sagebrush Sparrows – added illustrations of outer tail feathers
Fox Sparrow – all replaced except for “Red” (which was new in 6th), “Sooty” townsendi added
Pine Bunting – new (moved from Accidentals and added female and breeding male)
Yellow-browed Bunting – new (moved from Accidentals and added spring male)
Yellow-throated Bunting – new (moved from Accidentals and added female)
Flame-colored x Western Tanager hybrid – new
Red-winged Blackbird – the 3 female images are replaced
Tricolored Blackbird – female replaced
Orchard Oriole – breeding male fuertesi added
Brown-capped Rosy-finch – male replaced
Pine Siskin – added green morph
Hawfinch – breeding male replaced, fall/winter female added
Northern Red Bishop – (renamed from Orange Bishop) female replaced
Pin-tailed Whydah – new
Bronze Mannikin – new
Tricolored Munia – new