In their main field guide, they mostly have three photos per page, which means each photo is much smaller, and all the photos are lumped together in a separate photo section, with all the text lumped together in a separate text section, so you have to flip back and forth. Not good, in the field, when time is of the essence because a bird can be there one moment and gone the next.

I often wonder if the photos were digitally taken and manipulated on a computer, or if film was used, and the photographer used a filter over the lens. Some of the background colors look a little artificial, and while polarizing filters are supposed to eliminate excess glare, it sometimes appears that they also distort color. This isn’t good when you’re trying to get an accurate ID by coloration of plumage and markings. I can understand the aesthetic motives behind it, but it hinders especially beginning birders when they need clear and correct references for visual IDing.

In some field guide photos, the angle and lighting are such that the field markings don’t show up that well, or the size and shape of the bird looks distorted. This is why I like guides that have accurate paintings of the birds in addition to the ones that have photos. Nature artists, as a whole, seem to strive for the best possible accuracy while simultaneiously maintaining good aesthetics.

This is why it pays to have several different field guides — if one isn’t helpful, another will be.

I’d recommend the Sibley over Peterson and the others because it is so rich. Like a good movie you may find more each time you look at it and a particular species account. I began with Peterson and it might be if I went back to it I’d also find things I’d missed before. My guess is that I probably would. But right now I’d still go with the Sibley, though one of the individual books not the combined one. The wealth of info, AND great drawings, is just an unbeatable mix.

I also can’ t recommend highly enough Sibley’s Birding Basics for someone who has just birded for a few years. The section on feathers includes informativel drawings and also extremely useful information on how the appearance of birds changes based on molt, feather wear, weather, etc. Eventually most serious birders come to this understanding through experience. But for beginners my guess is that it’s nice to be told about it early on.

I wanted to add a book that has helped me ID more birds (especially Hawks, fyi) than any other book - let me clarify though - as a relative beginner, living in Sf bay area (now in Portland, OR).

The book is called Sierra Birds - A Hikers Guide, by John Muir Laws. It’s a small book-great size for hiking, birds arranged by color mostly for quick field reference. The illustrations are fantastic - the birds look alive - they have texture! The images have pointers showing field marks (”Peterson style”) and great field tips for ID. A specialized guide - not all inclusive, but for a specific, small region. In any case many of the birds featured are found and even common in many regions.

FYI J. Laws is a fellow at the California Academy of Sciences in SF, a great teacher, artist and naturalist. He is currently working on other Sierra Field Guides for plants, mammals, etc…

I still have the old, dog-eared Little Golden Book of Birds that I referred to as a kid. And when I was very small, I had a series of hard-covered, postcard-sized bird books that came with solid-colored covers in green, red, blue and gold. They may have been the fifties versions of Audubon pocketbooks, I no longer recall. I think each one dealt with different categories such as seabirds and waterfowl, raptors, songbirds, woodpeckers, etc. Don’t know what ever happened to those.

I guess I have or have had so many different bird books that I just never bothered to obtain Peterson’s or Sibley’s. I know I should.

I have the National Geographic Field Guide, and it’s okay, but way too heavy and cumbersome to use in the field.

Since I live in Idaho, I have a special field guide of just Idaho birds, titled, BIRDS OF IDAHO, by Stan Tekiela. I have a problem with some of the photos in it, too.

You haven’t commented on the Stokes Field guides. Some birders find these pretty good. What is your opinion of them?

I haven’t gotten either Petersons or Sibleys, but after reading your comments, I might invest in both of these, then after using them, decide which is best for my field experiences.

I also have a very large coffee table book that my grandparents got me when I was a pre-teen. It has huge, beautiful color plates in it, and I know that it is somewhat outdated, now, but generally remains reasonably accurate. It’s great reading and viewing at home.

Thank you for your article. And thanks for the link to it on the google ebird groups forum. My user name, there, is Larklady.