In 2000 Houghton Mifflin first published the Kaufman Focus Guide to the Birds of North America. Critically acclaimed for its innovative design, the Kaufman guide began introducing a new generation to birding. In 2005, this new Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America is now the most up-to-date field guide, including dozens of changes by the American Ornithologists’ Union in official names of birds; the addition of new species to reflect the latest scientific discoveries; and dozens of updated range maps. Additional information helps beginning birdwatchers get started, all in the same compact format that has made this guide the easiest to use for fast identification in the field.World-renowned birder Kenn Kaufman addresses a long-running paradox of bird field guides with his Focus Guide. While beginning birdwatchers prefer photographic guides like those by Donald Stokes, the physical traits that make identification easier are more readily discerned in the idealized paintings of illustrative guides like those by Roger Tory Peterson and National Geographic. Kaufman’s groundbreaking work combines the best of both approaches by digitally enhancing photographic images to show the characteristics that are sometimes not apparent in photographs.
Some other distinguishing features include: The guide is organized by bird family groupings rather than strict taxonomic classification; this is a feature that will appeal especially to beginners. Text descriptions and range maps for each species appear on the page facing the plate of respective bird images. Important field marks are highlighted. Color-coded tabs identify each grouping of birds (waders, warblers, sparrows, etc.) for quick thumb indexing. Kaufman’s efforts follow the auspicious tradition of Roger Tory Peterson, whose portable field guide system was the first of its kind to meet the needs of the average birdwatcher. “It’s the guide I’ve always wanted,” says Kaufman, “and I suspect most birders will feel the same way.”
Product Features
- FIELD GUIDE TO BIRDS OF N.A.
My favorite of several birding guides! In addition to this guide, I have the National Geographic, the Audubon pocket guide and the 3-volume set, the Peterson Guide, and the Golden Books Guide. While the Sibley Guides have a strong following, I find them more difficult to read with my aging eyes. The Kaufman Field Guide is the one I carry on birding trips. I like the digitally edited photos with several pictures of most species. I find the range maps helpful and easy to read, and the narrative sufficient for a field guide. The…
Portable and easy to use for beginning birders… The book is one of the more portable guides to have in the field. The field guide uses photos in lieu of illustrations of the birds to aid in their identification. For a beginning birder, photos are probably less intimidating, as this is what birds will most often look like when seen in the field. However, as birders become more advanced, illustrations can provide a more complete picture of the bird with most of the field marks that one might find when IDing some of the more difficult birds…
A welcome addition to any birding guides you may be using This is not the most expensive field guide book I have (I have Sibley, Stokes, National Geographic, Peterson Guides and a few birding apps) but it is the most unique of them and I like it for its own qualities.