Birding book?

[Faltorvo]

Hello all.  

I have the soft covered  Lone pine field guide "Birds of Ontario" by Andy Bezener.

I'm wondering if anyone has a suggestion on another bird ID book?

What i am looking for is a book that also concentrates on Ontario birds but it uses actual photos instead of Lithograph mock ups.

I'm not looking for a "pretty bird" picture book but a proper ID guide that uses photos.

[KPaw]

Faltorvo, my fave is The ROM Field Guide to Birds of Ontario by Janice M. Hughes.   Info and pics are both excellent, in my opinion at least.  All birders have their favorite types of books so hard to recommend but I always go back to this one..

[Anonymous]

Smithsonian Filed Guide To North American Birds

Very, very good photos plus a CD of bird songs / calls and photos.

[Mathew Rossi]

I'd second the Smithsonian guide, and my second fav is the ROM guide.

[TomTelford]

I also use the Smithsonian Guide first.

Tom.

[Anonymous]

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America - find that the painted pictures of the birds are quite accurate and each species of bird comes with a map that outlines its range during winter, summer, year-round, migration, and rarely seen locations.  I find it will also fit into a jacket pocket and/or fanny or side bag which I've seen some birders carrying.

Cost is $29.95 at any Chapters.

To echo comments in this thread, you'll need to find what is good for you and not necessarily what the general population uses.  

[Bird Brain]

To echo comments in this thread, you'll need to find what is good for you and not necessarily what the general population uses.  

Attila ... Yes, I agree with that 100%!

Faltorvo ... I would suggest that you go to Chapters, sit down and take a good look through various field guides - see which one you like best.  Find out which one matches you!  

Jo-Anne  

[silverfoxx]

Roger Tory Peterson devised a great system of simplified illustrations for identifying birds and I'd always thought his books were the standard. I've used my Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America for over 40 years. I just recently bought a new soft-cover edition that includes all Birds of North America. The illustrations have been changed to look more realistic, and there are more details and variations – the descriptions are simple and concise aiding in certain identification. You should check this out because there are a lot of advantages to illustrations over photos for I.D. purposes.

By the way I bought it at Birdwatch Nature Shoppe up on Avenue Road - I didn't compare prices I just think its good to support an independent store devoted to birdwatching.

[Anonymous]

I agree with you Attila but what Faltorvo was looking for was a Field Guide showing actual photos.

I also recommend Sibleys for other than photos.

[Jimbo]

Hi: I have a copy of "THE AUDUBON SOCIETY FIELD GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS Eastern Region" This guide has actual photographs of each bird as well as a description plus 'voice'; 'habitat'; 'range'; 'nesting'; information.
This guide is a pocket size guide that I use quite a bit. One disadvantage is that it shows only one plumage phase, usually 'breeding".

JD

[Anonymous]

Norm - sorry, I should have been more clear in stating that I was offering an alternative to one that contains photos of the birds.

In my opinion, and I must repeat, in my OWN opinion, the books that offer photos of the birds don't necessarily have the different stages of plummage found and will simply use adult colour plumes in their reference photos.  This doesn't do much for the birder in the middle of winter when trying to reference juveniles out the ying yang.

Once again, only my opinion.

Please, use whatever suits ya!  

[The Observer]

An excellent series are the books of Chris G. Earley. Although each book in itself is not that large, they are rather specific, so perhaps a bit cumbersome to carry more than one. Books of the series are:
Waterfowl of Eastern North America
Sparrows and Finches of the Great Lakes Region and Eastern North America
Sparrows and Finches of Ontario (Point Pelee National Park Nature Series)
Warblers of the Great Lakes Region and Eastern North America
Hawks and Owls of the Great Lakes Region and Eastern North America

These books contain photos and information for each species: pics and description of adult males and females, pics and description of spring and fall and immature plumages - if distinct, what to listen for, comparison and nature notes, seasonal status, range maps and a one liner description he calls a "Cheat Sheet" of important field notes of each bird. At the back of the book are pictorial comparisons where one might find confusion (ie: Sparrows with Rufous Crown comparison, Purple and House Finch comparison, Redpoll Comparison, Streaked underpart comparison, Unstreaked or Faintly streaked undertpart comparison, etc).

Definitely worth a flip through at Chapters to see if it is what you are looking for.

Good luck!

[Andreas Jonsson]

I've used Ken Kaufman's "Field Guide to Birds of North America" extensively, and I really like it as a complement to Sibley. However, it includes all birds of NA, not only Ontario.

[Brian Bailey]

Is there any particular reason you want a guide that uses photos?  IMHO, good illustrations are a much better ID tool than photos.  There are some popular guides that are poorly illustrated or have a widely varying quality of illustration.  I haven't seen or spent much time with some of the guides mentioned in this thread, but I still think Peterson's is an excellent choice for a beginning or intermediate birder.  Sibleys is the "gold standard", but it's too much detail for a beginner.

One bird book test is to look at birds that you already know well.  Judge for yourself if the photo/illustration is a good representation of the bird.  Can you see the key field marks?  Does the shape and posture look right?

Happy hunting!

BB

[macman_canada]

Hey there the ROM book has great pics and show both male and females for most of the birds... I also use iBird Plus on my iPhone... both are great sources!

macman_canada