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Index of Subjects --bcaec553ff3c12ea8004d2941bd3 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Hi, I'll weigh in on this one. There are now 4 or 5 good field guides to birds that are applicable to NS. Some have photos, others have more stylized paintings. At least 2 have combinations of both. IMHO the 2 best are the latest NGS, and Sibley's. Both have stylized paintings. I feel that those give a much better impression than a photo, A relative beginner might find the sheer numbers of pictures and paintings in each daunting, but on the other hand, there are many winter plumaged, female and imm. birds that are seen here, that are just not illustrated in less comprehensive guides, and therefore less experienced observers may think that a bird they have seen is some extreme rarity , or "isn't in the book", when it is if you use the right book. I peronally feel that taking the trouble to use a comprehensive field guide properly is much better in the long run than superficially using a dumbed down one, except perhaps for an absolute beginner. Just as important as which guide to use, is how to use it properly. All the guides have preliminary chapters on how to go about identifying a bird, what to look for when you think you have a rarity, etc. It's essential to read these. I would also recommend Sibley's Birding Basics, a non-field guide, but which explains the principles of bird ID extremely well. Some of the guides also now come as smart phone apps, and they have 2 advantages if you already have a smart phone - one is, it's always with you. The other is that they come with audible vocalisations that you can play, and are much better than written descriptions of calls and songs. There is a couple locally who are friends of mine, and they have recently caught the birding bug, have started to put up feeders, and are still at the stage of great excitement when they have IDd a Junco or Evening Grosbeak. They asked the same question - which is the "best" bird guide. I recommended the Iphone/ Ipad version of Sibley's, for the above reasons, and they are getting along very nicely with it. It is always my "go to" field guide when I need one. There's nothing wrong with Peterson, but IMHO Sibley's is the best, with the latest NGS being a close 2nd. Hope this helps, Richard On Sat, Jan 5, 2013 at 7:54 PM, Sean Dzafovic <sdzafovic@gmail.com> wrote: > Is there a consensus on the "best" birding guide? I have the Peterson > Guide to Birds of North America, but I read of many people on this > list referring to Sibley's. > > Thanks, > Sean Dzafovic > -- ################# Richard Stern, Port Williams, NS, Canada sternrichard@gmail.com ################### --bcaec553ff3c12ea8004d2941bd3 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi,<br><br>I'll weigh in on this one. <br><br>There are now 4 or 5 good= field guides to birds that are applicable to NS. Some have photos, others = have more stylized paintings. At least 2 have combinations of both. IMHO th= e 2 best are the latest NGS, and Sibley's. Both have stylized paintings= . I feel that those give a much better impression than a photo, A relative = beginner might find the sheer numbers of pictures and paintings in each dau= nting, but on the other hand, there are many winter plumaged, female and im= m. birds that are seen here, that are just not illustrated in less comprehe= nsive guides, and therefore less experienced observers may think that a bir= d they have seen is some extreme rarity , or "isn't in the book&qu= ot;, when it is if you use the right book. I peronally feel that taking the= trouble to use a comprehensive field guide properly is much better in the = long run than superficially using a dumbed down one, except perhaps for an = absolute beginner.<br> <br>Just as important as which guide to use, is how to use it properly. All= the guides have preliminary chapters on how to go about identifying a bird= , what to look for when you think you have a rarity, etc. It's essentia= l to read these. I would also recommend Sibley's Birding Basics, a non-= field guide, but which explains the principles of bird ID extremely well. <= br> <br>Some of the guides also now come as smart phone apps, and they have 2 a= dvantages if you already have a smart phone - one is, it's always with = you. The other is that they come with audible vocalisations that you can pl= ay, and are much better than written descriptions of calls and songs.<br> <br>There is a couple locally who are friends of mine, and they have recent= ly caught the birding bug, have started to put up feeders, and are still at= the stage of great excitement when they have IDd a Junco or Evening Grosbe= ak. They asked the same question - which is the "best" bird guide= . I recommended the Iphone/ Ipad version of Sibley's, for the above rea= sons, and they are getting along very nicely with it. It is always my "= ;go to" field guide when I need one. There's nothing wrong with Pe= terson, but IMHO Sibley's is the best, with the latest NGS being a clos= e 2nd.<br> <br>Hope this helps,<br><br>Richard<br><br><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On Sa= t, Jan 5, 2013 at 7:54 PM, Sean Dzafovic <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a href=3D"m= ailto:sdzafovic@gmail.com" target=3D"_blank">sdzafovic@gmail.com</a>></s= pan> wrote:<br> <blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1p= x #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Is there a consensus on the "best"= birding guide? I have the Peterson<br> Guide to Birds of North America, but I read of many people on this<br> list referring to Sibley's.<br> <br> Thanks,<br> Sean Dzafovic<br> </blockquote></div><br><br clear=3D"all"><br>-- <br>#################<br>Ri= chard Stern, <br>Port Williams, NS, Canada<br><a href=3D"mailto:sternrichar= d@gmail.com" target=3D"_blank">sternrichard@gmail.com</a><br>##############= ##### --bcaec553ff3c12ea8004d2941bd3--
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Index of Subjects