Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds: Eastern Region (Stokes Field Guide Series)

The best feature was that each bird was divided by color. So if you see a Wilson's warbler in your backyard but don't know for certain if your call is correct, you can quickly thumb to the "yellow" section of the book and see all the yellow birds. Thus you can quickly confirm your identification.

This book would have limited, or no value to an experienced birder, but for the beginning birder, this is a fine introduction to the hobby of birding.


A Great Basic Bird Watching Guide!   November 25, 2000
Allan M. Gathercoal (Norcross, GA)
30 out of 31 found this review helpful

I am unabashedly a bird lover. Having birds flock to my feeder is among my top simples pleasures of life. The ability to recognize the variety of birds is very rewarding. "Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds" is the best basic bird guide book I yet used to quickly identify birds (Eastern Region). The pressing argument among bird guides is whether you identify birds by size/shape or by color (for a good guide that uses size/shapes see "Focus Guide to the Birds of North America by Kenn Kaufman). Stokes has used plumage color to identify over 100 species. His full color photographs (separate images of male / female) are wonderful. I especially like the tips for attracting birds and the condensed information on habitats and population change. This would be a great gift for a youngster that is inclined towards watching birds and I am sure that any adult would be equally pleased. Highly recommended.


Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds : Eastern Region (Stokes Fi   April 12, 2000
18 out of 19 found this review helpful

I JUST RECEIVED THIS BOOK AND WAS GREATLY PLEASED WITH ALL THE COLOR PHOTOS IT CONTAINED. I HAVE A BACKYARD FEEDER AND MY 5 YEAR OLD NEPHEW AND I ENJOY WATCHING THE VARIOUS BIRDS. ALTHOUGH HE IS ONLY 5, MY NEPHEW IS THRILLED WITH THE BOOK AND THE CHANCE TO BE ABLE TO USE THE PHOTOS TO IDENTIFY THE VARIOUS KINDS OF BIRDS HE HAS SEEN. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE BOOK FOR BEGINNER "BIRD WATCHERS" LIKE US.


Excellent source of quick info!   June 20, 2000
Rene Miller (Portland, Oregon, USA)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

This book is great because it's color-coded which makes it easy to find out what feathered friend just visited our yard. My kids have spent hours poring over the book and now know the names and pertinent data of the birds in our region. I keep this book handy and grab it when I see a bird I don't recognize. Chances are good that it is listed in this book!


Perfect for both novice and experienced bird lovers   February 19, 2007
Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful

My oldest son gave me this for Christmas, and I absolutely love it. I have watched birds for years, and learned to attract them from my wife, knowledge that I transferred to my office with a deck overlooking a very large pond that has its own heron. This book sits on the office kitchen table overlooking the range of feeders (two suets, one peanut butter, one standard feeder, and three trays for bluebird worms, bluejay peanuts, and ground-feeder mixed nuts. Two water features, one of them running water.

This lovely little book has first-class photos (and as one reviewer pointed out, is organized by color with the color visible on the edge of the book), and provides short blurbs on appearance, song, preferred areas, and nests, as well as on attracting them--what to put out. Also a regional diagram that is helpful is distinguishing between birds common to the north east versus the south east.

We just participated in the national bird count, and this book surprised me with something I did not know: the difference between the downy woodpecker and the hairy woodpecker (only difference is the latter's longer bill).

This is a great portable reference and from my point of view, the best possible bird book to give to anyone with an interest in observing and attracting birds (provided they live in the Eastern United States).