A Field Guide to Western Birds: A Completely New Guide to Field Marks of All Species Found in North America West of the 100th Meridian and North of Mexico (Peterson Field Guides (R))

This book is outstanding. It relies on illustrations rather than photographs to show markings and other details used to ID birds in the field. I find that photos are often sub-standard, not showing characters essential for identifying birds due to the position of the bird, markings of the individual chosen for inclusion in the book, etc.

In this book each entry includes a bird's common and scientific names, a brief physical description of the body and coloration, a drawing(s) of the bird, a brief description of habitats where they are likely to be seen, a blip about their geographic distribution, notes on their song, and reference to similar species (if any). The entry also refers the reader to a map number that shows the summer and winter ranges for each bird.

This is "the bird book" to have for western birds for the novice and experienced birder alike. If you've never had much luck figuring out which birds you are looking at try this book.

5 stars only because that's the highest rating possible.

Note: if you travel much throughout the USA, you ought to pick up the Peterson Guide to Eastern Birds as well -- it is the sister book to this one. With both of those books in hand you will be in good birding shape.

Alan Holyoak, Dept of Biology, Manchester College, IN


A superb guide for all birdwatchers, especially new ones.   May 1, 1999
34 out of 34 found this review helpful

Often called the birdwatcher's "bible," Roger Tory Peterson's Field Guides revolutionized bird identification and started a series of books on everything from Atmosphere to Wildflowers. It is still one of the best tools for bird identification, especially for those just learning how to recognize different birds. Its text is straightforward, consistent, and well-organized, and the illustrations are unsurpassed. Taxonomic (name and species) changes will come and go, and no book is going to be able to keep up with all of them for very long. Fall birding will always be challenging, but this is still the best book to have if you only want to carry one.


Definitive & His Crowning Achievement   July 31, 1999
28 out of 28 found this review helpful

This is the late Mr Peterson's best book and his most beautiful. The information supplied here is exhaustive. The paintings are worth the price of admission alone. Each picture is beautiful and so full of detail that even photographers might have a difficult time duplicating them. Also, the paintings serve as better illustration of field marks than photography. This is a grand book for the beginning birder and experienced birder alike. *****


Good, but incomplete and becoming obsolete.   April 2, 1999
Steve Sosensky (steves@loop.com) (Los Angeles, California)
15 out of 19 found this review helpful

Once considered the best of the North American field guides, this book is rapidly losing ground. With the impending release of the new National Geographic Society (NGS) field guide, Western Birds is showing its age. This book was last updated in 1990 and is missing many of the recent species splits, renames, and taxonomic changes. Its other major drawback is the many missing eastern vagrants included in guides like the NGS, which covers the entire continent north of Mexico. Carrying Western Birds instead of NGS during fall migration will leave the west coast birder at a disadvantage.