Ann H. Whitman

This is a handy, pocket sized version of the Audubon field guide. It features about 80 birds with a full page picture each, and is geared for the least experienced birders. Each bird has a description, range map, (though not colored, on cross hatched) and other descriptors copied from the full version. I actually have two editions of this guide in my office, the 2003 and the 1992 editions; other than the outside cover, I can tell no difference between the two, even the pagination is the same.

My biggest problem with this guide is the arrangement. It is taxinomic, much like the full guide, but there is no distinction where the classes change or what they are. As such, a learner would have to flip through the guide to find what they are looking for, and an experienced birder, who knows the taxonomy, doesn't have any need for a guide of the most common birds.… (mehr)