American Museum of Natural History Birds of North America

November 1, 2016

This unwieldy, weighty tome from Vuilleumier (curator emeritus, Dept. of Ornithology, American Museum of Natural History) is destined to be of use only on a table in the living room or study. An information-packed single page is devoted to each species, providing information on voice, nesting, feeding, flight pattern, similar species, length, wingspan, weight, status, lifespan, and social characteristics, as well as a range map and an attractive, illustrated sidebar. For each species, there are photographs plus a painting of the bird in flight and photos with brief information on one or two similar species. Valuable as all this is, most of it can already be found in the two ranking, handy-sized field guides, David Allen Sibley's The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2d ed., and Jon L. Dunn's National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America, 6th ed. Similar recent large books exist under the aegis of the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic. Many experienced birders find diagrammatic paintings capture a bird's essence much better than even the good photos here do. VERDICT For birders who do not have the first edition or the two field guides cited above.--Henry T. Armistead, formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia

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