Peterson Field Guide To Mammals Of North America: Fourth Edition (Peterson Field Guides) Paperback – Illustrated, November 15, 2006

The Guide to the Best Bird Guide BookWith so many hobbies to choose from today, it is hard to choose one that may interest you. But, why not give one of the most popular hobbies in the world a try, birdwatching? To start, I suggest a guide book, particularly one of the oldest and widely used guide books, the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America. This is the ideal guide if you are a beginner in birdwatching to help you learn about and identify birds. As a birdwatcher myself, I have found this to be a very effective guide book.This product has a lot to offer beginning birdwatchers. Peterson guide books are frequently updated to improve their effectiveness, and this edition is formatted in a very easy-to-use format. In the front of the guide, you can find an easy-to-use one page index to look up bird species in the field, before they fly away. The beginning of the book also has a section on terminology so readers can understand the terms used throughout the book, terms that all birdwatchers should be familiar with. The birds are grouped into their respective families. For example, all owls are in the same section and sparrows can be found in the same section as other sparrows. Detailed drawing are included for every species so coloring patterns can be easily seen. All species also have range maps, so you can rule out species easily when identifying in the field. Each species also features a descriptive blurb to aid in identification, using language beginners can understand. In the back, silhouettes of birds commonly found on phone lines and fences have been drawn to identify birds even if you can’t see their color patterns. In addition, you get access to video podcasts, which are a great way to get youngsters interested in birdwatching.So is this product worth the money? The answer is simply, yes. First of all, it is very reasonably priced. Secondly, it is probably the best guide book for beginning bird watchers as it is easy to understand the content and to find the birds you are trying to identify. I would recommend this product to anyone who is interested in becoming or recently became a birdwatcher.

Well organized, good color plates, solid species descriptions, easily navigated index and very useful range maps. This is what I was looking for.

This guide is very handsome, logical in its chapters and complete but not exchaustive in its information. The illustrations are very good. Besides that this is a better guide, it in my view is also a very good match with the Audubon guide on mammals. The latter contains only, but superb, photographic material. The Peterson's, however, contains handmade illustrations and artwork for each mammalian species. In most cases such illustrations are better for distinguishing more related species (such as bats or for instance ground squirrels). Moreover, this guide contains illustrations on mammalian skulls. If you can afford it buy both guides, if not my advice is to buy the Peterson's as it is more practical in use for observations in the field. It was a tremendous aid for me (I was an European tourist) when travelling and hiking in the Rocky's of Canada.

Book arrived in exactly the condition expected. Fair price & quick shipment. What’s not to love?

Needed for a college class and it did the job. Nicely illustrated and very informative.

Like a pair of shoes with a little extra room in the toes, I purchased this book for my 5 year old son, knowing that he would grow into it. He is very interested in animals and the outdoors, so this book is a natural fit for him, just as it was when my Dad purchased it for me as a boy. Granted, the descriptions of the various species are above his understanding, but the beautiful illustrations and color photos keep his interest, and make him want to read more. The range maps are easy enough for him to comprehend. This book is a nice supplement to his PBS Animal shows (like Dinosaur Train and Wild Kratts), and one that he enjoys thumbing through to look at the pictures and attempt to read.

I like this Peterson field guide because it splits the book into 3 sections. The first section has multiple animals (i.e., the various marmot species) all on one page which helps with making comparison between the various species in a group/genus/family. On the opposite page it lists a brief description of each animal. The second section shows mammal skulls which is unique to field guide books and useful for people who spend a lot of time in the field or enjoy ID-ing skulls. The third section has detailed descriptions and range maps for each species. The cover is laminated, although probably not as durable as the National Audubon Society field guide, but I like the organization of the material better.

This is perhaps 3rd edition on this I've purchased and really enjoying all the improvements.