National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America

Now in its fourth edition, the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America is the ultimate birder's field guide. Sturdy, portable, and easy-to-use, it features the most complete information available on every bird species known to North America. This revised edition features 250 completely updated range maps, new plumage and species classification information, specially commissioned full-color illustrations, and a superb new index that allows birders in the field to quickly identify a species.

The National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fourth Edition will continue to be a bestseller among the fastest-growing sector in the U.S. travel market — the nearly 25 million people who travel each year specifically to observe wild birds.

"This remains one of the best portable bird guides in publication, tough enough to take in the field, but detailed enough for hours of armchair browsing." Publishers Weekly

Aids in the identification of all species of birds known to breed in North America, describing their appearance, behavior, natural habitat, and rarity.

Birding is the fastest growing wildlife-related activity in the U.S., and even conservative estimates put the current number of U.S. birders at 50 million. According to the New York Times, some authorities predict that by 2050 there will be more than 100 million—and the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America will be the essential reference for field identification and the cornerstone of any birder's library. This is the ultimate, indispensable bird field guide—comprehensive, authoritative, portable, sturdy, and easier than ever to use.

Among the the new edition's key elements and practical improvements: Every North American species—more than 960, including a new section on accidental birds—classified according to the latest official American Ornithologists' Union checklist 4,000 full-color illustrations by the foremost bird artists at work todayand newly updated range maps that draw on the latest data New durable cover for added protection against adverse weather, plus informative quick-reference flaps that double as placemarkers New reader-friendly features like thumbtabs that make locating key sections faster and easier, and a quick-find index to direct users straight to the information they need.

Jon L. Dunn, a leading expert on the identification and distribution of North American birds, has served as chief consultant on all four previous editions of this book. He is also a consultant for the American Birding Association magazine, Birding, and the former chair of the ABA Checklist Committee, as well as a member of the California Bird Records Committee and the AOU Committee on Taxonomy and Nomenclature. He lives in Bishop, California.

Jonathan Alderfer, chief consultant for National Geographic's Birding Program, is a widely published author and field guide illustrator. One of the nation's foremost birding artists, he is well known for his expertise as a field ornithologist and an authority on North American birds. He was a general consultant, art consultant, and contributing artist for the NG Field Guide to the Birds of North America 3rd and 4th editions, and the lead editor of NG's Complete Birds of North America. A former Associate Editor of Birding, the ABA magazine, he also served on the Maryland/D.C. Bird Records Committee. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Loons
Grebes
Albatrosses
Shearwaters, petrels
Storm-petrels
Frigatebirds; tropicbirds
Boobies, gannets
Pelicans
Anhingas; cormorants
Herons, bitterns, egrets
Storks, flamingos
Ibises, spoonbills
Ducks, geese, swans
New World vultures; hawks, kites, eagles
Caracaras, falcons
Chacalacas; partridges, grouse, turkeys
New World quail
Limpkin; rails, gallinules, coots
Cranes
Lapwings, plovers
Jacanas; oystercatchers; stilts, avocets
Sandpipers, phalaropes
Skuas, gulls, terns, skimmers
Auks, murres, puffins
Pigeons, doves
Parakeets, parrots
Cuckoos, roadrunners, anis
Owls
Nightjars
Swifts
Hummingbirds
Trogons
Kingfishers
Woodpeckers
Tyrant flycatchers
Shrikes
Vireos
Crows, jays, magpies
Larks
Swallows
Wrentit; chickadees, titmice
Verdins; bushtits
Creepers; nuthatches
Wrens
Dippers
Kinglets; Old World warblers, gnatcatchers
Old World flycatchers
Thrushes, robins
Mockingbirds, thrashers
Bulbuls; starlings
Accentors; wagtails, pipits
Waxwings; silky-flycatchers
Wood-warblers
Olive warbler
Tanagers
Bananaquits; towhees, sparrows, longspurs, emberiza buntings
Cardinals, grosbeaks, passerina buntings
Blackbirds, orioles
Finches
Old World sparrows; estrildid finches, weavers.