| Stokes Field Guide To Birds Western Region | 
 enlarge | Authors: Donald Stokes, Lillian Stokes
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: CDN$ 19.95
Buy Used: CDN$ 0.41
You Save: CDN$ 19.54 (98%)
New (15) Used (14) from CDN$ 0.41
Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 134891
Media: Paperback
Edition: 0
Pages: 560
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5 x 1
ISBN: 0316818100
Dewey Decimal Number: 598.2978
EAN: 9780316818100
ASIN: 0316818100
Publication Date: December 1, 1994
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Condition: Save a tree, buy from Green Earth Books. Ships from USA; Allow 2 to 3 weeks for delivery. All books guaranteed. Read -> Recycle -> Reuse
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| Customer Reviews:
 THE best guides for the backyard bird watcher August 24, 2001
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
A few months after I set up bird feeders in my yard, I found myself looking for a good bird identification book to help me to identify some of the feathered visitors that I had never seen before and couldn't identify. I'm not a professional bird-watcher--just someone who enjoys the variety of birds (and their antics) and who wants to be able to identify and learn something about all these new birds my feeders were atracting. Finding a good bird ID book geared towards the backyard bird-watcher proved to be a lot easier said than done. I looked through all kinds of books, and even the ones by publishers whose reputations would lead one to believe they would likely be what I desired (e.g., National Geographic, Petersen's) were disappointing. Some of the problems with these guides were: dime-sized illustrations of the birds, paintings of birds rather than pictures of them in the wild, (In spite of "professional" bird watcher's who seem to think that bird guides with paintings are the only way to go, I've never seen a painted bird in the wild so I don't find paintings very helpful.), pertinent basic facts like nesting behavior and feeding habits buried in scholarly treatises, or contrarily, very bare descriptions. When I finally found this book (and its companion book covering the western USA), I had finally found what I had looked so long for. Here was a book that had actual pictures of birds in the wild--and they weren't dime-sized either. This book also frequently has a picture of not just the male but also the female birds along with immature young whose coloring is distinct from the adults--and even variant/sub-species show up from time to time. The information in each profile is a good summary of each of the most important aspects of a particular bird species (e.g., distinguishing characteristics, feeding habits, song(s), nesting habits and patterns, and the most interesting/useful notes about miscellaneous aspects of each bird). The guides are excellently organized--and in several ways. There is a quick, color-coded index for finding pages on the most common birds as well as color-marked sections on broad types of birds. A comprensive and easy-to-use index is also included. The only negative aspect to the guides which I've found are that more than once I have found the ranges to be inaccurate--or perhaps out of date. (It's true that the ranges of some bird species seem to spread out rather quickly.) According to the range in the guide, purple finches shouldn't be even near my area; yet, thanks to the guide's comments about distinguishing house finches from purple finches, I've identified them at my feeders many times. Finally, the western region guide covers the region west of the 40th Meridian (line of longitude) which is roughly from the middle of the North Dakota border with Canada down through the "boot" of Texas. (Yes, Canadian birds are covered too.) Any birds that appear at all in that area are covered--even if most of their range is east of that line. The converse is true for the eastern region guide, so in many cases a bird species will be listed in both guides because their range covers areas on both sides of the 40th Meridian.
Great for all birders, from beginning to experienced. November 9, 1999
You can't go wrong when you take this book on a hike. Crisp, clean pictures and enough detail in the habit descriptions that even if you can't get a good look at the bird, you may identify it by its habits. Highly recommended!
Excellent book for beginner or more advanced bird watchers. May 19, 1999
What a thrill this book is. It has great color photos of males, females, adults, immature birds and seasonal shots. Very easy to use with the color coded sections and a wealth of information regarding feeding, nesting, behavior and more. I was extremely pleased with this book and look forward to purchasing more from Donald & Lillian Stokes.
A great field guide... December 29, 1998
I've used most of the bird field guides and this one is the best. It is clear and easy to use. The photographs capture the field marks better than some others. I like the easy access to the maps (they're included with every bird description).
Excellent for use in the field June 13, 1998
This guide is very easy to use and the photographs as opposed to drawings help to make a quick indentification. Used it recently on a trip to Point Reyes and found it extremely helpful.
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