The 10 Best Bird Guides Of North America (2023 reviews)

We consider a bird guide of north america to be a worthy investment in the long run. We are here to help you choose the right one for your needs from all the best available products in market today.

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Our Top Picks:

Best Overall: Buy: Jonathan Alderfer favorite Field Guide READ REVIEW

Best For New Bird watcher: Buy: Laura Erickson Bird Guide Of North America READ REVIEW

Best For novice Birders: Buy: Roger Tory Peterson Bird Guide Of North America READ REVIEW

Best For photographers: Buy: Roger Tory Peterson Best Field Guide READ REVIEW

Best Field Guide: Buy: David Allen Sibley Bird Guide Of North America READ REVIEW

Best For Quick Field Guide: Buy: Jonathan Alderfer Bird Guide Of North America READ REVIEW

Best For An EX boy Scout: Buy: Matt Kracht Bird Guide Of North America READ REVIEW

Best For North America: Buy: Jon L Dunn Bird Guide Of North America READ REVIEW

Best For beginner Birder: Buy: Stephen Kress Excellent Guide READ REVIEW

Best Pocket Guide: Buy: Stephen Kress Bird Guide Of North America READ REVIEW

Best Overall: Jonathan Alderfer favorite Field Guide

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The latest jonathan alderfer favorite field guide is an absolute beast in terms of its features, and rightfully takes the top spot with ease. The cover-flaps' quick indexes to families and species are a great idea, doubling as reliable book-marks when you've got to take another look at the bird. The description and distinctive marks are covered, including juvenile markings, winter plumage, differences between breeding plumage, and males and females.

There are range maps on the same page as each species, and the maps are easy to read. The tabs on the side are very convenient and well-organized. These are clear and informative, and they are accompanied by text and pointers that indicate identification keys. The size is small enough to take with you and to fit into a pouch/bag for carrying. It would make a great gift for anyone interested in birds and species are a great idea, doubling as reliable book-marks when you've got to take another look at the bird.

• Excellent field guide, highly recommend for both backyard birding or birding trips
• Definitely small enough to take with you on trips
• Good brand reputation

Best For New Bird watcher: Laura Erickson Bird Guide Of North America

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The laura erickson bird guide of north america is capable of outshining several other guide featured in this list in overall features in its price range. Indeed, the easiest place to watch birds is right at home, especially if you have a good assortment of native trees and shrubs, a bird feeder, and a birdbath. This is an excellent pocket guide for the field. It is great for casual bird watching when you travel.

The Field Guide, it's larger and heavier and not as easy to carry, but has more birds in it, including the red headed woodpecker. Being small, it does not have as much detail as the larger guide, nor does it include as many birds, but its keys and thumbnail descriptions are excellent. It's very detailed and the pictures are absolutely stunning. It's small enough to fit in a coat pocket or small bag.

This guide has great pictures and sketches and it has a bit of general information about the adults, their young, their habitation and some habits.

• Informative and small enough for a purse or backpack
• Perfect for the beginner bird watcher
• Good investment for long term

Best For novice Birders: Roger Tory Peterson Bird Guide Of North America

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If you often find yourself confused about appropriate and satisfactory guide, roger tory peterson bird guide of north america is your end point. This Bird Book is very useful as a Bird watcher go to the Hawaiian Islands. It combines the Eastern and Western North America guides into one volume, and adds the bonus of birds in the Hawaiian Islands. It has colorful pictures for each bird. It is reminiscent of older style bird books that provide lots of additional information specific to a particular bird or group of birds. Its sturdy binding with glossy pages will withstand many looks within over the years.

The organization is very easy to use and understand and actually aids in identification. The drawings and arrow points to distinctions to look for are another quick useful tool. There are a few places where it modernizes species classifications and names.

• Best bird book for all levels of birding
• Has great illustrations and highlights important markings on the birds
• Great descriptions with excellent explanations to distinguish closely related birds
• A must have for any casual watcher/researcher

Best For photographers: Roger Tory Peterson Best Field Guide

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Compared with other guide in this category, the roger tory peterson best field guide has a convenient design. The new edition of Peterson's Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central Nortg America is excellent and in keeping with a long tradition of satisfying both beginning and veteran birders. The Crossley guide includes photos of birds as they appear at far distance, a feature that sometimes helps with that bird at the limit of view. It is perfect for travel in north america.

The illustrations are clear, and show different aspects, ie, immature birds, winter/summer foliage, male and female of species. It will make you a better birder.

One true benefit of the popularity of birding is it takes you through a series of steps from wonder at the beauty of the bird, to anticipation of when you’ll see it, to concern about conservation of the species.

• Easy to view categories of birds
• Delivers what they promise

Best Field Guide: David Allen Sibley Bird Guide Of North America

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Next on the list, we've got yet another guide that manages to win our hearts. It's the david allen sibley bird guide of north america and it's widely considered as one of the best convenient guide you can buy. This is a very good illustrated guide for birds. It has a lot of different angles on birds and flight views which are cool. It is easy to use for beginners and with sufficient depth for more advanced birders. It is also helpful because it directly compares differences in genders and species.

This field guide is great for pointing out small details in the species, and the illustrations are beautifully done and clear. It is comfortable to carry with the paperback. The illustrations are beautiful and will be a great help with identifying new species. It is a good one for a learner.

• Perfect birding book for backyard birder
• Physical book construction is top notch
• Great illustrations and small enough to bring on bird watching trips
• Covers all stages of the birds seasonal changes

Best For Quick Field Guide: Jonathan Alderfer Bird Guide Of North America

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We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate guide. The jonathan alderfer bird guide of north america is exactly that - it's a simple guide that hits all the right notes. If you are jut getting into feeding and caring for backyard birds then this is your book. It can be an easy and inexpensive way to attract birds year-round. The Black-Billed Cuckoo is much less common and declining, therefore much less apt to be seen. It is important to keep feeders clean and to place them in safe locations—but if you take proper care, feeding will benefit the birds, helping them survive and reproduce.

This guide has accurate pictures of male/female winter/spring coloring that really helps in finding the bird you are actually looking at. It comes with minimal effort, your life can intersect with theirs, and both you and the birds around you will benefit. The guide also has very helpful information about feeders, bird houses, bird baths, planting for birds, etc. It is great gift for bird-watching enthusiasts.

• Perfect gift with great illustration and wonderful gift
• Easy to read and great identification pictures
• A must have for new birds and old one's

Best For An EX boy Scout: Matt Kracht Bird Guide Of North America

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If you often find yourself confused about appropriate and satisfactory guide, matt kracht bird guide of north america should be your first option for buying. This guide will delight the continuum of thise who actually don’t like the little critters to bird lovers with a sense of humor who don’t take themselves or birds too seriously. It contains actual bird facts and some great humor. It is witty and crabby and makes you love birds and the author at the same time.

As long as you're comfortable with the R-rated language sprinkled liberally throughout, you'll love the capsule descriptions of the "Western Meadowjerk", the "Dullard" (a Mallard duck) and the "American Goldfink. It is a good book for an ex boy scout or nature lover. There is no pretense that this is anything other than exactly what it is. It is hilariously written and informative at the same time.

• Fun little book with insulting yet humorous bird descriptions accompanied by comical illustrations
• More entertainment than field guide, but could be useful for beginners
• Good brand reputation

Best For North America: Jon L Dunn Bird Guide Of North America

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Jon L Dunn is known for creating pragmatic and minimalist guide for people on the go, and its line of jon l dunn bird guide of north america definitely falls in line with that reputation. It is the best birding book that one could have. This beautifully illustrated and well organized guide is a pleasure simply to look through, as well as being a useful and easy-to-use book for identifying birds. It's a great book with excellent information, portable for field identification, and with illustrations that show notable markings in a simple, useful way, but what is up with the maps.

The new features are outstanding, useful, and thoughtfully designed. If you know what your bird call is so you know where to start, this is a good book for identification. This is a perfect book for anyone who loves to watch birds or even just enjoy them in your backyard. The construction quality of the book is outstanding.

• Combines all the best features (and then some) from all the best field guides
• Good book for beginner to advanced bird watchers
• Paper and covers of high quality

Best For beginner Birder: Stephen Kress Excellent Guide

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Not everyone likes to purchase guide for their daily purpose, but the stephen kress excellent guide would be an anomoly. There is no superfluous writing taking up valuable space like an explanation of how to use birding binoculars for instance. This pocket guide is perfect for their hikes or just their time in the garden. It packs a wallop for every bird. The binding is strong, which is good and bad—the gutters (space between the two pages in the middle spine of the publication) need to be wider for easy reading.

The book is concise, extremely well-written, thoughtfully organized and of high quality. A special touch are the front and back flaps, which can be used to hold a page while closed and in your pocket. While the writing is fairly small, the pictures are big enough. It is easy to use and has a decent amount of info.

• Great starter book for want to be bird enthusiasts
• Good investment for long term

Best Pocket Guide: Stephen Kress Bird Guide Of North America

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The stephen kress bird guide of north america's superior materials makes sure that it ages well with use.

• New and hot release
• Good investment for long term