The 9 Best Eastern Bird Field Guides (2023 reviews)

The roger tory peterson eastern bird field guide is capable of outshining several other guide featured in this list in overall features. 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. The guide features peterson’s wonderful paintings which show the idealized bird, with distinctive field marks, like a bright eye stripe, highlighted by an arrow. It's a manageable size to tuck anywhere where you can grab it quickly.

The illustrations are clear, and show different aspects, ie, immature birds, winter/summer foliage, male and female of species. It is perfect for travel in north america. It will make you a better birder. It is more of a laminated soft cover.

Why We Like This:

Very informative and easy to follow
Easy to view categories of birds
Plastic cover will preserve it on hikes
Classic most basic and useful of bird guides

Best For enthusiastic amateur birdwatcher: National Audubon Society Eastern Bird Field Guide

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If you often find yourself scrambling for convenient and suitable guide, national audubon society eastern bird field guide is your end point. Eastern North America with an arbitrary line that follows the eastern front of the Rocky Mountains. It is lavishly illustrated with wonderful photos, and great range data on them. It fits in a large pocket while the thick but flexible plastic cover protects it.

Used in conjunction with the Audubon app it is really all you need to start identifying birds in the field. The bird is pictured from only one angle. It makes identifying new/unknown birds easy, and has a lot of good info on them. The color plates are beautiful and descriptions are great. It is certainly priced right.

Why We Like This:

Very handy reference book for the casual bird-watcher
Pictures are great and the descriptions of the birds also
Good brand reputation

Best For Eastern half Of North America: Jon L Dunn Eastern Bird Field Guide

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The jon l dunn eastern bird field guide's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. This book makes identifying birds easy. It improves on the classical(arrows only) Peterson concept, which is also in use by Kaufman. The illustrations are very accurate and show all the details necessary for visual ID. This feature alone will help even newcomers to locate many birds with ease, even tho this guide might be considered advanced.

The drawings and identification tips are really helpful, as are the extra pages such as the collection of ducks in flight for comparison, and the quick find front cover guide. This is a perfect guide when you are interested in learning more about birds in the eastern part of the usa.

Why We Like This:

Flight drawings and silhouettes for many birds
Drawings are among the clearest for differentiating birds
A cherished book even for the casual fan of backyard birds

Best Field Guide: David Allen Sibley Eastern Bird Field Guide

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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 david allen sibley eastern bird field guide is exactly that - it's a simple guide that hits all the right notes. This Sibley book has color drawings of birds, and it is also helpful because it directly compares differences in genders and species. It has a lot of different angles on birds and flight views which are cool. The illustrations are beautiful and will be a great help with identifying new species.

This is easily one of the best bird field guides on the market. This field guide is great for pointing out small details in the species, and the illustrations are beautifully done and clear. It is also helpful because it directly compares differences in genders and species.

Why We Like This:

Perfect birding book for backyard birder
You carry smart phone for safety, gps abilities, etc
Great illustrations and small enough to bring on bird watching trips

Best For Bird watchers: Donald Stokes Eastern Bird Field Guide

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Compared with other guide in this category, the donald stokes eastern bird field guide has a convenient design. This bird book will give you more understanding of the birds in your back yard. It is unequivocally the most spectacular compendium of north american bird identification photographs ever assembled between two covers. It is as always, an excellent source for corroborating information such as calls and songs, general behavior, and similar species. It is easy to carry when birding. There are wonderful learning pages to help identify hard-to-ID birds.

The book provides several photos of each bird, which really helps in distinguishing the species, age, and sex of the bird. It is also very helpful to understand what they eat, where they nest, and what type of habitat they like to be around. The advantage is that the photos show what the bird actually looks like, not a stylized representation.

Why We Like This:

A must-have for anyone curious about the birds in their back yard
Outstanding photos showing birds in many different plumages and poses
New and hot release

Best For experts: Roger Tory Peterson Institute Eastern Bird Field Guide

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Roger Tory Peterson Institute offers a variety of guide for personal choice and yet maintaining quality in all the variants. Photographs give a more accurate portrayal of the subtleties of color and pattern in plumage, but there are always those poor shots in a photographic guide that are blurry or show the bird at a bad angle. From mergansers to kites to finches to exotics, this guide covers all birds, all in one cover. It's definitely easily-readable enough for anyone who is a beginner, and is rich enough in detail and extensive enough in the number of species it covers that you probably won't need to upgrade for a good while.

The binding is sturdy. It gives you detailed pictures, silhoutte shapes and habitat areas. The drawings with arrows make it VERY clear exactly which bird you're looking at. It's a great, great book that every person who loves birds should have in their library.

Why We Like This:

Awesome field guide with real colorful illustrations
Very detailed book with a lot of descriptions of various types of birds
Very good for the beginner and amateur birder

Best little Guide: Casey Mcfarland Eastern Bird Field Guide

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If you often find yourself confused about appropriate and satisfactory guide, casey mcfarland eastern bird field guide should be your first option for buying. If you’ve ever found an egg or a bird nest or interested in birds, get this book. It is possible to find nests of practically every species. It includes wonderful descriptions and all kinds of information about birds and bird behavior. It provides track & sign and trailing evaluations—as well as a variety of backcountry expeditions and wildlife courses.

This is a beautiful book to look at and extraordinary in its detailed information about a critical aspect of the lives of birds. Apart from being an amazing reference for identification, it’s also full of excellent information on evolution, behavior, etc. It’s a nice book to have to identify nests if you find one without the bird nearby. This is an amazing resource for any level birder or outdoor enthusiast.

Why We Like This:

Well researched, well written, well organized, and well, awesome
A treasure trove of stunning photos and descriptive detail
Very well organized and easy to use
Very complete accounts of each species' nest

Best Pocket Guide: Opler Eastern Bird Field Guide

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Opler offers a variety of guide for personal choice and yet maintaining quality in all the variants. The Peterson's guides are a must have for anyone to spend time outdoors and want to be aware of the flora and fauna around. This newly designed field guide features descriptions of 524 species of butterflies. It gives very good descriptions with beautiful color pictures and even has pics of different kinds of caterpillars. The guide goes over photography, butterfly habits, and collecting and raising butterflies. It fits great in a back pack.

The butterflies are described according to range, size, and habitat, and there is typically some discussion of the insects' identifying peculiarities. It has some good explanations on the biology and ecology of these species, excellent pictures and graphics, and a clear method for helping with species ID. It'll be interesting to see the butterflies that the recipient can identify using this book. This is suitable for afternoons in the garden to identify almost anything that flies by.

Why We Like This:

Great resource for anyone who loves butterflies and wants to know more about them
Include information on butterfly gardening, habitats, and conservation
Excellent source for identification, location, and season they are around
Gives a basic knowledge of butterflies

Best little Backyard Bird: Stan Tekiela Eastern Bird Field Guide

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Next on the list, we've got yet another guide that manages to win our hearts. It's the stan tekiela eastern bird field guide and it's widely considered as one of the best convenient guide you can buy. It shows male and female birds which is great. It has a place in back to track which birds you’ve seen at your feeders.

Why We Like This:

Great little backyard bird watcher book
Beautiful photos and good quality paper
Good investment for long term