The 6 Best Ornithology Field Guides (2023 reviews)

The udvardy ornithology field guide is the best feature-rich guide on the market today. The Smithsonian guide to north american birds uses photographs rather than the painted profiles and includes a cd of bird song as well. It can impact ease of use in the field. There's even a tiny map of North America with its range shaded in gray. It is small enough to fit in a back pocket when traversing over hill and dell tracking down that northern flicker. It has actual pictures versus illustrations.

The birds are arranged within their families by their predominant color, and the silhouettes are colored accordingly, to make it even easier to find your bird. It is superior to another a bit self serving. It is easy to identify new visitors by type and color.

Why We Like This:

Very easy to use in the field
Easy to thumb through pictures and then go to text reference pages
Great book for beginner bird watchers
You will be able to enjoy the bird world and teach kids about nature

Best Comprehensive Bird: Jonathan Alderfer Ornithology Field Guide

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We would, of course, be remiss if we didn't mention jonathan alderfer ornithology field guide for daily purpose. If you're new to birding, the visual index inside the front and back covers is indispensable, and the Quick-Find Index flap built into the front cover is super handy. It is easy to navigate and distinguish between species and even juveniles to adults. The illustrations show the most common identifiable markings of each bird and include the birds in flight whenever that would help with identification.

The thumb tabs and the visual index makes it easy to find what page you are looking for. There is a short quick-find index on the front cover fly-leaf and, with the cover flap open, a visual index of bird families. These are clear and informative, and they are accompanied by text and pointers that indicate identification keys. The tabs make flipping through quick and easy, and as well, the illustrations, maps and descriptions make it easy to identify species. This is an excellent book for all levels of birding or birdwatching.

Why We Like This:

Definitely small enough to take with you on trips
Excellent field guide, highly recommend for both backyard birding or birding trips
Delivers what they promise

Best For New Bird watcher: David Allen Sibley Pocket Guide

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If you find yourself wanting a smaller, pocket guide, get a smaller guide also, and then you have this one for rarer or more unusual things that won't be in the smaller guide. The guide that fits in your pocket is better than one on your bookshelf. It identifies and clarifies each species, and illustrates how each survive, lives and thrives.

This volume is a "MUST HAVE" for anyone serious about birding. It is constructed with a heavy glossy cover. The print quality is optimal. If you have any interest in identifying the birds at your feeders in the morning this is a great book to start with. This is the most useful and comprehensive bird book out. It’s a good all around guide great for beginners.

Why We Like This:

Easy to use good for beginners
Comprehensive and easy to flick through
Text is not gray and font is small but quite readable
Perfecct gift for anyone with a bird enthusiast in their family

Best For beginner Bird watcher: Kroodsma Ornithology 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 kroodsma ornithology field guide and it's widely considered as guide that has the most suitable features. If you have an elderly person struggling with memory issues who used to love birding and misses it, this is a great gift. This book gives the bird songs which are great and makes it easier to determine what bird you. It has wonderful illustrations and clear recordings of various birds. The bird feeders hanging from the crape myrtle trees are filled with cardinals. They're all there and more, in the text and at the push of a button.

This is a great beginner guide to birds in the neighborhood. It makes it easy for them to identify bird calls in the backyard, and sometimes the birds answer back. This is a great quick guide to reference and listen to birds calls you are hearing near you.

Why We Like This:

Great way to learn the song that matches the bird
Great resource for identification of birds through their songs
Great little book with easy-to-use recordings of various common bird songs

Best Eastern US Bird Guide: David Allen Sibley Ornithology Field Guide

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The david allen sibley ornithology field guide is suitable and reliable and fits well with your regular usage. This is easily one of the best bird field guides on the market. The drawings have beautiful detail. It is getting pretty worn plus it is best for info on birds. The book is a great guide to birding for photographers. They show the birds inflight as well as on perch.

This book is easy to use and has a wealth of information. It has good print and excellent maps. It is also helpful because it directly compares differences in genders and species. This would be very helpful in places where people live and bird.

Why We Like This:

Book size is manageable and useful
Great book, very informative with vivid pictures
A must have for birders east of the rockies

Best For learning About owls: Hans J Peeters Ornithology Field Guide

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Hans J Peeters has been making great guide for years, thanks to a combination of clever design and appropriate materials. Far more than a Field Guide to the Owls of California and the West, this wonderful book is a primer in ornithology, a work of strong scholarship, a guide to conservation, and an entertainment. The photograph of a Northern Pygmy Owl that introduces the scction describing an owl's body is extraordinary, and there are many more of similar beauty and utility. It is great for learning about owls, and also makes for interesting reading.

This is a field guide that can be read for pleasure, written as it is with color and verbal richness laced with the idiosyncratic humor of this author. It is a wonderful little book with great illustrations. You will enjoy the accessible writing style of this book, the humor, and the photographs and drawings. This book is a delicious chocolate milkshake. An especially nice feature is that it tells the specific habitats in which to look for owls, and at what time of the day and of the year.

Why We Like This:

Wonderful pocket guide to western north american owls
You will learn more about owls, fascinating creatures that they are
Comprehensive, incisive and beautifully put together

The 6 Best Ornithology Field Guides (2023 reviews)

Our Top Picks:

Best Overall: UDVARDY Ornithology Field Guide

Best Comprehensive Bird: Jonathan Alderfer Ornithology Field Guide

Best For New Bird watcher: David Allen Sibley Pocket Guide

Best For beginner Bird watcher: Kroodsma Ornithology Field Guide

Best Eastern US Bird Guide: David Allen Sibley Ornithology Field Guide

Best For learning About owls: Hans J Peeters Ornithology Field Guide

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