Album of North American Birds

National Geographic have done it again.When it comes to Field Guides for the birds of North America,none surpass their (Nat. Geo.) most popular "Field Guide to the Birds of North America.It was first published in 1983 with 295,000 copies.It took the birding world by storm and immediately became the favorite.Since first appearing,it's now in it's 4th Edition and a total of 1,565,000 copies.Each new edition is an update with a small number of rare birds being added plus other updates.So now we get something new from National Geographic It is intended as 'companion' to the above field guide.It is a much larger book,being 7" by 12" and 2" thick,much too big and heavy to carry in the field.This book will be used at home to get more information about a bird that simply can't be included in any reasonably sized field guide.It covers all birds found in North America,including Greenland.There are 4,000 illustrations covering sexes,seasonal plumages,variations,range maps,migration maps and just about anything a Birder would want.It does an excellent job of showing how to differentiate between similar species.There are also 150 stunning color photographs of birds which include the location and month the photo was taken.The book is extremely well made;has excellent paper,printing and color rendition;and has 664 pages.Another outstanding aspect of this book is its cost,$35 US or $48 Can.;unbelievable compared to the cost of books today. This book has just 'come out'and would make an appreciated gift for any Birder.Whether they are new to the hobby or have been Birding for a long time,or have a casual interest and want a good bird book around the home,cottage ,school or library;it's a terrific choice. What you got here is a book without equal at a great price,you simply couldn't go wrong. On top of all that Jon Dunn ,one of the top Birders,was the Chief Consultant for the Field Guide and is also involved with this book;so it is little wonder that this book is so good.