I agree with Burton about the Peterson guides before the Nat Geo guide,
and consult ALL of the common guides....as an amateur intermediate++
birder/beginning+ field ornithologist, after 30 years part-time/grab-time-
as-you-can-from-other-responsibilities experience.

Gulls, peeps, and small flycatchers remain difficult sometimes.....and
that pesky late-in-breeding plumage horned grebe that STILL suggests an
eared grebe "jizz" at a distance here at the Des Moines, WA, marina. The
new Stokes guide with photographs (much better, in my opinion, than the
Audubon Society guides) of pre-adult, adult, seasonal, male & female birds
for many species is a nice supplement to your field library (book runs
about $22 and is typical bird guide size). Stokes does have some new
species names and interesting behavioral information that can aid in
ID'ing confusing species. I'd still take the NGS and/or Peterson in the
field and study Stokes/other guides at home as additional info.

Reviewing all the guides intently for the upcoming Kent/Auburn CBC,
Maureen Ellis me2 at u.washington.edu U of WA and Des Moines, WA
*************************************************************************
On Fri, 3 Jan 1997, Burton Guttman wrote:

> On Thu, 2 Jan 1997, rtylor wrote:
>
> > First, can someone please recommend a good field guide to identification? I
> > have the "Golden" guide to birds of N. America; there must be something
> > better, that's affordable. I'd appreciate your suggestions.
>
> Peterson's _Field Guide to Western Birds_. Yes, people who have gotten
> to the experienced or expert stage will recommend the NGS guide, but for
> beginners nothing beats Peterson. I'm afraid we're prone to forget that
> most of us wouldn't be enjoying this wonderful pastime of birdwatching if
> Peterson hadn't made basic field identification simple.
>
> Burt Guttman guttmanb at elwha.evergreen.edu
> The Evergreen State College Voice: 360-866-6000, x. 6755
> Olympia, WA 98505 FAX: 360-866-6794
>
> Reunite Gondwanaland!
>
>