I just purchased a copy of _Field Guide to Western Birds_ from the original
1941 layout (not a first edition, though) and much to my surprise, I found
it to be a more pleasing edition than the 1961 revision (don't even get me
started on the most recent revision.)

It contains more line art, most of the plates are black and white and the
swift is flying in the opposite direction. It has treatment of significant
subspecies at the end and is, I think, probably a more useful book in many
ways than its successors (that is Western Peterson's.) The plates themselves
are at the barebones minimum that characterizes Peterson's original guides
which makes them ideal for a beginner and well worth studying as an exercise
in getting at the basics in field identification, field note description
and "jizz" observation.

Take a good look at the grebe page for a special bonus "corrected" in the
plates of the 1961 edition.


--
*********************************** I got the blues so bad one time
* Mike Patterson, Astoria, OR * it put my face in a permanent frown
* mpatters at orednet.org * but I am feelin' so much better
http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters I could cake-walk into town