Below is my message on the CompuServe birding forum on the subject.
I'm curious if Tweeterfolk are finding the same things, or share my
opinions re: kinglets and vireos. I wonder if there is a wide variation
between print runs, as suggested by somebody else here.

Jerry

**************

I received my copy of the new third edition National Geographic field
Guide.

The illustrations are remarkably sharper than in the prior version --
it appears they used a finer screen. The old version always looked "out
of focus" -- the new one is sharp and crisp.

I turned immediately to the Vireo page, 309, to see if they did anything
with what I always considered to be a big problem with the NG guide -- the
Hutton's Vireo vs Ruby-crowned Kinglet comparison. In the old guide, the
diagnostic dark bar under the lower wing bar of the kinglet is not at all
apparent (compare with Peterson's West). And, in my opinion, the Hutton's
Vireo should have the appearance of two light bars separated by a dark bar.
The new NG guide does a ~little~ bit better job of showing the Kinglet
bar, but the vireo bars are, in my inexpert opinion, lacking.

They fixed the vireo description "partial white eye ring" by changing it
to "white eye ring broken above eye," an important diagnostic feature.
(The RC Kinglets in this region give the ~impression~ of an eye ring broken
at both top and bottom.)

But, the biggest disappointment -- at least in my copy of the guide --
the colors are all screwed up! The back of the west coast Hutton's Vireo
is brown, and the wash at the side almost rusty in color -- compared to
olive and yellowish in the old guide, which is correct. The comparison
Kinglet on the same page is also brownish colored, with not a hint of
olive!!! I see RC Kinglets almost every day, and that is ~NOT~ their color.
(And the Blue-headed flank wash seems strangely orange -- you easterners
with the new guide, does that look right to you?)

(I focused on this page because I've had difficulty showing new birders
the differences between these two confusing species when they are using NG
guides. Of course, if the bird is foraging, there's no mistaking the
Kinglet behavior and you don't even need to see the feathers to ID it.<G>)

If you have the new guide -- check out the colors on page 309 and let me
know how they look to you. Maybe there is color variation in the printing
runs?

Check the flycatchers on page 293. Is the Pacific-slope Flycatcher
really that big-headed? Is there any purpose in publishing an illustration
of a Cordilleran? I can see people saying, "Well it looked more like
the Cordilleran picture to me."
****************


E-mail from: Jerry Blinn

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