Kaufman Field Guide to Advanced Birding (Kaufman Field Guides)

by Kenn Kaufman

Book Overview

Birders can memorize hundreds of details and still not be able to identify birds if they don't really understand what's in front of them.Today birders have access to almost too much information, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Vinyl Bound
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0547248326
• ISBN13: 9780547248325
• Release Date: April 2011
• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.3" x 1.1" x 4.5"

Customer Reviews

Good for experienced birders

If you're at the stage where you want to know the nuances of gull id, spotting the differences between hawks seen at great distances, then this is a book you need (along with a couple more years of experience....)

For Birding on the Next Level

I have quite a few birding books and have been birding for 30+ years. I feel that this book has been a key for improving my skills, more than any of the other books with the exception of the new Sibley guide and perhaps the old out of print "The Western Birdwatcher" by Zimmerman. Kuaffman's books taught me some key points that I still employ when checking the scaups, dowitchers, gulls and looking for Western Sandpipers among other difficult identifications. His succinct descriptions and comparitive sketches make it much more possible to know how to identify a juvenile Western Sandpiper as opposed to a Semipalmated Sandpiper. I found that I would often go back to this book rather than the other shorebird books I had. Another key section in the book is the coverage of identification tips for the Terns. I had always found it difficult to separate Forster's and Common in the field despite the seemingly easy differences in field guides. This book helped out with good wing pattern comparisons and other marks that were not included in the guides. The pattern drawings of the Terns and Shorebirds alone are worth the cost of the book. If you are ready to start on Iceland and Thayer's Gull or Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds you can't go wrong by getting Kauffman's Advanced Birding.

KICKS!!!

This book rocks the house

Want to improve your identification skills? Get this book.

This book is appropriate for anyone who wants to improve his bird identification skills, whether he is already "advanced" or not. Kaufman does an excellent job detailing how to go about identifying birds in many problem groups, such as accipiters, dowitchers, and fall warblers. In some cases the information amounts to helpful hints that will make identification a little easier (did you know that the nail on a Greater Scaup's bill is substantially larger than that on a Lesser Scaup's?). In others, the information is a practical necessity if you ever plan on unraveling the species in question (if you're trying to identify a Thayer's Gull without this or some even more esoteric work, forget it).My only quarrel with this book is that Kaufman sometimes places more emphasis on small field marks, and less on overall shape and other amorphous characteristics ("jizz," to the Brits), than I think appropriate. Otherwise, darned close to perfect.