Favorite Bird Guides

All of you bird watchers must have a bird identification guide. I like Peterson's Eastern Birds for my part of the country but I also use an old book by Forbush -A Natural History of American Birds of Eastern and Central North America originally printed in 1925. It's hugh but has lots on habitat, nests and behavior. I am also a hawkwatcher and like Hawks in the Peterson series by Clark and Wheeler.I have others but these are the ones I grab first. What is your book of choice? Jane 31

I have Smithsonian Handbook Birds of the Mid-Atlantic. :)

I'm kind of torn between Stokes and Peterson.

I use the "Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds" but mine was printed in November of 1985 so it is sort of out of date. It says the house finches had made it as far south as the Carolinas. LOL I think I need to get something better.

Best:
Mullarney, K., Svensson, L., Zetterström, D., & Grant, P. J. (1999). Collins Bird Guide. Collins ISBN 0-00-219728-6

Second-best:
Jonsson, L. (1992). Birds of Europe. Helm ISBN 0-7136-8096-2

Best for North America:
Sibley, D. North American Bird Guide. Chanticleer Press ISBN 1-873403-98-4 [UK imprint]

Resin

In America the Sibley book is called, "The Sibley Guide to Birds"; that's my favorite.

http://www.sibleyguides.com/sibleyguide.html

I still use the Peterson guide because it's smaller and I have sitings noted in it, and I don't want to transfer all of that into a new book. I haven't seen the newer pocket sized Sibley book though, it's probably great.

There's a Peterson book from 1948 called, "How to Know the Birds: an Introduction to Bird Recognition". It was 35 cents in 1948; I probably paid a nickel for it at a used bookstore or some garage sale, but it's a great beginner's book. It discusses all the bird families, size, shape, behavior, flight, silhouettes, etc., and there's a section on different habitats and what birds you're likely to find there. I expect there are newer editions.
I have a small collection of old editions of field guides. It's fun to see how they've changed, and I love the illustrations. Someone 'borrowed' the oldest one permanently, but I have a signed copy of Peterson's last book,"RTP, the Art and Photography of the World's Foremost Birder". Lots of beautiful color plates of all the different books' illustrations. The Mexican field guide plates are crammed with birds, they have so many more birds than we do.

Are there any good guides that use real photos? Jane 31

Jane my most favorite is Field Guide to Birds Eastern Region by Donald & Lilian Stokes. Has great real photo's