****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This is a field guide in the truest sense. It is small in size, relatively thin, and it has a very durable cover. It's made to throw in a pocket and hit the field, so it gets high marks before you even open the cover. Inside you will find a well-laid out guide with all of the essential information, but the details provided are certainly not comprehensive. This isn't a problem for me, as I don't expect encyclopedic details from a field guide. While the text on any given bird is terse, you should have all of the key factors that help you make an identification. Important field marks are italicized in the text, and they are marked in the photo as well. The photos are decent, but not excellent. In some cases I wish there were more pictures, or I wish the picture layout wasn't so confusing. The general format is the left page is text with 2-5 birds described, and the right page is filled with photos of those birds. It can be confusing which photos go with which birds, and while you can certainly figure it out, it is not immediately obvious at a quick glance.All that aside, the main reason I like this book is the organization and ease of use. This book really helps out new birders with a couple interesting features. First, the book is arranged into intuitive sections like "Aerial Waterbirds", "Chicken-Like Birds", "Wading Birds", etc. Second, there's a pictorial table of contents that shows you examples of what's in those sections. You don't have to really know much to get to the right section of the guide, which is perfect for novice birders. There's also a full index and a short index that will get you to the chosen species quickly if you know generally what you want. If you're a compete novice, there is even a short introduction to birding with advice on everything from binocular choices to bird feeders.So even with a few shortcomings, this book earns 5-stars because of the novice-friendly organization and the excellent field-friendly form factor. You can find better pictures and more information elsewhere, but Kaufman really shines in these areas and it's worth having in your pocket, especially if you're a new birder.
