No mere Peterson field guide, this scholarly work is a concise encyclopedia of all the trees native to the northeastern United States, with descriptions that can truly be used to tell them apart (a unique feat). Belongs in the backpack of any hiker who wants to learn trees. Fits in a half-gallon Ziploc. Remember you need a magnifying glass and a sharp knife to use the book properly.

As a wetland delineator in PA, this book proves invaluable for field identification of trees, shrubs, and vines. Especially useful is are the keys for identification of these plants in winter when leaves and fruiting bodies are non-existant. I have several other tree books for reference, but they rarely are worth carting along in the field now that I have this book. I highly recommend it.

Follows the fine tradition of Peterson Field Guides. Enough said.

This is excellent reading at home and on the go. You'll want to buy two of these just so you have one at home, and one you can really rough handle on the road. :) If you're into medicinal herbs or you just love knowing what's what out in the wild, this guide is number one! A MUST! You need it now.

This book was so fabulous, in fact, I give it more than five stars, I give it twenty! It is because of this book that I now want to be an ethnobotanical chemisist. This book has such pep and drive, just the Introduction and Preface make you want to go outside start a weed garden, picket the FDA, and go to college for seven years to get your degree in botanical chemistry. You don't believe me, but I'm serious. READ THIS BOOK! If not the whole book, at least the Introduction and Preface. It'll give you SO much energy.

This is one of the better field guides available for identifying and determining the usefulness of many medicinal plants found commonly in the Eastern and Central US. This guide is recommended for beginners and experienced medicinal plant enthusiasts alike. A must have book for the novice in this field.

This is one of those rare books that lifts you out of your chair and brings you along on a soaring journey to the natural world beyond the government office windows. It is written as a daily journal of nature explorations in and around Washington, D.C. and makes a perfect companion for any watcher of spring. The author was a keen observer of natural life when he wrote the book in 1945, and the watchful naturalist today will find much to celebrate in the wildlife that is still here today, and also much to mourn that has been lost in the intervening decades. No more do we have rafts of mergansers resting in the Tidal Basin, but Dyke Marsh is still the place to see waterthrushes, and herons still stop by the ponds on the Mall. Halle's eloquent musings on the question of "What is important?" are still relevant today, as the press and government continue to occupy themselves with matters of man-made events and ignore the real news happening all around us--the news of the actual world going about its business completely unconcerned with scandal or finance. Swans still fly south over government office buildings, and anyone who notices and rejoices in such happenings will find a true friend in this marvelous book.

Louis Halle reveals his soul in this evocative love letter to the stirrings of spring. Though set along Rock Creek and the Potomac River in and around Washington, this work will transport you away from this world into another time and place in which the sheer joy of seeing nature burst into color will overwhelm you. Close your eyes and have someone read this book to you and you will be able to smell the tidal waters and hear the wind in the marsh grass. Halle's book is pure pleasure.

This a book from another time which is still relevant to our day and age. The writer takes time from a boring desk job in wartime Washington to provide timeless observations about nature along the Potomac river as he experiences it in early morning bicycle rides. He indirectly puts man in his place and foretells many of the things environmentalists have rediscovered in the last 20 years. Highly recommended in general, but especially if you have any familiarity with the area around Washington, DC.

My girls and I love this book! What a pleasure to be able to look out our window and now be able to identify the types of birds that live among us. We even now can recognize a bird by sound.

This book includes wonderful pictures with easy to read descriptions of the birds and their habits.

What a great way to spend time with each other having fun exploring and learning.

A book that can be enjoyed at any age.

This really useful field guide has great drawings of over 100 species found in neighborhoods in US and Canada. Has a simple system to instantly tell you the region and feeding preferences of birds, in other words, where you are most likely to find them. The drawings are beautiful, colorful and accurate, clearly showing the difference between male and female, and defining markings. I've enjoyed mine thoroughly!

If enjoying nature is an essential component of your contentment with living; if the innate behavior of birds is a fascinating wonder that leads you to investigate deserted nests, lie down on the lawn and see how close a bird will come, or if you drape threads and the hairs from your brush on your shrubbery, then you may want to get your hands on this lovely, mesmerizing volume for bird lovers. Ortho Books provides an informative guide for identifying birds, explaining their behaviors, attracting the birds in your area, interpreting their flight, migration, and navigation, capturing birds in photographs, delineating the evolution and ecology of species, and gives a detailed picture gallery of the birds that live in North America. I wanted this book because I am a very curious person and relish learning about anything. Animals fascinate me. They are all around us and yet are distant. When I look at this book, I always uncover new information about the birds I enjoy. I especially love watching them build their nests and care for their young. I always have nests just outside my back door, so every summer, I get to see the learning process of flight. This summer I had to keep my naughty cat at bay while a parent called to it's young on the ground. This volume can help you to solve problems birds may have in your yard. Birds are very particular about their nesting materials and this volume lists appropriate items that you can make accessible for your area. Attracting birds is always a priority for nature lovers. The reader will find in this book information and renderings of backyard bird habitats to emulate for the maximum drawing power.You will learn to make simple birdhouses and feeders to provide the birds you love with a welcoming environment and create a nature retreat for yourself and your loved ones.

This is one of the best bird books I have ever read.. The chapter on how to out-smart squirrels is outstanding.

A superbly written, thoroughly enjoyable account of birding in the United States. Birders will recognize many of the places which they have visited, and will learn of new spots to see in their own "feather quests". A must read!

Pete Dunne and his wife Linda are lucky enough to take a whole year off to go birding. And we are lucky enough to come along with them in this part travel book, part bird life list. They start in his boyhood home of Whippany, New Jersey, and criss-cross North America in search of birds. They travel from the tip of the USA at the Everglades to the top of the continent at the Artic Refuge in Alaska. Not only do they write about the birds they see and hear but they also take a look at the many differnent types of people who bird. And it is all done in a comic style but with serious overtones concerning the environment, pollution, and urban sprawl. It makes you want to dust off your binos, find your bird book, and head out into the fields and forests. There is nothing more stirring then seeing a new bird for the first time. In reading this book, all the birds seem to be your first one.

The Peterson field Guide to Eastern American Birds turned out to be the best birding book I've ever read. The book was well thought out and had the format that we needed in our suburban environment. The illustrations were concise and made identifying the birds extremely easy. We have a large population of Red-Winged Blackbirds and Mourning Doves, and its great to actually know what in the world we were looking at. It was great!

This is the best of the field guides for the amature birder in my opinion. I purchased a guide that had actual photos of birds in their habitats, thinking it would be the best, but it definately was not as good or as easy to use as the Peterson field guide. If you are looking for a good all around field guide to keep near your binoculars, this one is my pick.

If you're getting into birding, or want a good field guide to see what birds are at your cabin or in your yard, this is it.

It's got the bird listed opposite from the description and has arrows to show field marks of a species. New in the 5th edition are:

Maps on the same page as the description (maps improved too!)
The description mentions how common the bird is in the east.
The area covered doesn't take a sharp turn and leave out the tip of texas

If you're getting more into birding I'd highly recommend David Sibley's guide, it has many more views and plumages of each bird, but is a bit large to take in the field.

The 5th edition of Peterson's field guide is an improvement over previous edtions. The maps are included in the front with the birds now, in addtion to having a separate more detailed map in the back of the guide.
These range maps are the best of all current guides because the details are easiest to see because their so big.
Sibly's is great also but because of it's size(the guide itself) I wouldn't recommend it for the field, more as a reference for back home.
So if your going to own just one field guide the 5th edtion Peterson's is the best all around guide out there.

I may have finally found a relacement for my old Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Birds. My new Peterson guide -- BIRDS OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH AMERICA -- arrived today and is it beautiful. Best of all, it has a flexible cover and is light enough to carry into the field.

I have dozens of bird books, but this little guide is by far the best for field work. In addition to it's apparently waterproof and flexible cover, and being just the right size for a backpack (you can even carry it in your hand comfortably--no small feat for my arthritic hands), the new guide includes those nifty little arrows Peterson has used forever. The arrows, size specifications, and placement of maps on the same page as the species, allow the bird watcher to immediately locate and identify distingishing characteristics.

The Peterson guide does not contain as much detail as the SIBLEY GUIDE, or the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA, or the SMITHSONIAN HANDBOOK - BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA, but the Peterson guide is detailed enough for field work and much lighter. If you are a serious bird watcher you will want to buy all four books, but if you can only afford one or don't want to invest in all four, the PETERSON GUIDE is still the best bet. And, I still think the Peterson guide is the best one to use with kids.

The National Geographic guide includes some wonderfully modeled bird specimens with incredible detail that could only be produced digitally. The Peterson illustrations are hand painted and thus not as detailed. Although other books may show more detail, the question is -- will you really need all the detail in the field? Generally, you have only a few seconds to identify a bird. Peterson's arrow markers and the alternating sections of white and light bluish-grey backgrounds make it easier for me to flip around the book quickly.

The SMITHSONIAN GUIDE is fully loaded and very heavy. Each bird occupies a single page, and the guide provides a nice "rule-of-thumb" feature that allows you to gauge the bird's size by the book size. I use my Smithsonian guide for follow-up work after a trek in the field -- and in my own back yard.

Apparently, the Peterson folks have considered the effects of global warming as the winter and summer ranges of the birds have been extended. I now have five kinds of wrens visiting my small back yard in Arlington VA. And, when I travel to Wisconsin in a week or so, I can use the Peterson guide because it extends west to Minnesota.

Do not expect more than ID from the book. It is excellent at ID but that is all you will get for sure. I bought it for ID and it serves the purpose very well. One must also question the range maps since as explained in the text of the book they are compromised.

It might interest the reader of this review (since your looking at the book) to know that while fresh water only represents about 1% of the available aquatic habitat on earth over half of the known species of fish live in it. I'll leave it up to you to find out why. Peterson Field Guides have a winning formula, find an expert, set them up with a good illustrator and see what comes out. This book finishes the trio that covers all of the fishes likely to be encountered by a North American fisherman, diver or naturalist. Like the Fishes of the Atlantic Coast and the Fishes of the Pacific Coast it is well organized, well written, all inclusive (of species) and as informative as space will allow. If you are curious about fishes in general or encounter fresh water fish with any kind of regularity you owe it to yourself to find out what they are. And, if you live in North America you should have this book.

This book has informed me on the many fishes I catch ranging from California to New York. Every year when I go down to Arkansas I alwyas bring it with me on my fishing journeys so that I no whati am catching. It has over 700 illistrations and over 300 maps. In all of my searching for book this has been the most helpful book I have used. I recamend buying it for yourself. It will help you alot.

This is a great book for serious birders. It contains a great amount of important information that is well organized and helpful. This is a technical book that I would not recommend for the beginner, however, I found it practical in its structure and content.

I strongly recommend this book. I held back from awarding a full five stars because I felt that their illustrations lacked a little "life" although experienced birders will probably not find this to be a problem.

I bought this book and the contents are very helpful in identifying birds. The problem is it has the information duplicated from pages 145 to 176, skipping from page 112. I have tried to exchange it with another one, but it had the same problem. I tried to do that for the third time, and now I am waiting for it. I hope it arrives with all the pages and no duplications.

This book rocks the house