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by pedz on Wed Mar 15, 2023 9:25 am

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As I recall, when I was a child, there were field guides. One I think was called Peterson’s Field Guide.

My memory may be whacko but I believe it had points on a bird to look for to distinguish it from similar birds. Do these things still exist today? I have on my iPhone / iPad “iBird” and “eBird” as well as Merlin Bird Id. And, I use the “Photo” look up a lot. But I think I would like to learn and eventually memorize what is the difference between for example a mourning dove, a white-tipped dove, and a rock dove.

It would be fine if it was a dead tree book, a PDF, an iOS app — free or non-free.

Thank you very much,
Perry Smith

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by neverspook on Wed Mar 15, 2023 6:48 pm

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pedz wrote: As I recall, when I was a child, there were field guides. One I think was called Peterson’s Field Guide.

My memory may be whacko but I believe it had points on a bird to look for to distinguish it from similar birds. Do these things still exist today? I have on my iPhone / iPad “iBird” and “eBird” as well as Merlin Bird Id. And, I use the “Photo” look up a lot. But I think I would like to learn and eventually memorize what is the difference between for example a mourning dove, a white-tipped dove, and a rock dove.

It would be fine if it was a dead tree book, a PDF, an iOS app — free or non-free.

You can still get Peterson's Field Guides for birds, mammals, herptiles, plants etc for different regions. Sibley's bird guides are also excellent.

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by aholman1351 on Wed Mar 15, 2023 6:53 pm

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pedz wrote: As I recall, when I was a child, there were field guides. One I think was called Peterson’s Field Guide.

My memory may be whacko but I believe it had points on a bird to look for to distinguish it from similar birds. Do these things still exist today? I have on my iPhone / iPad “iBird” and “eBird” as well as Merlin Bird Id. And, I use the “Photo” look up a lot. But I think I would like to learn and eventually memorize what is the difference between for example a mourning dove, a white-tipped dove, and a rock dove.

It would be fine if it was a dead tree book, a PDF, an iOS app — free or non-free.

Your best bet to identify and learn differences for bird id is probably The Sibley Guide to Birds. You can find the dove examples on p 255-260

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by SantaFeJoe on Wed Mar 15, 2023 8:30 pm

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Sibley Birds is available as an app for Android and iPhone. Audubon Bird Guide app is free for both iPhone and Android. And there's Peterson's Birds. Check for availability. Sometimes these apps get discontinued.

https://www.birderslibrary.com/reviews/ ... ds_app.htm

https://www.audubon.org/app#:~:text=The ... near%20you.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sibley-bi ... 1236011411

Joe

Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist. -Pablo Picasso

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by Brian E. Small on Thu Mar 16, 2023 11:17 am

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Sibley is good but the best on the market is National Geographic.............here's a link:

https://www.amazon.com/National-Geograp ... 129&sr=8-1

Brian E. Small

www.briansmallphoto.com
NSN 0479
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id ... 07&fref=ts

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by Pete Zwiers on Thu Mar 16, 2023 8:21 pm

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I have found the NG quide to be the best by far for me also.

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by Glenn01 on Thu Mar 16, 2023 8:42 pm

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I actually find all the major guides good, but not all the same. That said, I carry the Peterson, Sibley and Nat Geo in the car at all times. Each guide emphasizes something different and often I need all three to nail down an ID. Overall though, I find Sibley the best but for beginners I think Peterson is the best. You really need to try all of them to get an idea as to which is good. There are also more than these three, but these are the best of the bunch. Then when you get more involved you will get guides to the various groups. Be prepared with a bookcase!

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by P.W.Post on Sat Mar 18, 2023 10:35 am

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The only two Field Guides modern field guides I would consider are the Sibley and Nat. Geo. guides. Peterson died in 1996 and attempts to keep it alive, with new editions, have IMO been failures. I prefer the Sibley which comes in a version that covers the entire North America or two smaller versions that cover either the Eastern half of the Western half of North America. But the Nat. Geo. guide is also excellent. I have both. Being that you live in Texas, if you decide to go with the Sibley, I would get he one that cover the entire country.

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