Jonathan Alderfer

This pocket guide, compiled by Erickson (science editor, Cornell Lab of Ornithology; The Bird Watching Answer Book: Everything You Need To Know To Enjoy Birds in Your Backyard and Beyond) and Alderfer (National Geographic Bird-Watcher's Bible: A Complete Treasury), includes 160 species found in North America, featuring photographs and paintings, a tiny range map, sidebars with key facts, and brief text with information on habitat, food, and voice, plus a thumbnail description. To further assist identification, the paintings are annotated, highlighting three or four salient features of each bird. Except for a three-page introduction and a short list of "Further Resources" that includes books, magazines, and websites, there is no supplementary material. There are over 700 species of birds to be found in North America, so this title is intended as an introduction.