National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America facts for kids
The National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America is a special book that helps people identify birds in the United States and Canada. It's like a detective's handbook for birdwatchers! The National Geographic Society first published this guide in 1983. Since then, they have made six updated versions. The book tells you how to recognize different birds. It also shares where they live, what kind of places they like, and what their calls sound like. Each bird has its own page with facts, and a picture is right next to it.
Contents
The Guide's Journey: How It Grew
Over the years, the National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America has changed and grown. Each new version added more birds and better information.
Early Editions: Starting Strong
The very first guide came out in 1983. It had information on over 800 types of birds. This book was one of the first popular bird guides. Many people bought it to learn about birds.
The second edition came out in 1987. It also covered over 800 species. Experts like Jon L. Dunn and Eirik A. T. Blom helped create it. Many artists drew the bird pictures.
In 1999, the third edition was released. It added 80 new species of birds! This was because scientists found new birds or changed how they classified them. The maps showing where birds lived also got better.
The fourth edition arrived in 2002. A big change in this version was that 250 bird maps were updated. This helped birdwatchers know exactly where to find certain birds.
Later Editions: More Birds, More Features
The fifth edition, published in 2007, was even bigger. It had details for 967 bird species. This guide also added special "thumb-tabs." These are like little shortcuts on the side of the pages. They help you quickly find groups of birds, like hawks or warblers. It also listed very rare birds that only visit North America a few times.
In 2011, the sixth edition came out. It grew to include 990 different bird species. This version also had more maps for birds that have different types within their species.
The Latest Guide: Seventh Edition
The seventh and most current edition was released in 2017. It has 592 pages. This guide includes every bird ever seen in North America up to 2016. It added 37 new bird species and updated many maps and pictures. The pictures of hummingbirds were especially improved in this version.
Other National Geographic Bird Books
Besides their main field guide, National Geographic has made other helpful books about birds.
National Geographic Complete Birds of North America
In 2005, National Geographic released a bigger book called National Geographic Complete Birds of North America. This book is a "companion" to the regular field guide. It's too big to carry in the field, but it has even more details. It includes introductions to bird families. It also gives deeper tips on how to identify birds that are hard to tell apart. A second version of this book came out in 2014.
Regional Bird Guides
National Geographic also made guides for specific parts of North America. In 2008, they published guides for the birds of Eastern North America and Western North America.
They also created guides for individual states! These include books for Pennsylvania, Colorado, Washington and Oregon, Texas, Michigan, Florida, Arizona and New Mexico, New Jersey, California, and North and South Carolina.
Other Handy Bird Guides
In 2013, National Geographic released a smaller book called National Geographic Pocket Guide to the Birds of North America. This guide is only 192 pages long. It focuses on the 160 most common birds you might see. Each bird gets its own full page with a picture and facts.
Another helpful book is the National Geographic Backyard Guide to the Birds of North America. It first came out in 2011. This guide talks about the 150 most common birds you might find in your yard. It also shares tips on how to make your backyard a friendly place for birds. A second edition of this book was released in 2019.
