Review
“The new edition is comprehensive and authoritative, written clearly enough for a beginning birder to understand and yet highly detailed enough for those who are more experienced. Dunn’s expertise in bird taxonomy and Alderfer’s artistic skills are a boon to this latest update of the venerable Nat Geo, a most worthwhile addition to any birder’s library.” ABA blog
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 7th Edition rated number one on American Birding Association podcast, by book reviewer Donna Schulman.
"After testing nine bird guides by taking them out in the field, comparing their contents and usability, and interviewing experts about their pros and cons, we choose the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America as the best field guide for most people. Equal parts detailed and accessible, it will appeal to experts and novices alike...beautifully illustrated and impressively thorough, yet still compact enough for you to hold it comfortably in your hands or tuck it into a bag. Its comprehensiveness—including more than 1,000 species of birds—will appeal to more hardcore birders. But its special features, such as thumb tabs and a fold-out visual index, make it accessible for beginners, too." —Wirecutter
“What’s not to love about a fully updated, thicker Nat Geo guide?” –BirdWatching
"Bins, camera, Nat Geo—the three essential elements for a mega-rarity twitch. No other field guide to North American birds does rarities so comprehensively and so well...The publication of National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 7th Edition is one of the top bird book events of 2017." —10,000birds.com
“This latest edition of an eminent classic is so good that soon enough it won’t be read at all: it will be quoted, referred to, even recited by birders, young and old, who have committed its wisdom to heart and put its information to use every day in the field.” –Birdaz.com
“If you want to become a better birder, get this guide and use it often. The text is thorough and accurate, the plates are a gratifying combination of painterly and precise, and the layout is a tour de force.” —Ted Floyd, editor of Birding magazine
“National Geographic has packed so much—new species, new art, revised maps, subspecies details, updated taxonomy and the latest ID tips—into this newest edition of their classic field guide that I suspect it may simply explode.” —Scott Weidensaul, author of Living on the Wind
“This book really has it all. It's thorough and concise. The book feels high-quality, and is beautifully illustrated and enormously informative. This one is a must-have for all birders, whether amateur or experienced!” –Cerebral Girl in a Redneck World
"This was book is incredibly well done. The images are clear and easy to identify, and they are well organized, making finding the right bird quick and easy. Below the images, there are text tips, these are especially helpful if you can’t quite identify off the picture. I was happy to see the pictures showing the birds in flight, which is how I see them most of the time." –BookExpression
“It is a very fine book and the most recent edition has some great improvements. It’s an excellent field guide to have in your collection. –Birdchick
“This volume is a really great reference to have on hand—both for any nature studies and just for watching outside of your windows.” –Just a Secular Homeschooler
“This @natgeoguide is so comprehensive and easy to use! The drawings are clear and detailed, making it easy to actually determine what bird you’re looking at. The birds are also categorized by type (sparrow, hawk, gull, etc) making it quick to navigate. I plan to be that nerd 🤓 carrying around a bird book on our next adventure. No shame here.” –Instagram: @wellreadmama
“I’ve found the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds increasingly impressive with each successive edition into which it has been published…Thus, for those seeking the present pinnacle of field guides for their North American (north of Mexico, at least) birding activities, a guide rich in ornithological details that will withstand regular field use, the new seventh edition of the North American Field Guide to the Birds of North America is quite likely the book to be sought.” –The Well-read Naturalist
“…a beautifully crafted tome filled with tons of information that will delight bird watchers everywhere.” –A Dream Within a Dream
"Updated, upgraded, and indispensible. The illustrations are better than in any other field guide; the fully revised text is detailed, accurate, and well organized; and the maps are unmatched. This is the guide for birders and field ornithologiests." —Dr. J. V. Remsen, Jr., Museum of Natural Sciences, Louisiana State University
"A stellar update of this standard-setting field guide. The new edition offers innovative features for all skill and interest levels, from those seeking a basic ID to those who want their field guide to deliver the goods on behavior, taxonomy, and distribution." —Dr. Terry Chesser, Chair, AOS Committee on Classification and Nomenclature (North and Middle America)
"New birds, new knowledge and new art work just made the most essential guide for North American birders even more essential....You only need to buy one field guide for North America, and the National Geographic is it." —Neil Hayward, author of Lost Among the Birds "[This edition] continues to improve on the already outstanding previous editions. The addition of many new illustrations as well as updated text and range maps make this book the standard for North American field guides." —Mark W. Lockwood, author of The TOS Handbook of Texas Birds
About the Author
JON L. DUNN is a leading expert on the identification and distribution of North American birds. He is a consultant for Birding magazine, and former chair of the American Birding Association's Checklist Committee. JONATHAN ALDERFER is chief consultant for National Geographic's Birding Program and a widely published author and field guide illustrator. One of the nation's foremost birding artists, he is well known for his authority on North American birds and his expertise as a field birdwatcher.
