Birds of Northern California

by David Fix, Andy Bezener, Gary Ross (Illustrator)

Learn in fascinating detail about 320 species of northern California birds. Descriptions, illustrations and range maps help you identify birds and understand their habits. Perfect for beginner birders and beyond.

Genres: Birds, Reference, Nature, Nonfiction, Science

384 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2000

Reviews

[Tim Null · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my goto book when I'm just sitting in the backyard watching and listening to birds. My goto software is Merlin by The Cornell Lab. It has a Sound ID function that I love. I turn it on, and it tells me what birds are singing. More often than not, two or three birds will be singing at nearly the same time.

[Puja · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Birding is in its essence, the mere act of watching birds." Words of wisdom from David Fix in the Introduction section of the book. So if an expert like him says it, you don't have to be an advanced birder who prides herself on spotting rare birds in difficult terrain and can rattle off an envious list of species you've seen in your lifetime - you could be simply observing the birds that visit you in your backyard. I quite liked reading the Introduction. Fix talks about bird watching in Northern California and birding as a hobby, sport, medicine, business, and science. He touches upon the increasing popularity, different levels of involvement, benefits, and the more scientific approach in the modern era. Any novice having second thoughts would feel assured about venturing into this hobby which can often appear intimidating at first. There are also details on the tools and techniques for birding, birding activities and description on the bio-regions of Northern California - the regional focus of this guide.

The Introduction is preceded by a neat reference guide in the opening pages with thumbnails of birds in color categorized as per the type of bird e.g. Shorebirds, Doves & Cuckoos, Woodpeckers, Larks & Swallows, and so on. The book is thus overall very easy to navigate, with these thumbnails one can easily spot the bird there without having to flip through the whole guide. The main guide with each bird has some personality or behavioral or unusual information on the bird in addition to the routine details - something I found rather appealing and interesting compared to the standard technical guides. However, it does not have photographs and uses sketches/illustrations. I am comparing this guide to the other guide I reviewed recently (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ) as I had picked up both at the same time. This probably has lesser technical details than Stokes, but suffices just fine. So if you're in Northern California and want to get to know the birdies better, what are you waiting for ? Grab your binoculars and head out with this guide. Happy birding !

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished this. Great beginning birder book. Great for me.