By Fred J. Alsop III
Published at DK
About the book
The most comprehensive series of field guides to North American birds ever. This impressive collection highlights birds from all regions of the United States including localized areas such as the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest and New England. Whether birding in the foothills of New England, the prairies of the Midwest, or the beaches of Florida, Smithsonian Handbooks are the most comprehensive field guides to North American birds on the market. Looking for the Great Blue Heron or the Piping Plover while visiting the Great Lakes? Desperate to find the rare Long Billed Curlew or the Marbled Godwit during a hike in the Cascade Mountains? There's no need to look any further! Created in association with the Smithsonian Institution, these amazing guides are an absolute staple for any birder or amateur ornithologist. Each local species receives its own profile, along with descriptions of habitats and annotated photographs that highlight specific characteristics and other points of interest. Take bird watching to new heights!
My Thoughts
As I mentioned in a previous post, our family will be driving to Florida sometime this summer. And being the kind of person who enjoy learning more about the animals and birds I decided it would be fun to discover some of the birds that we might encounter while there. This is why I requested the book Birds of Florida which is part of the Smithsonian Handbooks published at DK.
This book is packed with beautiful birds that can be seems in Florida or on the coast of this state. The first 35 pages of the book will explain how the book works and the visual references within the book. Then you can discover more about the anatomy of birds along with the different part of a bird on a two-page presentation. The book also highlights the variations within species, how to identify birds, how to identify birds in flight, their silhouettes, behavior, how to do birdwatching and how to be a better birder. Once you have read these pages, you can start exploring Florida in order to discover the birds in the book. Make sure you bring binoculars as well when your are going out that way you won’t miss any beautiful specimen that might come across your path.
Each pages included in this book contains photographs, illustrations, a list of similar birds, a distribution map with indication as to if the bird is a permanent resident/summer resident/winter resident, flight patterns, nest identification, habitat, and much more.
This book is definitively the kind of book I would bring when visiting a state. The fact that is contains specifically the bird found in Florida is particularly nice because that means that the book is easy to carry. Mind you it contains over 400 pages so it is quite thick but the size is perfect to slip it in a backpack. No matter where we are, I will bring this book with us at all times. As a matter of fact, I plan to leave it in the truck so that way we will not forget it when we leave the RV. That way it will always be available for us to check it. I also plan to bring it with us when we go on the coasts to go to the beach.
Needless to say for Floridians or visitors that enjoy birds, this book is definitively a must have. And even if you go to Florida for a few weeks, you can always leave the book behind for someone else to use it. I am looking forward to discover the birds of Florida with my family – especially since we will be camping in state parks which I suspect will have some birds to observe.
Birds of Florida is available for purchase at your favorite bookstore, even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.
Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for allowing me to promote these books. I was not monetarily compensated for this post . Please note that the post was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
A week ago, I have downloaded the 
