[Birdtalk] New National Geo

[Alton Thygerson]

The fifth edition of the National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North
American is now available.  While the cover closely resembles the fourth
edition, there are changes.  The changes between the third and fourth
editions were minimal, but this new edition appears to have more revisions.

Features include: updated maps, coverage of every species ever recorded in
North America (967 species), thumbtabs for quickly locating seven of the
major families (i.e., hawks, finches, sandpipers, flycatchers, sparrows,
warblers, gulls), and 14 pages showing accidentals (71 species).

Ned Bixler, a newcomer to Utah and a long-time birder from the mid-west,
made an interesting observation.  Ned said that he noticed western birders
tend to carry Sibley while eastern birders leaned more to the National
Geographic.  Any comments about this would be interesting.

We all know that it's wise to carry more than one field guide unless you are
hiking at high altitude and don't want the additional weight or on a trip
with limited space in a bag or suitcase.

Be on the lookout in the birding magazines (e.g., Birders World, Bird
Watchers Digest, Wild Bird, Birding) for reviews in the future about the new
National Geo's pros and cons.

Alton Thygerson