Vetted by America's leading learning institutions, the Smithsonian, these guides are an absolute staple for any birder or ornithologist. With over 1,000 photographs of 700 species examined with full-page profiles, descriptions, & annotated photographs, Birds of North America are the biggest, most comprehensive pair of photographic field guides available today. Annotation. Alsop (ornithology and biological sciences, East Tennessee State U.) has produced a field manual with a flexible plastic cover for bird watchers and others interested in identifying birds of western North America. After several sections explaining the field's terminology and the book's codes, he profiles each species in one page. Color drawings, including gender, age, and season variations if important and similar birds not to be confused; a color range map; a diagram of flight pattern; a scale guide; nest information; and other data accompany the terse text. The birds are arranged by taxonomic order, and indexed by common and Latin names.