Identify Yourself: The 50 Most Common Birding Identification Challenges

by Bill Thompson III

Book Overview

Based on the Bird Watcher's Digest column of the same name, this book examines groupings of bird species that are commonly encountered but difficult to identify. The text goes into far more detail than is possible in the traditional field guide format, giving beginning and intermediate bird watchers a helping hand.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618514694
• ISBN13: 9780618514694
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 392 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A Book for all Birders

I discovered this book by accident and found it very useful. I am a relative novice at birding and this book has really helped make me a better birder. The Top 20 Rules of the Bird Identification Game make this book well worth the price. But it isn't just for beginners. I bought a copy for a friend who is a very accomplished birder and she has found it very useful in identifying gulls. For me the sparrows are difficult and this book has made it easier. I can actually identify many of those LBJ's (little brown jobs).

Identify Yourself

I've been looking for a book like this for a while. I highly recommend it to anyone that needs a little bird identification help and is confused on similar looking species. It offers many useful tips and a lot of great advice. This is not the book, however, if you're looking to identify flycatchers or specific shorebirds. Besides that, though, this is a fantastic book.

A great help for new and seasoned birders

This book came out this summer,but I just found it this week. It is going to be a great help for all birders,particularly the novice and intermediate.Even those who have been at it for years will find lots of identifying points to help them sort out those birds that are very similar.Whether dealing with sorting out similar sparrow species,similar shorebirds,similar finches,similar blackbirds,etc it is very difficult moving past the obvious birds ,particularly in breeding plumage,and trying to convince yourself that you can differentiate between female Cowbirds and female Brewer's Blackbirds;especially while finding them alone.Here's where this book shines.It takes those similar birds ,that confuse many,and describes the point,s that help tell the difference. BirdWatcher's Digest has been the most popular 'Bird Magazine for many years ,now having over 70,000 subscribers.One of the best features has been Eirek A.T. Blom,s articles on identification.Along with that Julie Zickefosse's excellent artwork and illustrations have been admired for years.This book takes that wonderful work,by some of the best,that has come out over the years ,and put it all together in one book.It is put together in a manner that makes it a pleasure to read and easy to understand. I must stress,this is not a typical field guide to all the birds;it is a terrific addition for any one of those guides,to help sort out those similar species that give everyone lots of trouble.If you already have a field guide,this should be the next book to get,I guarantee you will not regret it. In 1990 Kenn Kaufman wrote a book "Advanced Birding" that was similar to this book ,but was geared to the advanced birder to help sort out the real tough ones .This new book is aimed at those common species that are encountered virtually every day you go birding. No doubt about it,there has been a long time need for this book and will be very popular with all birders.

Review of "Identify Yourself" The 50 most common birding ID problems

This book is the first book I have read about birds that tackles the tough job of identfying the really difficult birds. I have been birding over 20 years and this is the first of its kind, I believe. The author, Bill Thompson III, presents those very subtle ID marks that will help even the experienced birder. The sketches by Julie Zickeffoose are remarkable. I highly recommend this book for all serious birders. Anthony Soule

A guide for avid birders which explains why it's often so difficult to identify birds

Bill Thompson III and the editors of Bird Watcher's Digest present Identify Yourself: The 50 Most Common Birding Identification Challenges. Finally there's a guide for avid birders which explains why it's often so difficult to identify birds, from the challenges of separating immature colorings from adult to features which make common birds hard to tell apart. The focus on what elements make identification a challenge and how to overcome these challenges through alternate methods makes for a fine review of the major bird species and their unique attributes.