A new landmark in nature guides: the most authoritative, beautiful, and useful national pocket guide to birds. Pocket-size, brilliantly colorful, and easy to use, The Stokes Essential Pocket Guide to the Birds of North America contains everything you need to identify and enjoy birds in your backyard and beyond. Whether you're age 9 or 90, whether you're a novice or advanced birder, this book will help you identify birds quickly and accurately. It offers more than 580 stunning color photographs, coverage of more than 250 species, key identification clues, descriptions of songs and calls, notes on feeding and nesting behavior, advice on selecting bird feeders and binoculars, important behavioral information and key habitat preferences, and up-to-date range maps. The culmination of many years of research, observation, and study, this book is factually, visually, and organizationally superior to any other beginner's guide on the market.