Date: 10/8/26 12:39 pm From: Kent Fiala (via carolinabirds Mailing List) <carolinabirds...> Subject: Re: The best field guide ever for North America is coming in early 2027
The Table of Contents lists
Eagles and Osprey 254 Hawks 258
The pages shown seem to be 254 and 255. So I guess that leaves pages 256 and 257 to be two more pages of eagles and osprey.
I'm really looking forward to this book. I've always been mystified why we had to settle for Sibley.
Kent Fiala
On 10/8/2026 2:16 PM, <badgerboy...> wrote: > > I took a quick look at the preview on the princeton site, and one > thing jumped out at me--on the page with eagles and osprey, there > doesn't seem to be a juvenile or immature eagle of either species > shown. Perhaps its on the next page (have to TURN the page to find > out), or not, since that is not shown in the preview, but I certainly > wouldn't think it very convenient to have to flip pages back and forth > to see the adults and immatures. In Sibley the pages for Golden and > Bald Eagles are facing each other so you can see all the developmental > stages of both eagles without fumbling with pages. When you have a > memory as porous as mine that's important. > > Of course, this might be an isolated instance of something that is > less than ideal, but without more access for examination, I would have > to assume there is more like that. > > Guy (McGrane, Boone, NC) > > On 10/7/2026 12:49 PM, Harry LeGrand (via carolinabirds Mailing List) > wrote: >> Folks, >> >> When I have been scrolling through Facebook recently, I have seen a >> number of ads for a new Princeton Field Guide titled -- "_The Bird >> Guide: North America_". >> >> https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691137278/the-bird-guide-north-america >> >> I didn't think much about this upcoming book, as we have plenty of >> North American bird field guides already, as we know. But, I decided >> to take a closer look, called up that title on both the Amazon and >> Princeton books website; lo and behold, both websites DO have the >> much needed "Look inside" feature that allows a potential buyer much >> valuable intel about what the species accounts, illustrations, and >> range maps look like. Wow! if you scroll toward the bottom, you get >> to some selected species accounts, including several pages just for >> immature jaegers, gulls, etc. In comparison, the best current guide, >> in my opinion -- the National Geographic guide -- still has a bunch >> of less-than-stellar illustrations and (though complete including >> accidentals) is 574 pages. This book is also supposedly complete and >> has 624 pages. The NatGeo guide says it has about 3,000 bird >> illustrations; the Princeton guide says it has about 7,000 >> illustrations. Some folks prefer the Sibley field guide, which is >> also fine -- I have both Nat Geo and Sibley; it is a much larger size >> with larger paintings, but the text is rather sparse as compared with >> NatGeo and the Princeton guides. >> >> Also, the four authors of the Princeton guide are well-known authors >> in their own right, and the two illustrators are clearly exceptional. >> The retail price is $35 for the 6" x 9" book. (The NatGeo that I just >> measured is 5.5 x 8"), and Sibley is about 6.25 x 9.5"). Folks who >> have the also excellent Princeton Field Guide to the _Birds of >> Europe_ (like I do) will note the similarity in format and >> thoroughness of that book with the upcoming North America book. In >> fact, bird book reviewers have said the most recent Europe guide by >> Princeton is the best single bird field guide ever produced, with the >> combination of many excellent paintings, thorough text, and >> precise-enough range maps. I would think that this North America >> field guide will get the same amount of praise. >> >> The only drawback I see is the small print/font (to be able to fit so >> much text into small places!), which may require me and others to use >> a magnifying glass, which I do have and use often. I never take bird >> field guides in the field; they stay in the car or at home, and thus >> for my taste, I'd rather the book be Sibley-sized and thus have a bit >> larger font size that we older folks can read without bifocals or >> magnifying glasses!! >> >> As the flier says, it can be pre-ordered now. And, as expected, >> Amazon and other websites have a lower price. The expected >> publication date is March 9, 2027. >> >> Harry LeGrand >> Raleigh >> >> PS -- I suppose we'd all prefer a less abundant bird on the cover >> than the American Robin! >> > --
