Birds of Oklahoma: Field Guide

Rating:
Summary: Specialized, but excellent!
Review: Perhaps the greatest strength of this book is that it is extremely specialized--It is prepared with the goal of helping you identify in the field birds frequently spotted in Oklahoma. The book has a two-page spread on each species, the left side is a photo of the bird (possibly with insets of different morphs, juveniles, or the opposite sex), and the right side is a page packed with information. Each species has short descriptions of key facts about the species. If the male and female of a species are very different in appearance and have dramatically different dominant colors, each gets a page spread (with photograph) in the appropriate color section. Each species layout includes an Oklahoma map with ranges where the bird is found in different seasons.
I mention color section, because the book is organized by predominant color. If you see a bird that is mostly yellow, you turn to the "yellow" section of the book. Page edges are marked to enable you to do this quickly. Look through the photos in that section, and hopefully you will be able to make a quick match. For me, this system works very well.
The book is fairly small, so it can easily be carried in the field. I do wish the binding and pages were more waterproof. I suspect it will need replacement sooner or later. But for this price, I can afford that down the road!
The book doesn't try to do a lot of things, but the few things it does, it does very well. It will do a good job of helping you ID common birds found in Oklahoma. It won't identify rare strays or accidentals, and it won't be much use if you are trying to bird in Connecticut! But within this limited sphere, it is an excellent value.