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Rating: 
Summary: great!
Review: Like the other reviewer here, I too, am new to birdwatching. I bought two other large guidebooks that cover the eastern part of the country but while these (especially the Smithsonian Handbooks "Birds of America") were great for providing information on all birds in my half of the country, I didn't find them very useful for determing what birds actually live here in northern Illinois specifically. Knowing what is supposed to be here has made it much much easier for me to identify the birds that come to my backyard feeders so I'm not hot on the trail of what I think is a White-Crested Firecracker Wheat Wren when, in fact, it's really a Black-Capped Chickadee.I also found the information on what each type of bird eats quite useful as well as the "Stan's Notes" information at the bottom of each entry. Another thing I found very helpful is the fact that where male and female birds differ in appearance, each is listed separately. For example, the female Purple Finch is is listed on pages 84-85 in the "brown" section while the male is found at pages 228-229 in the "red" section, thus making it much easier to determine whether what you are looking at is a sparrow of some sort or, in fact, a female Rose-Breasted Grossbeak.
Rating:
Summary: great!
Review: Like the other reviewer here, I too, am new to birdwatching. I bought two other large guidebooks that cover the eastern part of the country but while these (especially the Smithsonian Handbooks "Birds of America") were great for providing information on all birds in my half of the country, I didn't find them very useful for determing what birds actually live here in northern Illinois specifically. Knowing what is supposed to be here has made it much much easier for me to identify the birds that come to my backyard feeders so I'm not hot on the trail of what I think is a White-Crested Firecracker Wheat Wren when, in fact, it's really a Black-Capped Chickadee. I also found the information on what each type of bird eats quite useful as well as the "Stan's Notes" information at the bottom of each entry. Another thing I found very helpful is the fact that where male and female birds differ in appearance, each is listed separately. For example, the female Purple Finch is is listed on pages 84-85 in the "brown" section while the male is found at pages 228-229 in the "red" section, thus making it much easier to determine whether what you are looking at is a sparrow of some sort or, in fact, a female Rose-Breasted Grossbeak.
Rating:
Summary: Makes bird watching enjoyable.
Review: This is a great book, especially if you are new to "birding", like I am. It contains 111 species that you'll find in Illinois and also has a "compare" section...if you aren't sure which finch you're seeing. Very friendly user; the first page is a bird color guide. If you are trying to find a bird that is mostly gray...you flip to the gray section on pages 162-207. I also liked the range map of Illinois which shows the location where you will likely find the bird, and when ... summer, winter, all year or during migration. A lot of information is provided on each bird and includes the size of the bird; the color of the male, female and juvenile; where to find the nest and the color of the eggs; what the bird eats, and if it is attracted to feeders. I especially liked "Stan's Notes", which provides naturalist information and curious little facts that will leave you saying, "Hmmm, I didn't know that!"
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