Birds of Minnesota Field Guide, Second Edition

This book and all the other "Birds of (state)" guides by Stan Tekiela seem to bring out the worst in experienced birders. While I am a beginner at birding, this dislike of Tekiela's guides is somewhat understandable. To experienced birders, a bird guide in which the birds are listed by color, not taxonomy, is bordering on criminal. Many of those birders seem to have forgotten that they were once novices and likely confused sparrows with wrens or finches. A beginning birder is likely to be overwhelmed by all the birds listed in a Sibley Guide, Kaufmann Focus Guide, or even a Peterson Guide. What better for a beginner than a book that lists the 100+ most common birds in their state in order of color. You see a brown bird with a small beak and a light yellow chest, you flip to the brown birds and only have to browse through 40 or so birds to try and find what you saw. Easy. After a few months, you'll begin to recognize sparrows, finches, warblers for what they are (maybe not the exact species) and will want a more advanced book. This book is the best at what it is. A guide for beginning birders or people who only look at birds out in their backyard feeders. Don't compare it to the Sibley, Kaufmann, etc.... Highly Recommended!

The order that most advanced bird books display is what will turn off the novice birder. This book solves that by ordering by color (and then size). The color pictures are good and the descriptions are top-notch. The checklist at the back of the book is also good because it is attainable in the average year (unlike the Peterson guide which has the Passenger Pigeon on its checklist). I would recommend this as a first MN bird book, then move onto the Peterson, Sibley, Stokes, or Kaufman guides.

When I visited my mother in July, she had this book sitting near the patio doors that opened to the backyard. It was the easist field guide that I have ever used. Categorizing the birds by color is what made it so easy. Even a novice like me could pick up the book and begin identifying the birds in the backyard right away. The thing that disappointed me the most is that Stan Tekiela doesn't have a similar one for Washington State, where I live.

I love this book. So does my 6 year old, who uses it more than I. The photographs are very clear, and males and females are both pictured. Categorizing by color helps to quickly find the picture of the bird that just flew by. The info listed (nest type, eggs, incubation and fledgling periods, preferred food, etc.) is concise and interesting, as are Stan's Notes. We've found every bird that frequents our feeders and nesting boxes in this book, as well as those in the nature preserve area near us. Our book has a permanent home with the binoculars by the picture window; it's not on the bookshelf!

I'm not sure why one one reviewer wants to say zero stars. This guide book states its goal in the introduction. It aims to help you identify birds you see in the field. It outright says that it does not cover all birds seen in Minnesota, just the most common ones. I have worn my copy out. I think its a fantastic book. It provides solid basic information and good pictures. The negative reviewer complains the photos are too good? Well, in a way I can see that, but the text has hints on identification and how to differentiate between the bird in question and birds that are easily misidentified with it.A good solid introduction to local birds. I like this book a lot.