National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Rocky Mountain States: Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado

We have several of these - one for the Mid-Atlantic, one for California, and so when we were planning a trip to the Rockies region, we didn't hesitate to go ahead and purchase this one. These are great field guides. Not as comprehensive as specific guides would be, i.e., a single guide for birds, another for trees, another for mammals, etc..., but there's enough information here to help you identify most of what you might see in an area. Also gives some nice information about local preserves and parks, places to go, places of interest from a naturalist standpoint, and has wonderful photography of wildlife throughout. A great, basic guide.

This is an essential guide book that no nature lover should be without. It includes sections on the flora and fauna of the region, plus lots of other useful information for outdoor sports lovers, including guides to all the national parks in the area. If you love hiking but don't know what birds or insects you're seeing along the route, this is the book for you--there are color pictures of all the creatures, with descriptions of their distinctive features, habitat, and behavior. Also, it's small enough that it can actually fit into your jacket, backpack or (large) pocket, so you won't be tempted to leave it at home.

I just moved to Colorado, and this is a great, affordable option to buying separate guides for birds, trees, insects, and minerals. There is so much information packed into the book, and yet it is small enough to take on any hike.

This is not the most thorough of all field guides imaginable but it is easily the best that I can imagine that you could take with you in the field. It really is pocket-sized! It will fit in the shirt pocket of my long-sleeved flannel shirts, though it's too heavy (450pp.) to be entirely comfortable there. It fits better in roomy pants pockets, jacket pockets, or the side pocket of a day pack. The book has everything, including some geology and habitat information as well as mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, birds and plants. It's exhaustive for the mammals that I've seen in the Rockies and nearly exhaustive for birds. It has good, small pictures of everything with information about ranges and seasons. There is plenty of information, clearly organized, to help you identify things that you see.

As with all of the National Audubon Society's field guides, the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Rocky Mountain States" is a most worthwhile purchase, perfect as a gift or for your own collection. The guide is durable and very portable, which makes it well suited for use in the outdoors. More importantly, it has excellent content. Despite its small size, the field guide contains a wealth of information. In addition to the usual focus on flora and fauna species, there is information on constellations, parks, ecosystems, and more. While the depth and detail of the information in the various sections is not vast, the breadth of subject matter more than makes up for this; the information presented is ideal for a general field guide. Moreover, the book is beautiful, filled with gorgeous color photographs. Residents of the Rocky Mountain states and non-residents will both love it.