New backyard bird book

It pays to peruse the non-fiction side of the new-book display in the Sisters Library. Just the other day I discovered the National Geographic's new "Backyard Guide to the Birds of North America," by Jonathan Alderfer and Paul Hess. About a month earlier the title "Empire of the Beetles" jumped out at me, and it's a winner.

Perhaps the best thing about the new National Geographic bird book is the two-piece cover. When you open it, the backside of the cover shows an instant, full-color quick-find index with migration patters and names of birds with page numbers. Fully opening the flap provides the user colored illustrations of the birds with page numbers.

In addition to several splendid full-page National Geographic-quality photos of birds, there is also a color index showing just birds' heads, under the headings of: mostly black, mostly brown, mostly orange and black, etc. For anyone new to birding, this is a very handy way to find a bird that catches the eye.

Be careful when you open the page right behind orange page 13, titled Backyard Basics, by Paul Hess; there's a full-page photo of two baby screech owls, staring at you from the entrance of their nesting cavity that will bowl you over. What a delight!

The field guide is made up of a mixture of art and photos (some photoshopped to more clearly demonstrate a point, such as a Cooper's Hawk chasing a Northern Flicker).

With waterproof paper, small size and something that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, this new guide is something the novice, as well as the experienced birder, may want to carry. It will fit in a camera bag or vehicle glove-box easily. It can be stuffed under the belt of your trousers and not be bulky, and it looks somewhat kid-proof, which means it can take some rough handling, a plus for any field guide.

There is only one aspect of the book you might find annoying: it was printed in China. With jobs being the number-one issue in the U.S. today, you have to wonder why the National Geographic found it necessary to have such a well-designed book of U.S. birds printed somewhere else. Maybe that's why it costs about $18 in most places.