Best pocket-sized bird identification reference book?

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jer

jer

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...for North America? My realllyyy old Harper & Row's Complete Field Guide to North American Wildlife (Eastern) includes 1500 species of wildlife. But I want a pocket guide for just birds for all of North America, not just the eastern half. That way I can better follow all these beautiful photos you guys are posting and I can toss it in my camera backpack when I go out (mostly in Texas).
►Anyone got a favorite?
►Is there a default go-to gotta-have?
►Not really looking for digital, although I might get the Kindle version too. :LOL:
 
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The Merlin bird app is terrific. And free. You do not need the internet once the app is installed, including any bird packs you want (also free) and occasional updates. Merlin initially only covered North America, but has been expanding around the world and now includes free bird packs for much of Europe, South America, Asia and Africa. The photo ID function is great, if you can transfer your photo to your phone or tablet.

The Cornell Lab also offers web-based resources you can check out. Some are free. It also has a service called Birds of the World, with very detailed information on species around much of the world. This is by subscription ($40 or $50 a year, I think) unless you are a member of certain birding groups. I use this also, as I love to photograph birds and enjoy the additional information.
 
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Merlin is nice. We always have our iphones with us these days. Leave the Sibley's at home. No connection needed so long as you have the regional bird packs installed.

Free but I still choose to support Cornell Lab of Ornithology (y)
 
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KimM said:
Besides Merlin, I also use IBirdPro.
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KimM, what is your process with 2 programs? Can't find your bird in one so try the other? Or does it have to do with one is better for ID'ing a bird and the other for recording the list of birds you have seen?
 
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Steve said:
I'll put in another vote for the Merlin app. It's been an incredible tool for me and way easier to carry than a paper book. I'd give it a try for sure.
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1. Steve, if you had not started this forum, where would I have asked this question? (Rhetorical, just saying again... THANKS!)
2. @all, Now I see why all the interest in solar re-chargers for mobile phones! 🤣🤣
3. Overwhelming responses for Merlin (Steve, this might be a good subject for ongoing poll feature of this forum, since you're not busy.) 😉😁
4. The big result (drum-roll here): Well, okay, you, my experts, have convinced me to try digital with Merlin on my Android. But the idea bothers me to be out in the glorious outdoors and turn on my cell phone. So I will also go the book route and consider Peterson's (thanks, Neil), and Sibley's (thanks, Duff). Yes, as a cursed Libra, this is always the way I make decisions.

Thanks to all of you.
 
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Merlin is great because you can take a photo and later let Merlin ID it for you. It looks at the photo and gIves you the suggested ID.
Also gives you the bird sounds as well.
 
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Ralph Bruno said:
Merlin is great because you can take a photo and later let Merlin ID it for you. It looks at the photo and gIves you the suggested ID.
Also gives you the bird sounds as well.
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Ralph, thanks, based on the recommendations here, I read some user comments about Merlin at the Google Play-Store. A woman said she turns on the cardinal bird sounds and the cardinals in her backyard respond to the Merlin sounds! Must be pretty good.
 
The sounds are definitely useful for ID purposes also.
I understand your point of not turning on a phone while experiencing the great outdoors, You can always leave the phone behind and id the birds later with field guides and merlin app, using your photos.
 
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Hut said:
The sounds are definitely useful for ID purposes also.
I understand your point of not turning on a phone while experiencing the great outdoors, You can always leave the phone behind and id the birds later with field guides and merlin app, using your photos.
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Hut, thanks for the follow-up to re-orient my thinking a bit. You are right, that is the way to do it and not take time away from the shooting adventure. I was thinking shoot, id, shoot, id, etc. Much better to do it as you point out, shoot all day, then go id. I like that.
 
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@jer. Thanks for starting this thread. I just downloaded Merlin because I had never heard of it before. It is certainly more than just an app on your phone.
  1. It has worldwide locations - it's got me covered here in Australia
  2. It's an encyclopedia of birds. Thanks to Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Cornell University)
  3. It's got search to help you identify birds.
  4. Want to know what your bird sounds like? It's got sound.
  5. There are actually 2 apps. Merlin and eBird. eBird lets you record details about any of your personal sightings.
  6. It's not just on your phone. It's on the internet. https://ebird.org/home
  7. Best of all. It's FREE
(y)(y)(y)(y)(y)

PS. What bothers you about turning on the phone? If it's being bothered by other people or just having the damn thing ring and disturb that bird you were about to take a pic of, just turn on silent mode. Alternatively, you can turn it on and off just when you need to.
 
Oztours said:
@jer. Thanks for starting this thread. I just downloaded Merlin because I had never heard of it before. It is certainly more than just an app on your phone.
  1. It has worldwide locations - it's got me covered here in Australia
  2. It's an encyclopedia of birds. Thanks to Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Cornell University)
  3. It's got search to help you identify birds.
  4. Want to know what your bird sounds like? It's got sound.
  5. There are actually 2 apps. Merlin and eBird. eBird lets you record details about any of your personal sightings.
  6. It's not just on your phone. It's on the internet. https://ebird.org/home
  7. Best of all. It's FREE
(y)(y)(y)(y)(y)

PS. What bothers you about turning on the phone? If it's being bothered by other people or just having the damn thing ring and disturb that bird you were about to take a pic of, just turn on silent mode. Alternatively, you can turn it on and off just when you need to.
Click to expand...
Airplane mode is a nice feature sometimes.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology on Facebook is also a nice place to view and share bird photos. (I’m off Facebook but one of the few things I miss is their group)
 
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Oztours said:
@jer. Thanks for starting this thread. I just downloaded Merlin because I had never heard of it before. It is certainly more than just an app on your phone.
  1. It has worldwide locations - it's got me covered here in Australia
  2. It's an encyclopedia of birds. Thanks to Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Cornell University)
  3. It's got search to help you identify birds.
  4. Want to know what your bird sounds like? It's got sound.
  5. There are actually 2 apps. Merlin and eBird. eBird lets you record details about any of your personal sightings.
  6. It's not just on your phone. It's on the internet. https://ebird.org/home
  7. Best of all. It's FREE
(y)(y)(y)(y)(y)

PS. What bothers you about turning on the phone? If it's being bothered by other people or just having the damn thing ring and disturb that bird you were about to take a pic of, just turn on silent mode. Alternatively, you can turn it on and off just when you need to.
Click to expand...
Peter, now see there—you are a man of action, already app-loaded up, figured it all out, detailed 7 advantages, and I bet you've already ID'd 34 (night-time) birds in your backyard! And I'm still fussing around about it even after 19 experts here have said go get Merlin. 🤣 Well, I'm going to do that right now. Thanks for the 7-step confirmation on Merlin.

But what it is about using my phone in the wilderness... well, it's psychological. If I'm hanging by a branch off the side of a cliff and have one hand free, I will use that cell phone, believe me. But otherwise, there is the notion that you are not really in the wilderness if your cell phone is in your hand. The coyotes stare at me when that phone is out of my pocket and I read their minds: here is a guy not satisfied to be in the great outdoors and photographing our beautiful scenery. He has to be looking at that tiny little screen instead. Now some could extend my philosophy to the camera too (doesn't this mean you should be putting paint on a canvas instead of using a digital camera?). Well, no. It's my own schizophrenia and I'll rationalize the way I want to. 😁 Peter, your suggestions about my phone-phobia are all very logical, but my phone phobia is esoteric and spiritual. So, aren't you glad you asked for clarification? Yes, living in my head is the real adventure.
 
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Hut said:
Airplane mode is a nice feature sometimes.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology on Facebook is also a nice place to view and share bird photos. (I’m off Facebook but one of the few things I miss is their group)
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Hut, I hear you, man. And I like your clear reasoning on stuff! BTW, I'm also not a Facebook or Twitter user. There is just too much other good stuff to spend your time on, isn't there?! Natchurly, I don't compare this forum to Facebook. 😊
 
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jer said:
and I bet you've already ID'd 34 (night-time) birds in your backyard!
Click to expand...

Nah, only got to 24 then this notion of having breakfast came into play. I thought I heard a bear grumbling but because we don't have them in Oz, I figured out it had to have been my tummy rumbling. :)

As for the phone, I used to love the peace and quite of the days of zero mobile communication other than a payphone. Hell, what are they? Being in tourism, I used to spend anything up to a month out in the backblocks of Oz. No boss to annoy me in any way. I was in control, I was driver, guide, entertainer, chef (fancy name for a bloody cook on camping tours), but then, 500 miles from no-where and the bus broke down, I couldn't call a mechanic so I also had to be a "bush mechanic". Damn, I could write a book. :unsure::unsure::):)

jer said:
putting paint on a canvas
Click to expand...

A three year old child has more chance of creating something more noteworthy than I could ever create. :cry:
 
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I like and use Merlin a lot. But I rarely take it out when I am outdoors photographing birds. I tend to use it back home when I can look at my photos and try to figure out any difficult IDs.

I can also then run photos from my Nikons (first transferring the ones I want to check to my iPhone or iPad) through Merlin's photo ID function if needed. The photo ID function is not perfect, but quite good. And if you are familiar with the more colorful form of a bird (often, but not always, the male) in breeding plumage, it will help you pick out the less colorful form, non-breeding plumage and/or immature birds.

As an example, a couple of years ago as I was getting more interested in birds, I was wondering what type all the large "sparrows" I was seeing in a nearby national wildlife refuge were. Ran a photo through Merlin's photo ID and found out that they were female red-winged blackbirds. I knew what the male red-winged blackbird looked like, but not the female and immature forms (probably should have guessed, given the number of males that were around).
 
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BillW said:
I like and use Merlin a lot. But I rarely take it out when I am outdoors photographing birds. I tend to use it back home when I can look at my photos and try to figure out any difficult IDs.

I can also then run photos from my Nikons (first transferring the ones I want to check to my iPhone or iPad) through Merlin's photo ID function if needed. The photo ID function is not perfect, but quite good. And if you are familiar with the more colorful form of a bird (often, but not always, the male) in breeding plumage, it will help you pick out the less colorful form, non-breeding plumage and/or immature birds.

As an example, a couple of years ago as I was getting more interested in birds, I was wondering what type all the large "sparrows" I was seeing in a nearby national wildlife refuge were. Ran a photo through Merlin's photo ID and found out that they were female red-winged blackbirds. I knew what the male red-winged blackbird looked like, but not the female and immature forms (probably should have guessed, given the number of males that were around).
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BillW: Great tips! Thanks. I've got Merlin installed now and I'm paying attention to all these wonderful posts on the best methods.
 
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