Tanagers, Cardinals, and Finches of the United States and Canada: The Photographic Guide [Paperback]

This is by far the weakest entry in this series of books. The problem is simple - there aren't enough photos!! The Crimson-collared Grosbeak is a good example. This is a sexually dimorphic species that is a very rare visitor to Texas. The book presents you with only one poor photo of a female. However, the page has room for two more standard-sized photographs!

There aren't too many identification issues within this group of birds, so the need for this guide is not very great to begin with. Add to that the fact that the book doesn't present enough photographs, and you have a book that can easily be skipped.

Basics: 2006, flex-cover, 196 pages, 46 species in 200 color photographs, range maps

The 46 species in this book are composed of 9 tanagers, 13 cardinals/buntings/grosbeaks, and 24 finches/crossbills/redpolls/siskins. Sixteen of these are rarities or introductions to the US and Canada.

This is a photo guide designed to be used as an at-home, identification reference and not as a field guide. The extended text on each species requires you to spend some time reading through the various identification notes and comparisons. Most of the birds are shown with 2 - 11 photos. Five of the birds are shown with only one photo. This is an oversight with the Crimson-collared Grosbeak and Red-legged Honeycreeper since each has notable sexual dimorphism.

The photos are typically of good quality, color, lighting, and pose -- except for the Flame-colored Tanager and Western Spindalis. Views of the backs of these birds would have been appreciated and helpful. The rarer species often have photos that could easily be improved upon. All the birds are shown in either a perched or a foraging pose. There are no in-flight views or views of the open wings and tail. Regarding the size of the photos, some of the birds are pictured a little too small (e.g., redpolls, crossbills).

The rosy-finches, shown with 4-9 photos each, are decent, although the Brown-capped could use better examples of great quantity. The Carpodacus finches are shown adequately with adequate, but not great examples of variation. I would like to have seen better shots of the backs, napes, and vents for the streaking. It's too bad that hand-drawn illustrations couldn't have been included. This would have been a strong and helpful attribute for this book.

The text of 2-3 pages plus margin notes does a good job at describing the birds and for comparing similar species. The various subspecies are covered well, with special attention given to the complex Red Crossbill. For this bird, the information on the distribution is more useful than the physical descriptions. Additional text for all birds covers habitat, behavior, molt, and conservation. A more thorough description is provided for the voice than you can find in most field guides.

Except for the 16 rarities, each bird is given a range map that includes three seasonal colors. These maps are based on the same North American template, which is sometimes a detriment when a species has a very limited range (e.g., Brown-capped Rosy-Finch or Lawrence's Goldfinch). It would have been good to adjust the map to zoom in on the range.

In all, this is a good reference to be used as a supplement - but not as a replacement -- to your field guides. A much greater sampling of photos would be needed to outdo the better field guides. The focus and strength of the book is its text and the photos seem more like an additional "bonus" to enhance the book.

I've listed a few related books below...
1) Finches and Sparrows by Clement/Harris/Davis
2) Sparrows and Finches of the Great Lakes Region and Eastern North America by Earley
3) The Tanagers by Isler