American Museum of Natural History
hardcover; 744 pages, 9 x 11 1/8; full-color photographs
March 2009

This “armchair” reference to the birds of North America will bring a whole new level of expertise to the birder’s library, all in one category-killing volume. Information on behavior, nesting, and habitat, omitted from many field guides, is included throughout, while books on behavior don’t include the wealth of identification information, in as accessible a format, as does this book.