Field Guide Introduction

The Field Guide provides a great way to learn about the birds seen in the continental United States and Canada. Guide to Birds of North America version 4 includes 700 species of birds. All North American species except the very rare or accidental species are featured in this program. We also include extinct species – as a reminder of what can happen if we do not help protect our environment!

If you have installed Birds of My State or Province version 4 you will see the most common 300 species for the state or province you selected. You may upgrade to the North American version and see all 700 bird species at any time by calling 800-865-2473.

 

image\ebx_-1872421606.gif You open the Field Guide by clicking the Field Guide button.

A list of all the Field Guide collections installed on your computer will appear. For most users only one title appears, such as “Birds of California” or “Guide to Birds of North America.” Click the title you want to use and then click the Open button. The Field Guide will open and display the last bird you viewed.

On Windows computers a Tab with a bird’s name appears. You may have as many tabs open as you like. To do this click Window in the Menu bar and click New tab. Then enter another bird’s name. This is an easy way to jump between four or five birds at once!

On Mac computers a bird’s name will appear in a box near the top left corner of the screen, just under the menu bar.

All information about the bird is displayed on one page. You may need to scroll down to see everything. QuickJump links at the top of the page will take you immediately to sections farther down the page. Click the colored icons in the Field Guide to do even more.

Select a bird:

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A bird’s name will appear (the last bird you viewed). You can select a different bird by typing in the bird’s name or by clicking the small arrow to the right of the name and making your selection from the list that appears.

As you type in either the first or last name, a list of birds that match will appear below. As you continue typing, the list narrows. When you see the bird you want, click on the name. Also see Typing A Species Name to View.

There are two ways to sort the list of birds: Alphabetic or Taxonomic. Taxonomic will arrange birds in the same order that they appear in a printed field guide Ducks come first and perching birds come last. (Loons were first until July 2003 when the American Ornithologists’ Union revised their taxonomic list.) Use the small arrow to the right of the Alphabetic/Taxonomic field to see your choices. Click on the one you prefer.

There are five ways to display the bird’s name: Common Name; Common Name (Last, First); Scientific Name, Scientific Name (Last, First) or Band Code. Use the small arrow to the right of the Name field to see your choices. Click on the one you prefer. Also see Sorting the List of Species.

Click the funnel icon to filter the list of birds. Or click View in the Menu bar and then click “Filters…” If you installed the Birds of North America edition, you may filter by States, Provinces, Regions, Families or Custom Lists. When filtering by States or Provinces or Regions you may also select all birds seen in that location or just the common birds. You may select more than one State, Province or Family. On Windows computers, check the boxes in front of the items you want o select. On Mac computers, hold down the Apple key while you click the items you want to select. Click None to remove all filters and see the complete list of birds again.

If you installed Birds of My State or Province version 4, you will be able to filter by Family and Custom Lists only.

The filter icon will be red if you have selected a filter. The filter you selected will appear at the very bottom of your screen. Select None to return to the full list of birds.

Click the blue arrows to move to the beginning or end of the list or to the previous or next bird on the list.

The yellow buttons let you:

image\ebx_-14448980.gif zoom in on a photo

image\ebx_1012474062.gif compare two images side-by-side

image\ebx_-333938125.gif see more information about the bird using The Birder’s Handbook

image\ebx_1315322577.gif print the information that appears on the page you are viewing (Windows only). For Mac computers, click File and then click Print.

 

The purple buttons let you select one of three views:

image\ebx_642650557.gif view the bird

image\ebx_256586022.gif view the five most similar species

image\ebx_-1449256404.gif view related birds from the same Family