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Illustrated Side-By-Side Comparison
of 2nd & 3rd Editions of
The National Geographic Society's
Field Guide to the Birds of North America
The best way to see the improvements in the 3rd Edition is to
compare the two editions. What follows is an illustrated side-by-side
comparison of the two editions with commentary.
Note: A conscious effort was made in producing
the following images to exactly duplicate the production process to accurately
reflect the differences between the editions. Image quality can not
be perfect for something that is practically downloaded over the
Internet. The actual image quality in both guides is better than
what is depicted below.
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| 3rd Edition |
2nd Edition |
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Covers
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Introduction
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| Intro in 2nd edition relied on 5 large illustrations on a 2 page
spread to show the parts of a bird used as field marks. Text descriptions
of field marks were extremely brief on a separate half page. The 3rd edition
relies on 13 small illustrations spread throughout 3 pages on bird parts
that covers details of shape, head, wings, and tail.
It describes and illustrates more advanced ID features such as
cere, gonys, and primary extension. The other sections in the
intro (Molt, Plumage Sequence, Abundance, etc.) are also more
technically detailed with accompanying illustrations.
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Pages 10 & 11 |
Pages 10 & 11 |
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| Species Account Layout |
| The general layout remains essentially unchanged. The only real difference
is that the pages numbers now appear in the upper left of the page making it
easier to find specific pages. In addition the family is
displayed next to the page number on each text page, making it easier to
find specific families thumbing through the book. It would have been a huge
improvement if they had included a quick index and color tab system such as
found in the Stokes guides especially given the new AOU ordering,
maybe in the next edition.
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Pages 72 & 73 |
Pages 66 & 67 |
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| New Plates/Species Illustrations |
| The most striking improvement is the new plates and species illustrations.
80 new species, 99 including splits are included. Many plates (loons, shorebirds, flycatchers,
etc.) have been redone to correct inaccurate depictions and illustrate more up-to-date
ID info (formerly only available in advanced ID books or articles) along with more plumages.
The Alder Flycatcher scans below demostrate many of these types of improvements.
Not all the new illustrations show such dramtic improvements. The Vesper Sparrow
for example was depicted in the 2nd edition perched and in flight
with white outer tail feathers and chestnut lower coverts.
The 3rd edition has a simple profile of a bird on the ground, and although
the depiction might be more accurate it does not highlight either of
these 2 fieldmarks. They are mentioned in the text. This is an
exception though, almost all the new illustrations show significant
improvements.
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Alder Flycatcher, Page 289 |
Alder Flycatcher, Page 291 |
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Reused Plates/Species Illustrations
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| Even the plates that were reused from the 2nd Edition are improved in the
3rd Edition. Transparencies from the 2nd Edition were scanned and then
digitally altered where necessary to fix color problems (brown in the
Canada Geese is now more accurate for example). The printing process
for the 3rd Edition is much sharper for all plates and the improvement over
the 2nd Edition is very noticeable. This can be see in the blown up insets
in the scans below, and although seeing sharper detail of Canada Goose flanks
might not be that important, for species like shorebirds the detail will be
valuable.
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Canada Goose, Page 73 |
Canada Goose, Page 67 |
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Text Accounts
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| The text accounts needed to be more concise to be able include the
new species in the 3rd Edition. All have been updated or rewritten and
like the new illustrations incorporate new ID knowledge. The font used
is smaller for more space savings and with the sharper printing process
legibility doesn't suffer. A helpful addition is the use of
bold text to highlight voice, range, and specific plumages.
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Alder Flycatcher, Page 288 |
Alder Flycatcher, Page 290 |
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Range Maps
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The range maps have all been revised to reflect up-to-date information.
The detail is particularly impressive when looking at a detailed map
of the Northeast for the Bicknell's Thrush. It's too bad more of this
detail isn't available through a separate publication. The color
scheme was changed to replace the hard-to-see yellow, unfortunately they
also replaced the former dark blue with a lighter blue that can be
difficult to see for small regions along the coast.
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Canada Goose, Page 72 |
Canada Goose, Page 66 |
Selections from the
National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America
Copyright © National Geographic Society. Used with permission. |
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Churchill
Field Guides
NGS Birds
Side-By-Side