National Geographic Society, April 1999 480 pages, 1.1 x 5.0 x 8.0 inches, Paperback Over 800 species, over 600 range maps Concise technical ID introduction North America's most comprehensive field guide has just been totally revised and updated. It's been 12 years since the 2nd Edition was published and this edition catches up with the AOU checklist (7th edition, 1998) with name changes, splits, lumps, and new populations and accidentals. Identification advances are incorporated in its concise descriptions and its many new plates and illustrations. It also depicts up-to-date species distributions with all new or revised range maps. These in combination with improved production techniques result in a much improved guide. Read on to find out more about the production of the guide and comparisons of the 2nd and 3rd editions. Tracking the Evolution of the 3rd Edition of the National Geographic Society's Field Guide to the Birds of North America by Fred Bouchard Get a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the 3rd Edition with interviews with the primary consultants: Jon Dunn, Jonathan Alderfer, and Paul Lehman. Illustrated Side-By-Side Comparison of the 2nd and 3rd Editions of the NGS Guide See a graphical overview of the major changes in the new edition with this side-by-side comparison of scans from the two editions.