New Field Guide to Northern Central America

NEW Peterson Field Guide to the Birds of Northern Central America

A new Peterson Field Guide to the Birds of Northern Central America has arrived! Available this month, the new field-carry-sized guide covers the birds of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

At first glance, the design is what we expect for today’s guides… maps and vital info on the page opposite the illustrations. Just the way we need for quick field reference. Even more important for quick, easy studying before we even go into the field! Jesse Fagan and Oliver Komar did a great job.

Illustrations by Robert Dean and Peter Burke are small on most pages… but there are a lot of birds to fit into a small package, so no surprise. Illustrations are generally good, though It is easy to pick out the different artistic styles of the two illustrators. Some birds appear ‘stiff’ as they were most likely drawn from collection skins. Others are certainly darker or less vivid than ‘real life.’

Overall, however, this guide fits a need — one, carry-sized book to cover 4 countries. Though most of the birds birds will also be found in Mexico, Nicaragua or Costa Rica, these countries are not included in the text. To do so would require adding many more species!

I will certainly be recommended this guide to our Wildside clients heading joining us in Belize, Guatemala and Honduras!

–Kevin Loughlin