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How did this story end? I went down to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix yesterday. Good birds there, and some let you get a little closer than normal, probably because they like the plants so much. Here's a lifer for me: a Verdin.

Today--Lifer Western Kingbird

Ruby-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet by Johnny, on Flickr

It amazes me how birds can manage to eat such large fish! Here's another one from the Phoenix Botanical Gardens. It's a Cactus Wren!

Lifer black scooter

One is a Red-breasted Nuthatch. Notice facial pattern. Ring-billed for the Gull?

I feel the same way as @Melierax. I see the idea, but it’s just not for me. I actually don’t really carry anything around for ID when I’m birding. I very rarely take a field guide with me, unless I’m on a long or far away trip. I have my phone for something if I need it, but I usually don’t. I personally study field guides and other resources at home, rather than in the field.

I don't care for this idea. I find field guides extremely useful especially in comparing two bird species so I'm not against paper books. Firstly: I have tons of bird books including Sibley, Stokes, National Geographic, and even some vintage Peterson's and all of them have better illustrations that iBird(which I assume is the idea for this), no offense. Secondly: I also have several smaller pocket-sized guides and they sit on the shelf and I never use them - particularly because it's very easy to bring a regional Sibley that's infinitely better than a tiny pocket book. Also, I feel like most people who bird wear some sort of backpack or something else that holds essentials like a water bottle, a camera, lenses, etc., maybe a snack, in which they could place a Sibley without much discomfort (we're already dealing with discomfort with binoculars and everything else, what's a relatively lightweight field guide gonna do?). I get the idea, but it's just not for me. I'd rather bring a high quality Sibley's.

This may be a juvenile Harelquin Duck. The white on the cheeks does seem to vary somewhat on juveniles, this one having more white than typical.

Maybe a Black Vulture that had some missing molt feathers. Pretty sure it's too late for Common Nighthawk there now, but they do have white wing patches, except for they are radiating out from the bases of the primaries. Kind of the opposite of what you show here.

Agree with Song Sparrow. Swamps are a more orangey-brown and they have fewer, thinner streaks on the breast or they lack the streaks altogether.

Golden-crowned Kinglet Golden-crowned Kinglet by Johnny, on Flickr

Don't remember the exact title but we had a similar thread on the old forum. Got pictures of common birds that you're proud of then post them here. White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) by Greg Miller, on Flickr American Robin, Celery Farm, Oct. 2012 by Greg Miller, on Flickr Northern Mockingbird by Greg Miller, on Flickr

Shot this at Bowdoin NWR in MT. The images are greatly cropped. This was a solitary bird. Didn't offer any close photos. thanks for the help.

I would greatly appreciate your help with the following. Taken 11/11/18. Coast Guard Station, Jones Beach, NY. Thank you! Please confirm Marbled Godwit (Lifer) Marbled Godwit by Johnny-for ID Purposes, on Flickr Are there any Red Knotts (would be a Lifer) in the 3 pictures below? I ask because others said they were there but I'm not sure if I was able to get them. I think I see Plovers, Dunlin and Sanderlings. #1. Shorebirds TBID by Johnny-for ID Purposes, on Flickr #2. Shorebirds TBID by Johnny-for ID Purposes, on Flickr #3. Shorebirds TBID by Johnny-for ID Purposes, on Flickr

Nice! Congrats on the lifer!! Where did you get this one?

Thanks, I've been very frustrated by my failure to see one when so many others have seen them. That's also true for many other species, but these birds are resting right in the parking lot, not hopping around in and out of foliage like many of the small birds here.

How thick would this book be? Regular guides run about 3/4" to an inch thick for eastern or western, but they have four to six species on each page, front and back. The sample shown uses multiple pages for a single species. This format may result in a book too thick to hold as shown, may weigh more than a conventionally formatted guide, and take an eternity to page through. It better have a heavy-duty spine. Me, I quit carrying guides to the field long ago, printed or electronic. I decided I'd rather spend the time observing birds, taking photos or making notes, and that identifying them could wait until I got home. I can see the format maybe making sense for content that's read only from front to back, but not as a reference. For that kind of serial or consecutive reading, what's the advantage? I can one-hand most paperbacks already.

1) WB Nuthatch 2) Yup 3) Pass 4) Yup, Bonaparte’s

Yes on both.

The gull guy was aberrant.

Yep, horned grebes in the first photo.

2. Ring-necked 4. Bonaparte's gull

Strikes me as an Indigo Bunting, but wait for experts.

If the woodpecker is on a standard sized suet feeder, I would say the bird is too small to be a Hairy Woodpecker. While we can't see the tip of the bill, it still looks more like a small Downy Woodpecker's bill to me. I'm sure someone more competent at IDs will clarify whether this is a Downy or not, and provide more reasons behind the ID.

Agree with Red-tailed Hawk.

Nice Verdin! I tried for one in Texas, but it just didn't work out this trip. Hopefully next time. The story ended with a full and happy cormorant.

Oh, so not near us. Send some Fulvous to SW Michigan OK?

Choke canyon state park about an hour south of San Antonio TX. Great spot on a nasty day.

It looks a little like a Solitary Sandpiper to me, but it looks like that would be even less likely that Greater Yellowlegs. I’m not sure, but it’s not giving be a Tattler vibe.

Black Phoebe Pygmy Nuthatch

I'd like to hear what others say, but I personally don't see much value in the idea. The main reason people look in field guides is to get an identificaton. Birders generally would find much more value in images, rather than a description, especially when time is limited in the field. How is an illustration on a tiny page going to accomplish that? What's the best way to get that visual? I don't think that a mini pocket book would be very beneficial in making an ID. The size seems to be the obviously problem, IMO. Why not just use a smartphone app (or even just the internet) that provides an essentially unlimited supply of high quality images at numerous angles, lighting, distances, age, sex, molt condition, abnormal birds, hybrids, subspecies, etc. I don't see how a mini hand-held paper book could provide anything near what an app or even just a Google search, All About Birds, eBird Media/Macaulay, Audubon, etc can. The internet in itself uses no trees 🙂

Male Rose-ringed Parakeet seen feeding in a baobab tree:

Yellow-rumped Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler by Johnny, on Flickr

On my cross continent drive, I saw and photographed a number of Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels. Most were exactly what you would expect: sleek, agile creatures of nature. However, while walking along Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park (Alberta) on August 23, I saw an unusual one. To put it as politely as possible... he was a real tubby. I'd never seen a squirrel (of any type) nearly this chubby. As I was trying to understand how he could have gotten this way, he wandered over near me and took a seat. Then I understood..... This squirrel is a couch potato! I was half expecting him to pull out a tiny bag of chips...

To bird or not to bird. That is the question.

BBC Roseate skimmer 10-24-2018 Roseate skimmer by R. Tompkins, on Flickr

Twelve-spotted Skimmer by The Bird Nuts, on Flickr Tiger Swallowtail by The Bird Nuts, on Flickr