1) Gregory, Phil. Birds of New Guinea Including Bismarck Archipelago and Bougainville (Second Edition). 2025. Lynx Nature Books. Flexibound: 477 pages. Price: 46.50 Euros (about $54.36 U.S.).
New Guinea is a biodiversity hotspot teeming with an extraordinary
diversity of bird species, including a remarkable number of endemics
found nowhere else on Earth. This field guide provides the most
comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the region’s avifauna, covering
the entire New Guinea region, including Indonesian West Papua, Papua
New Guinea, and their associated islands such as the Bismarcks,
Bougainville, the Aru Islands and others.
This fully revised
second edition incorporates the latest scientific knowledge, including
taxonomic updates, new distribution data and insights into
identification and vocalisations. It features extensively updated
species accounts, newly revised range maps and over 1,800 high-quality
illustrations depicting birds in various plumages, including males,
females, juveniles and birds in flight.
New Guinea is home to
some of the world’s most iconic and sought-after birds, from the
dazzling birds of paradise and bowerbirds to an astonishing variety of
pigeons, parrots, kingfishers and honeyeaters. This guide is an
essential resource for birders, ornithologists and naturalists eager to
explore the incredible avian diversity of this fascinating region.
RECOMMENDATION: The page count has increased from 464 to 477. Also available as a hardbound book. This book is a MUST-HAVE for anyone birding New Guinea!
2) McMullan, Miles et al.. Field Guide to the Birds of North America. 2025. Pelagic Publishing. Paperback: 360 pages. Price: $29.99 U.S.
Field Guide to the Birds of North America
is a complete, compact and user-friendly guide to all the birds of the
USA and Canada (excluding Hawaii). Drawing on years of guiding
experience, the book is perfectly designed for use in the field.
Pocket-sized
and at just 372 pages, it covers 1,100 species – more than any other
guide to North America – and includes over 6,000 illustrations.
Distribution ranges of all native birds are mapped, and many confusing
subspecies are included for the first time in a field guide for the
region. The book gives special attention to the key differences between
troublesome species, with comparisons to help the reader get to the
right identification.
Compact and comprehensive, this new field guide includes:
- Color-coded maps showing resident and seasonal distributions to help plan which birds to expect when and where.
- ‘What’s the difference?’ information boxes providing easy guidance on the most challenging species to identify.
- Conservation and abundance status, with subspecies separately mapped.
- Current taxonomic order and up-to-date common names.
The
clearly labelled illustrations detail plumage variations by sex, age
and color morphs. Birds are illustrated in flight, in profile and in
typical habitats. Concise descriptive captions highlight the most
important field identification signs, including habitat, nesting and
feeding behavior. Calls are described for every species.
Written and illustrated by a professional birding guide with decades of experience, Field Guide to the Birds of North America is a must-have book for birders of all ages and any level of experience.
RECOMMENDATION: This guide is trying to be the Collins Birds of Europe for North America, but I still prefer the Sibley and National Geographic guides over this one.
3) Benkman, Craig. Crossbills and Conifers: One Million Years of Adaptation and Coevolution. 2025. Pelagic Publishing. Hardbound: 210 pages. Price: $90.00 U.S.
Crossbills and Conifers
explores an intimate natural historical connection, revealing why
crossbills have become an exemplar of diversification and coevolution.
Craig Benkman takes readers on his 40-year journey of research and
discovery, exploring a series of unique and interrelated findings about
the behavior, ecology, evolution and conservation of a remarkable group
of birds.
Key to revealing these insights is the ease
with which one can measure how variation in bill structure, and conifer
cone structure and phenology, influence the efficiency at which
crossbills extract seeds from cones. Consumer-resource interactions are
fundamental to much of ecology, but such relationships are rarely so
readily quantified, not least with the coevolutionary arms race driving
the evolution of the newly discovered Cassia Crossbill.
This
accessible and handsomely illustrated book will appeal to a wide
audience. Students of ornithology and evolutionary biology will gain a
greater understanding of the value of natural history and especially the
utility of knowing when who eats whom and why. Bird enthusiasts and
naturalists will learn much about the world of crossbills, the causes of
their diversity which has challenged and inspired many ornithologists,
and the threats that these birds face.
RECOMMENDATION: To
me this title seems like a modern version of Nethersole-Thompson's
"Pine Crossbills" from 1975. I think crossbill researchers will want
this book, but at $90.00 U.S. for the hardbound version, I think most
will wait for the paperback due out in July 2026 at $42.00 U.S.
4) Sweeney, Chris. The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne. 2025. Avid Reader Press. Hardbound: 320 pages. Price: $30.00 U.S.
The fascinating and remarkable true story of the world’s first forensic ornithologist—Roxie
Laybourne, who broke down barriers for women, solved murders, and
investigated deadly airplane crashes with nothing more than a microscope
and a few fragments of feathers.
In 1960, an
Eastern Airlines flight had no sooner lifted from the runway at Boston
Logan Airport when it struck a flock of birds and took a nosedive into
the shallow waters of the Boston Harbor, killing sixty-two people. This
was the golden age of commercial airflight—luxury in the skies—and
safety was essential to the precarious future of air travel. So the FAA
instructed the bird remains be sent to the Smithsonian Institution for
examination, where they would land on the desk of the only person in the
world equipped to make sense of it all.
Her name was Roxie
Laybourne, a diminutive but singular woman with thick glasses, a heavy
Carolina drawl, and a passion for birds. Roxie didn’t know it at the
time, but that box full of dead birds marked the start of a remarkable
scientific journey. She became the world’s first forensic ornithologist,
investigating a range of crimes and calamities on behalf of the FBI, the
US Air Force, and even NASA.
The Feather Detective
takes readers deep within the vaunted backrooms of the Smithsonian’s
National Museum of Natural History to tell the story of a burgeoning
science and the enigmatic woman who pioneered it. While her male
colleagues in taxidermy embarked on expeditions around the world and got
plum promotions, Roxie stayed with her birds. Using nothing more than
her microscope and bits of feathers, she helped prosecute murderers,
kidnappers, and poachers. When she wasn’t testifying in court or
studying evidence from capital crimes, she was helping aerospace
engineers and Air Force crews as they raced to bird-proof their
airplanes before disaster struck again.
In The Feather Detective,
award-winning journalist Chris Sweeney charts the astonishing life and
work of this overlooked pioneer. Once divorced, once widowed, and
sometimes surly, Roxie shattered stereotypes and pushed boundaries. Her
story is one of persistence and grit, obsession and ingenuity. Drawing
on reams of archival material, court documents, and exclusive
interviews, Sweeney delivers a moving and amusing portrait of a woman
who overcame cultural and scientific obstacles at every turn, forever
changing our understanding of birds—and the feathers they leave behind.
RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must-read for anyone with an interest in this aspect of ornithological history.
5) Deutsch, Owen and Michael J. Parr. Birds of the Tropical Andes. 2025. Princeton University Press. Hardbound: 264 pages. Price: $35.00 U.S.
Spanning much of the western part of South America, the Andes
are home to some of the world’s most magnificent birds, from exquisite
hummingbirds to fabulous flamingos. This beautifully illustrated
large-format book celebrates the splendor and extraordinary diversity of
Andean birds and the habitats they depend on. It draws on the latest
findings from the field and sheds light on the lush alpine and forested
terrains that make this avifauna so rich and plentiful. With
illuminating essays that share invaluable perspectives from some of the
region’s leading bird conservationists, Birds of the Tropical Andes
takes readers from the Pacific coast to the jungles of the Amazon,
crossing peaks and high plains in search of spectacular birdlife.
- Lavishly illustrated with a wealth of photographs
- Tours the vast array of habitats that comprise the Andean mountains
- Covers every major ecosystem and its abundant birdlife
- Profiles representative species, including the rarest and most sought after
- Discusses the region’s unique geology and Indigenous culture
- A must for birders, ecotravelers, and armchair naturalists
RECOMMENDATION: The photography highlights this book!
6) Holliday, Steve and Gill Holliday. Wildlife of the Eastern Caribbean. 2025. Princeton University Press. Flexibound: 320 pages. Price: $29.95 U.S.
This is the first photographic field identification guide to
Eastern Caribbean birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, land crabs,
dragonflies, and butterflies. Beautiful and easy-to-use, the guide
covers 17 island groups stretching from the Virgin Islands south through
the Lesser Antilles, from Anguilla to Grenada, where a unique range of
flora and fauna evolved in relative isolation. Around 30 percent of all
the species included are endemic to the region. For each island group
there is a list of endemic and “don’t miss” species, alongside suggested
sites to visit; site accessibility is indicated where possible. Whether
you live in the Eastern Caribbean or are visiting, this is an
indispensable guide to the spectacular wildlife of its beautiful
islands.
- Covers
all the birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, land crabs, dragonflies,
and butterflies that are likely to be seen, and includes an introduction
to each group
- Features more than 420 species and over 850 stunning color photos
- Species accounts highlight key identification features and information on distribution and habitat preferences
- Includes richly illustrated introductory sections with maps and habitat information
- Details conservation status and actions for more than 100 globally threatened species
RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must-have for any naturalist with an interest in the region!
7) Eaton, Eric R.. Bugwatching: The Art, Joy, and Importance of Observing Insects. 2025. Princeton University Press. Paperback: 180 pages. Price: $22.95 U.S.
Insects are the most abundant wildlife on the planet—but also
the least observed. This incisive field companion highlights the basic
tools for watching insects with all of our senses, covers some best
habitats and circumstances for seeing the most diversity, and shares
tips for attracting desirable insects to your yard and garden. With
wonderful illustrations by Samantha Gallagher, Bugwatching
explains why this rewarding activity is for everyone, regardless of
age, ethnicity, gender identity, level of affluence, ability, or
disability. When you become a bugwatcher, you join a community of
supportive and energetic people. The potential for personal and
scientific discovery is virtually limitless.
- Enables you to better appreciate and understand insects and improve your success rate in finding, watching, and identifying them
- Includes a comprehensive treatment of insect behaviors that is invaluable for beginners
- Discusses social bugwatching and participation in community science projects
- Covers advanced topics such as rearing insects and using keys to identify them
- Explains
how watching insects can fill gaps in our knowledge about their
economic impacts and the growing decline in insect diversity and
abundance
- Promotes safety, accessibility, and inclusion as vital aspects of watching insects
- An essential guide for seasoned bugwatchers and newcomers to the community
RECOMMENDATION: A well illustrated introduction to the subject.
8) Holt, Nathalia. The Beast in the Clouds: The Roosevelt Brothers' Deadly Quest to Find the Mythical Giant Panda. 2025. Atria/One Signal Publishers. Hardbound: 265 pages. Price: $29.99 U.S.
For lovers of history, nature, and adventure,
the stunning true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s sons and their 1929
Himalayan expedition to prove the existence of the beishung, the panda bear, to the western world, from the New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls.
The
Himalayas—a snowcapped mountain range that hides treacherous glacier
crossings, raiders poised to attack unsuspecting travelers, and air so
thin that even seasoned explorers die of oxygen deprivation. Yet among
the dangers lies one of the most beautiful and fragile ecosystems in the
world.
During the 1920s, dozens of expeditions scoured the
Chinese and Tibetan wilderness in search of the panda bear, a beast that
many believed did not exist. When the two eldest sons of President
Theodore Roosevelt sought the bear in 1928, they had little hope of
success. Together with a team of scientists and naturalists, they
accomplished what a decade of explorers could not, ultimately
introducing the panda to the West. In the process, they documented a
vanishing world and set off a new era of conservation biology.
Along
the way, the Roosevelt expedition faced an incredible series of
hardships as they disappeared in a blizzard, were attacked by robbers,
overcome by sickness and disease, and lost their food supply in the
mountains. The explorers would emerge transformed, although not everyone
would survive. Beast in the Clouds brings alive these extraordinary events in a potent nonfiction thriller featuring the indomitable Roosevelt family.
From
the soaring beauty of the Tibetan plateau to the somber depths of human
struggle, Nathalia Holt brings her signature “immersive, evocative” (Bookreporter) voice to this astonishing tale of adventure, harrowing defeat, and dazzling success.
RECOMMENDATION: This book is a must-read for anyone with an interest in Giant Pandas and/or the Roosevelt family.
