Basics: 1994, hardcover, 252 pages, 36 color plates of all 116 species, range maps

This is a reference book covering all 116 species of the New World warblers: Parulidae. Those people with an interest in warblers or who need to research the finer taxonomic/subspecies/geographic aspects of these birds will find this book to be very informative.

The 36 color plates are illustrated very well. They cover multiple subspecies as well as plumage differences between genders, ages, and breeding/non-breeding. I like the larger size of the subjects with most of them 50-60% of life size. The US and Canada breeding species are illustrated with slightly smaller drawings than are the more southern warblers.

The strategic placement of the birds (mostly in taxonomic order) places the similar species together. The plate with the Tennessee/Orange-crowned/Nashville Warblers effectively shows why some birders become frustrated in the fall. The Yellow Warbler plate shows 14 different plumages for the three distinct Yellow, Mangrove, and Golden groups. Another nice feature found in the text are scores of b&w drawings of the warbler's fanned tail feathers. These do a great job of detailing the pattern often needed to properly identify the race, gender, or age.

Adjacent to the plates are the respective range maps and text. This concise text gives brief descriptions of the various plumages illustrated. A quick note is also given for the geographic locations.

The last half of the book contains a larger account for each bird, ranging from 1-5 pages for each. The informative, reseached text covers identification, description, geographic variation, voice, habitat, breeding, status, seasonal movements, moult, and physical measurements. I find the most useful information to revolve around the discussion of the various subspecies and the seasonal plumages. For a more detailed description of just the US warblers, the Field Guide to Warblers of North America by Dunn is recommended.

The range maps are the weakest aspect of this book. They provide general outlines of only the continents or islands. These outlines are often too vague to pinpoint the location of the bird’s range. The inclusion of the country and US state boundaries would have been immensely helpful. Also, a broad swath of land is shown in the map for many birds with very restricted ranges. Although the Gray-headed Warbler has a very restricted range in a small spot of northern Venezuela, the map shows the northern half of South America through Panama. This produces a tiny, green, pencil-tip sized dot to represent the limited range of this rare bird. It's small enough that an arrow is needed to point your attention to it. This pattern of using too large of a multi-continent coverage is too common, requiring the same use of an arrow for several birds. A map showing half of the USA down through all of South America is used to display the Rufous-Capped Warbler range which includes only Mexico south to Colombia. Three different colors denote seasonal presence.

This is a great reference and research book to be used before and after your birding excursion. Use it as an at-home identification guide and not as a field guide. ( )