National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada, 8th Edition

America’s beloved bird field guide just got even better with this completely revised 8th edition, created for a new generation of birders.

Updated ID guidance, descriptive details, and annotated art on more than 1,000 species, including new range maps powered by eBird technology.

This new edition of the trusted National Geographic field guide combines fresh new text, updated taxonomy, expanded art including 240 new illustrations, and authoritative, data-derived maps, organized in the user-friendly format for which our field guides are known.

For the first time including the birds of Hawaii as well as Alaska, Canada, and the continental United States--a total of 1,150 bird species--all these revisions make this new edition the most authoritative birding book on the market, whether you have treasured our previous editions for decades or you are selecting a bird field guide for the first time ever.

Written by Ted Floyd, editor of the American Birding Association’s Birding magazine, this new edition features larger pages and flexible yet durable paperback binding, with thumb tabs and a visual index inside the covers for quick reference.

Its easy-to-read layout includes:

• convenient page layout, with maps and text on the left and matching art on the right
• up-to-date taxonomic organization
• new maps developed with eBird data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• key statistics in bulleted lists
• new text, emphasizing not only bird IDs but also habitats and evolution
• images by the world’s top bird illustrators, including important details
• annotations on the images, pointing to field marks critical for identification

Combining exciting new features with tried-and-true traditions, this new edition of a beloved field guide will satisfy birders young and old, experienced life-listers and backyard birdwatchers alike.

Ted Floyd is the editor of Birding, the magazine of the American Birding Association. He has written some 150 articles and book chapters on birds and natural history and five books, including Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America (HarperCollins, 2008), which received a starred review in PW; How to Know the Birds (National Geographic, 2019); and the East and West regional editions of this title (National Geographic, 2025). Recognized for his birding acumen and quirky intellect, Floyd is a frequent speaker at birding events globally. He has taught bird watchers of all ages and abilities and is especially interested in how new media enhance the observation and appreciation of nature. Floyd lives in Lafayette, Colorado, near Boulder.