Field guides

[Erika Roper <>]

Hello all,

I recently acquired a new field guide (Parrots of the World, by Forshaw) and I began wondering about how others use field guides. Is it common for birders to annotate their field guides (i.e. add additional common names to species entries), and to note in the guide when and where they have seen a species? I was also wondering how many of you "study" before taking a trip to a new place, in order to memorise species that you may encounter.

I love field guides, and if I had the money I'm sure I would be buying new ones all the time. I suppose next on my list should be a current version of an Australian field guide, as my current copy (given to me by my grandma) is as old as I am (Simpson and Day, published in 1986)! Which reminds me, is it actually worth investing in an up-to-date copy? Any recommendations for which guide to get (author-wise)?

Thanks!

Erika