150 Frequently Seen Birds of California’s Great Valley by American River Natural History Association (ARNHA) Books A pocket birding field guide just for California's Great Valley! This beautiful, 300+ page book features full color images and detailed descriptions of the many bird species found in the valley. Small enough to fit in a pocket or waist pack, yet loaded with helpful information, this book is sure to become a hit among California's nature-lovers and beginning birders alike!

The Sibley Guide to Birds, Second Edition
The publication of The Sibley Guide to Birds, First Edition quickly established David Allen Sibley as the author and illustrator of the nation’s supreme and most comprehensive guide to birds. Used by millions of birders from novices to the most expert, The Sibley Guide became the standard by which natural history guides are measured. This second edition builds on this foundation of excellence, offering massively expanded and updated information, new paintings, new and rare species, and a new, elegant design.

Sibley Birds West: Field Guide to Birds of Western North America, Second Edition
Compact and comprehensive, this guide features 715 bird species, plus regional populations, found west of the Rocky Mountains. Entries include accurate illustrations--more than 5,046 in total--with descriptive captions pointing out the important field marks.

National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of Western North America, 2008 edition
To better serve the expanding market, National Geographic has customized their field-guide format to offer unique coverage for birders east or west of the Rocky Mountains. These volumes deliver in-depth information on every bird officially recorded in the specified area, with illustrated accounts of the different plumages and life stages, along with hundreds of color-coded range maps.

National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 2017 edition
Filled with hand-painted illustrations from top nature artists, this 7th edition includes a total of 1,023 species. With taxonomy revised to reflect the American Ornithological Society taxonomy established in 2016, the addition of standardized banding codes, and text completely vetted by birding experts, this edition will top of the list of birding field guides for years to come.

Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America
Critically acclaimed for its innovative design, the Kaufman guide introduced a new generation to birding. The Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America includes the official names of birds and range maps. Additional information helps beginning birdwatchers get started, all in the same compact format that has made this guide the easiest to use for fast identification in the field.

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America, Second Edition
For decades, the Peterson Field Guide to Birds has been a popular and trusted guide for birders of all levels, thanks to its famous system of identification and unparalleled illustrations. Since the American Birding Association has expanded its species Checklist to include Hawaii, the Peterson Field Guide now includes the wonderful and exotic species of our fiftieth state. In addition, the text and range maps have been updated, and much of the art has been touched up to reflect current knowledge.

Birds of the Sierra Nevada: Their Natural History, Status, and Distribution by Ted Beedy and Ed Pandolfino
This beautifully illustrated and user-friendly book presents information about the natural histories of birds of the Sierra Nevada, the origins of their names, the habitats they prefer, how they communicate and interact with one another, their relative abundance, and where they occur within the region. Each species account features original illustrations by Keith Hansen.

Hansen’s Field Guide to the Birds of the Sierra Nevada by Keith Hansen, Edward C. Beedy, Adam Donkin
Identify and learn about over two hundred and fifty birds of the Sierra Nevada. From tiniest hummingbirds to condors with nine-foot wingspans; from lower-elevation wrens to the rasping nutcrackers of the High Sierra; from urban House Sparrows to wild water–loving American Dippers, Hansen’s Field Guide to the Birds of the Sierra Nevada showcases artist-naturalist Keith Hansen’s sixteen-year project to illustrate the birds of the Sierra Nevada. This book is the field guide companion to the Birds of the Sierra Nevada: Their Natural History, Status, and Distribution.

Life Under the Fast Lane: Ecology and Conservation of Bridge-Nesting Purple Martins in Urban Sacramento by Daniel A. Airola
Life Under the Fast Lane reports on 20 years of study and conservation efforts for the unique population of Western Purple Martins that nests in bridges in urban Sacramento. The Purple Martin, a state Species of Special Concern, has declined throughout California. The Central Valley’s last population has persisted in Sacramento but is rapidly declining.

The book presents detailed information on the species’ history in the region, its ecology and current population status, and the dramatic recent decline due to pesticide and land use conflicts. It describes management actions and presents land use planning practices needed to avoid impacts from ever-present urban development projects.

Sidebar discussions describe behind-the-scenes stories about conducting martin research in an urban setting and address questions that are often posed about the population. The book will be interesting and useful to those concerned about conserving Sacramento’s Purple Martins, including environmentalists, birders, conservation biologists, land-use planners, and decision-makers.

Sacramento County Breeding Birds: A Tale of Two Atlases and Three Decades of Change by Edward R. Pandolfino, Lily A. Douglas, Timothy D. Manolis, and Chris Conard
Sacramento County Breeding Birds examines how nearly three decades of dramatic transformation of much of this county have affected our local breeding birds. The book puts the changes in breeding bird status and distribution in the context of conservation efforts and changes in land use, climate, and regulatory protection. The text focuses on the most significant changes and a complete set of paired maps shows the changes in breeding distribution for every species.

But don’t assume that this is a story of gloom and doom. While some breeding birds have declined, and others disappeared altogether from the county, even more new breeders have arrived. And some species have demonstrated remarkable adaptability and resilience by colonizing urban habitats.

eBird

Join eBird, an online database project created by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. eBird allows people to report real-time bird sightings and observations.

Merlin Bird ID

Free instant bird identification help for more than 6,000 species of birds. Merlin is designed to be a birding coach for beginning and intermediate bird watchers.

NestWatch

NestWatch is a continent-wide project to monitor bird nests. The project was started by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center.

Celebrate Urban Birds

Observe birds in an urban neighborhood for the Celebrate Urban Birds project, and send the data to scientists at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

Project Feeder Watch

Help Project FeederWatch with a winter-long survey of birds that visit feeders at backyards, nature centers, community areas, and other locations in North America.

iNaturalist

Photograph birds, plants, animals, and other organisms. Use the iNaturalist app or iNaturalist.org to upload your observations and add them to a global database of biodiversity to support local to global research projects.