John Grassy

National Audubon Society's First Field guide to Mammals is a beginner's field guide to most of mammals most persons have come in contact with, be it in the wild or TV. If I had to decide between Audubon's 'First' field guides and Audubon's field guide to North American mammals, I would choose the latter. I don't feel that the differ much in their approach, only in their scope of presentation. There is a few pages in the First field guide that discusses 'how to view animals in the wild' and a couple of pages on what an ecosystem is, etc. However, there are better presentations of this elsewhere -- many of which are freely available online.

As similar Audubon guides, the reader first find the general outline or silhouette of the animal. This is just the general shape. For example, chipmunks would have the same shape as most squirrels. The reader then turns to the associated page and views the fantastic color plates to find the animal among the common shapes. Once found, the entry give general distribution, binomial name, and seasonal tidbits about the mammal. The amount of info given is dwarfed by Audubon's guide to North America Mammals, but I think the amount of info would be sufficient for most.

Ultimately, I would pick the North American Mammal's guide from Audubon. It has more pictures, more info, and the learning curve to use the guide is no steeper. That said, they are both fine books.… (more)