Photographs.
Illustrations.
Range Maps.
Descriptive Narratives
The most unique birding guide is Pete Dunne's Essential Field Guide Companion. It has no pictures. It is designed as a companion to your birding field guide. Early explorers described their specimens with great clarity and relied upon their own field observations for details about habits and habitats the same way Dunne prepared this book. My list of types of birding guides now includes "Text Only". Most birding guides rely upon some variation of text and illustration or photographs.
Some are written for specific regions, or types of birds. Some focus on specific habitats. Others are written for beginners or for experts. Most depict the special identifying features of the birds and include maps to show their ranges. Some are waterproof now. Some identify birds primarily by sound. I just saw one on Kindle. So my list needs to expand and include different media.
Most birding guides follow the pattern set forth by Roger Tory Peterson in 1937 with his Eastern Birds by which every birding guide has been measured since then. More contemporary birding guides have been prepared by: Kaufmann, Sibley, Stokes, National Geographic Society, National Audubon Society, Golden Guides and of course updates of the entire Peterson series.
Donna Paul Bessken is an agent of change and a birdwatcher. She uses different bird binoculars as well as various birding guides in her free-lance work. During her life as a field naturalist and educator, she fell in love with bird-watching and caring for the environment.
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