There are many books about birds, below are a few of the ones I use most often.
Field Guides
Birds of Southeastern Arizona by Richard Cachor Taylor and Barbara Bickel
Paperback
This field guide, the first I refer to when trying to ID bird, only features birds found in Southeastern Arizona, so has an advantage over guides that include a wider geographical range. This is a compact, photographic field guide with more than 410 species, including the Mexican rarities. Over 600 color photographs, illustrate the birds. The unique ten habitats of southeastern Arizona are described in six pages along with a habitat map. Unique color-coded elevation charts make it easy for amateur and expert birdwatchers to know what seasons, elevations and locations are typical for the birds. A quick guide to local birds, at the front of the book, provides an easy reference to the pages that provide a complete description of the different birds.
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Birds of Arizona Field Guide by Stan Tekiela
Paperback
With Stan Tekiela’s bird guide, field identification is simple and informative. There’s no need to look through dozens of photos of birds that don’t live in your area. This handy book features 151 species of Arizona birds organized by color for ease of use. Full-page photographs present the species as you’ll see them in nature, and a “compare” feature helps you to decide between look-alikes.
This second edition includes six new species, updated photographs and range maps, expanded information, and even more of Stan’s expert insights. So grab Birds of Arizona Field Guide for your next birding adventure―to help ensure that you positively identify the birds that you see.
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Sibley Birds West: Field Guide to Birds of Western North America
Paperback
When attampting to ID a bird, I consult Birds of Southeastern Arizona, then I turn to Sibley's book for more information. This book, from renowned birder and illustrator David Sibley, is currently the "go-to" field guide for birdwatchers. David Sibley is an authoritative guide to the birds of the West and the portable format of his book is perfect for the field. Variations in each bird are shown in the illustrations, according to geographic location, age, and the season of the year. There are clear maps that show areas where each bird is found in winter, summer, year-round, during migration, as well as rare reported sightings. For each bird there is a description including average length, wingspan, weight, habitat, habits, and a description of their calls.
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Vinyl Bound
This was my first field guide and for decades, the Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America has been a popular and trusted guide for birders of all levels, thanks to its system of identification and unparalleled illustrations. The 2020 update features updated text and range maps, and art updated to reflect current knowledge in ornithology.
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Large Foremat
American Museum of Natural History Birds of North America
Hardcover
A big coffee table book, this is my favorite bird book. Once I think I have identified a bird, I refer to this book for confirmation and more information. Updated to reflect all the latest taxonomic data, this is the complete photographic guide to the 657 species of birds found in the United States and Canada.
Ideal for the armchair bird enthusiast or dedicated bird watcher, this book includes stunning full-color photographs revealing 657 individual speciesy. The 550 most commonly seen birds are pictured with plumage variations, and images of subspecies and information on similar birds are provided to make differentiation easy. You can even discover which species to expect when and where with up-to-date, color-coded maps highlighting habitation and migratory patterns. American Museum of Natural History Birds of North America is the ultimate photographic guide to every bird species in the United States and Canada.
Click on the cover for more info.