NEWS

Knopf to Publish New Audubon Guides Beginning with Two Titles in April 2021

From the National Audubon Society, the most trusted name in birding and creators of the bestselling field guides—beloved by backyard enthusiasts and experts alike—come two completely new reference works: NATIONAL AUDOBON SOCIETY BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA and NATIONAL AUDOBON SOCIETY TREES OF NORTH AMERICA, to be published by Knopf on April 6, 2021.

These volumes will be the first new guides to appear from Audubon since 1995 and are the result of a collaboration between leading scientists, scholars, taxonomic and field experts, photo editors, and designers. Their publication continues a decades-long collaboration with Knopf and inaugurates an exciting new series with forthcoming guides on wildflowers and mushrooms scheduled for 2023.

Audubon’s field guides to the birds of North America, last updated in 1994, have sold a combined 2.3 million copies between the eastern and western editions and Audubon’s field guides to the trees of North America, last updated in 1980, have sold a combined nearly 1.7 million copies between the eastern and western editions.

Andy Hughes, editor of the new guides and senior vice president of production and design at the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, says, “I arrived at Knopf as a production manager in the late 1970s just after publication of the first Audubon field guide to birds in 1977, which would be followed with over twenty more field guides, including Trees in 1980, all dealing with every aspect of nature and earth sciences. Those guides were my go-to references for identification and appreciation of the natural world. It has been a long and wonderful publishing relationship. Over the passing of many decades and millions of copies sold, much new information has emerged, which necessitated a fresh compilation of the current science, names of identification, photographic presentation, and, very importantly, the conservation status of birds and trees. Clearly, the time is right to bring these books out as interest and pleasure in the observation of birds and concern for the preservation of our trees and forests are upmost in peoples’ minds now more than ever.”

Jose Carbonell, chief marketing officer at the National Audubon Society, says, “As climate change continues to impact the birds and nature of North America, birders and naturalists today need access to the most up-to-date field guides for their adventures in the outdoors. These new books are the first additions to our current line of iconic field guides since the 1990s and provide more comprehensive insight into the world of birds for the next generation of nature lovers and conservationists. We sought to emphasize the connection between birds, nature, and the threats they face including climate change, while inspiring more people to enjoy and protect birds and the places they need for years to come.”

John Rowden, PhD, senior director of bird-friendly communities for the National Audubon Society, says, “Knopf’s NATIONAL AUDOBON SOCIETY BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA and NATIONAL AUDOBON SOCIETY TREES OF NORTH AMERICA come at a critical time for the bird species we cherish. Audubon’s 2019 climate report Survival by Degrees found that up to two-thirds of North American birds could face extinction from climate change. Blunting the impact of a warming climate will require the efforts of all of us, advocating to preserve remaining habitat and making sure that our own gardens and communities offer the plants birds need to survive. The information provided in these books will serve as an invaluable tool towards ensuring that the birds we love survive into the next century and beyond.”

BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA will cover more than 800 species, with over 3,500 full-color photographs of birds in their natural habitat, often with four or five images of each species. For ease of use, the book includes a glossary, an index, and a ribbon marker, and is arranged according to the American Ornithological Society’s 2019 Checklist of North and Middle American Birds–with birds sorted by taxonomic orders and grouped by family, so that related species are presented together. Range maps, reflecting the impact of climate change, accompany nearly every entry, along with a physical description and information on voice, nesting, habitat, and similar species. This guide will also include an important new category on conservation status for nearly every species, as designated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. It will also include essays by leading scholars in each field on holistic insights into the world of birds.

TREES OF NORTH AMERICA will cover more than 540 species, with nearly 2,500 full-color photographs–including images of the bark, fruit, and flowers, as well as photos that illustrate leaf shape and seasonal color changes. As with BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA , this book will also include a glossary, an index, a ribbon marker, information on conservation status, and new essays by leading scholars, and it will be arranged according to the latest Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification system–with trees sorted by taxonomic orders and grouped by family, so that related species are presented together. Readers will appreciate the crisp detail of the photographs; range maps (reflecting the impact of climate change); physical descriptions; and information on fruit, habitat, uses, and similar species. Conservation status will be included for nearly every species, as designated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. Audubon works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give Audubon an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, Audubon believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Learn more at www.audubon.org and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.