A Remarkable New Type of Field Guide

Back in May of 2025, whilst attending The Biggest Week in American Birding, Dr. Robert Kirk, Princeton University Press’ Publisher of the Press’ Princeton Field Guides and Natural History categories, drew my attention to the then recently published Habitats of North America: A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists. Right away I could tell it was a particularly significant book, and I took it up for reading promptly. I even wrote a Newly Noted article about it. But there was something not quite right; I had the nagging feeling that I wasn’t understanding it properly. And as it turns out, I was correct in that.

The problem wasn’t that it is not a significant, or innovative, or extraordinarily useful book – it most certainly is. The problem was that I hadn’t done the background reading necessary to understand fully the significance of what I was reading. The background reading in question being the inaugural volume of what is proving to become a remarkable series indeed: Habitats of the World: A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists.

Written by the team of Iain Campbell, Ken Behrens, Charley Hesse, and Phil Chaon, and published in 2021, Habitats of the World presents the central idea of the series, and establishes the approach to the subject, the innovative and very effective format that will be followed, and introduces its readers to a new way to learn about and understand the natural world. And who those readers are primarily expected to be is contained in the very title itself: birders, naturalists, and ecologists.

All four authors are highly experienced professional nature guides. Consequently, the motivation behind the book’s creation is the provision of a non-specialist comprehensive habitat field guide to the enthusiastic, highly motivated amateurs who take to the field in order to observe and study the animals and plants to be found there. The species included in the habitat profiles are mainly those large enough to be seen with equipment no more specialized than binoculars or spotting scopes. Mammals and birds take pride of place, with plenty of trees and other noticeable plant life. Reptiles are included but not to nearly the level, and arthropods and other mini-beasts are all but absent. Not that the authors are unskilled in the identification of such smaller forms of life; only that the number of spider watchers or mouse observers pales in comparison to birdwatchers around the world. However this doesn’t mean the book is not a useful one to these latter sort of enthusiasts as well, only that they won’t find their smaller subjects being often, if ever, featured in its pages.

The general methodology, approach to, and structure of each habitat profile is thoroughly explained in the book’s introduction, and this aforementioned structure is rigorously followed throughout the book. This makes the book particularly easy and effective to use, but it is very important not to skip the introduction as it presents the reader with the veritable keys to the treasure-house that is the subsequent collection of habitat profiles. It also helps the reader to understand and appreciate the remarkable creativity, innovation, and practical field experience that the authors have brought to the writing of the book.

The overall structure of each habitat profiles begins with an “In A Nutshell” header overview of the habitat, which includes identifying any “Habitat Affinities” and “Species Overlaps” from other habitats. This header also presents a map of the location of the habitat areas where the type of habitat is found, and a silhouette illustration showing the size of the trees and shrubs found there in relation to a human female. With this information alone the reader is oriented on the planet and given the physical proportions of the flora profile for the area about which they are next to learn.

From here the text begins with a more detailed “Description” of the habitat, accompanied by a particularly handy climate graph that presents the monthly precipitation and temperature over a year in a cleverly designed three colour combination of a line and bar graph. These graphs are explained in the introduction and once a few are seen, it is remarkable how effective they are in providing an easy-to-understand “snapshot” of the habitat’s climate. Following this the “Wildlife” section presents highlights of charismatic or noteworthy species (remember, large mammals and birds predominate). This section also includes a subsection of “Endemism” when such is applicable. Finally, each profile concludes with “Distribution” – the geographic locations where this type of habitat is found – and a  “Where to See” section that offers specific locations such as parks and refuges for those interested in visiting it. Of course, each habitat profile is enriched with lovely photos of the terrain, the wildlife, and the plants representative it.

“So,” you might ask, “as this is an entire catalogue of habitat profiles, how does one read it?” That was a question I asked myself. As well-researched and well-written as it is, it’s not the sort of book that one simply snuggles onto a sofa with a nice cuppa and reads for a few hours at a sitting (my apologies if you do, but I honestly tried this approach and it didn’t suit me as one habitat simply began to run into another). What I found much more successful is that following a thorough reading and subsequent review of the introduction, I took up the book and read sequentially through no more than five habitat profiles at a time. In this way they didn’t melt into one another and I had the opportunity to contemplate the information contained in each one more thoroughly. Alternately, if you are interested in using the book as a field guide for a particular location, or to gain information about a particular type of habitat, that too is a very appropriate method. Having now read it entirely through using the first of these methods, I have already found the second to be particularly useful as I already have an understanding of what I will be able to find from such a focused enquiry.

As was previously mentioned, Habitats of the World is the inaugural volume in a multi-volume series. Following its publication, the more geographically focused and much more in-depth Habitats of North America and Habitats of Africa were published in February 2025. These in turn were followed by Habitats of Europe in December 2025, and most recently Habitats of Australia, New Guinea, and the Solomons in March of 2026. Whereas Habitats of the World presents its readers with profiles of one hundred eighty nine habitats, the subsequent volumes take advantage of their geographic focus to refine their habitat divisions. And lest you think that the subsequent volumes are simply extracts for their respective geographic areas taken from Habitats of the World, I can already assure you, and will expound in much greater detail in my reviews of these subsequent volumes, that they refine the profile technique, present additionally defined habitat profiles, and greatly increase the overall number of profiles presented cumulatively throughout them.

Thus, now that Habitats of the World has been given a thorough review, I will be moving on in the coming months to reviews of the additional volumes already published in the series, as well as doing so for further volumes as they are published. Even if it is not your intention to acquire the entire series but only the volumes of your particular home area or another area to which you intend to travel, I very much recommend first reading this first volume that establishes the foundation for them all. It will provide you with an in introduction to the overall concept of the series and its method of presentation, and well stand you in good stead to take up whichever additional volume or volumes then strike your fancy.

Title: Habitats of the World: A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists

Authors: Iain Campbell, Ken Behrens, Charley Hesse, and Phil Chaon

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Series: Habitats of the World

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9780691197562

Published: 28 September 2021

Pages: 568 pp., with 650 color photos, 150 maps, 200 diagrams and illustrations

In accordance with Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR Part 255, it is disclosed that the copies of the books read in order to produce this review was provided gratis to the reviewer by the publisher.