The new book, “The Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada” is the ultimate source of information about finches. Finches large and small are favorites at backyard feeders, especially as colder temperatures prevail. The new book by Stokes and Young describes how to attract and benefit finches (Evening Grosbeaks photographed by Paul Konrad).

We’ve been patiently awaiting the arrival of the exciting new book, The Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada, which is now available! And it’s the best, most detailed, and most lavishly illustrated publication about Finches, which provides a go-to source for us all that is expertly written by Lillian Stokes and Matthew Young. Ranging from the variety of goldfinches to Pine Grosbeaks and crossbills, finches have long attracted the attention of birders in our yards and in the field, and now we have an authoritative new book to guide us through the finches we encounter, attract, and seek out this fall, winter, and beyond!

Featuring more than 345 stunning full-color photographs and 50+ range maps covering 43 species, you can learn about identifying the variety of finches, the life history information for each species, and how to attract finches to your yard with this comprehensive, colorful field guide to the finches of North America. Detailed identification information about each finch species’ plumages, subspecies, and songs provides a premium source for us all. The tantalizing photographs really hold your attention, page after page, taken by expert photographers including author Lillian Stokes, along with Brian E. Small, Allen Murphy, Jack Jeffrey, and others.

Following the extraordinary finch super-flight during the winter of 2020-21, birders across the country became even more intrigued with the northern finches. With The Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada, you can gain expert knowledge about these beautiful birds and learn how to bring some finch species into your own yard. This fully illustrated guide tells you all you wish to know about attracting, observing, and protecting finches.

An exciting bonus to this book is the information and photographs of finches from Asia and Europe that occasionally cross into North America as rare vagrants, like Bramblings and Hawfinches, which is very interesting and helpful to many birders. And there is also a special section that describes the endemic and endangered Hawaiian honeycreepers – Hawaii’s finches – that is certainly an exciting added bonus!

For birders with a special interest in crossbills, this new book provides the most complete and up-to-date range maps for each species, including maps of core occurrence and irruption ranges for all Red Crossbill call types, which have never before been published in a guide. There is also a description of scientific studies that have been done and are ongoing relative to finch migrations and conservation.

The authors are certainly well-known and highly respected in birding circles: Lillian Stokes is widely recognized among America’s foremost authors and authorities on birds and nature, along with her husband Donald. Their books include the bestselling Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America, The Stokes Field Guide to Birds, The Stokes Beginner's Guide to Birds, the series of Stokes Nature Guides, the series of Stokes Backyard Nature Books and many more excellent publications.

Co-author Matthew Young is the President and Founder of the Finch Research Network (FiRN), an obvious authority on finches. For 10 years he was also a Regional Editor of the Kingbird, the state ornithological journal in New York, was an Adjunct Professor in Environmental Studies at SUNY-Cortland, and he currently teaches “Intro to Birding and Nature Observation” classes for Cornell University.

Every birder should have access to The Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada in their home library – and good news, this new book is very economically priced and widely available at bookstores and department stores, and online. For more information you can refer to The Stokes Guide to Finches of the United States and Canada by Lillian Q. Stokes | Hachette Book Group