Arizona's diversity is a major benefit to bird watching. From Ramsey Canyon in South, nearly at the Mexican Border to the Grand Canyon in the North, Arizona presents such a variety of habitats that there is almost not enough time in one's life to see it all.
There are a number of books available about Arizona birds. Here are a few of the most recent ones:
Burns, Jim. Jim Burns' Arizona Birds: From the Backyard to the Backwoods. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2008.
Alderfer, Jonathan K. National Geographic Field Guide to Birds. Arizona & New Mexico. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2006.
Radamaker, Kurt A., Cindy Radamaker, and Gregory Kennedy. Arizona and New Mexico Birds. [Edmonton, Alta.]: Lone Pine Pub. International, 2007.
Tekiela, Stan. Birds of Arizona: Field Guide. Cambridge, Minn: Adventure Pub, 2003.
I have been using Peterson, Roger. A Field Guide to Western Birds: Field Marks of All Species Found in North America West of the 100. Meridian, with a Section on the Birds of the Hawaiian Islands. Boston: Mifflin, 1961 since I bought it new about 1970 or so. There are newer editions available. I shy away from coffee table books with glossy pictures, they seldom have much real information. I can't vouch for any of the books above, but we didn't fin the Tekiela book particularly useful.
Wikipedia has an extensive list of Arizona birds. Our all time favorite Arizona bird is the Gambel's Quail, Callipepla gambelii n Especially, when they have a lot of little baby quail running around their feet. We see dozens of them every morning. The birds I remember most and associate most with Phoenix/Mesa are the Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura n and the Inca Dove, Columbina inca n
We are hoping to see a Condor on one of our trips through House Rock Valley or to the Grand Canyon but we have always just missed them flying by as of yet.
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