This app is amazing. The user-friendly interface makes it one of the most useful of the birding apps currently available, and the pictures, replete with identification points, are second to none. I am a long time birder and early adopter of nearly every North American birding app and I can honestly say that Peterson Birds is the one I turn to most often.

I have tried or researched all of the bird apps and this is my favorite. I appreciate that the developers put real thought into the usability of this guide on iOS, and in this regard Peterson's and iBird are the top of the heap. However I greatly prefer Peterson's for several reasons: the main screen is organized into useful groups of similar birds, making it quick to use; and the app retains the strengths of the paper Peterson guides, with good illustrations (much more useful than photographs) of similar birds on the same page with lines pointing to important field marks. It is better than my paper field guide in that it includes vocalizations, and range maps are more immediately accessible. Great work!

Love the concept and overall I am happy. I have not seen the problems and shortcomings earlier reviews point out which tells me developers are listening and improving. Number one problem is not having a shortcut to record a sighting when you do a text search from home screen menu?!?! So I see a pine warbler, I already know what it is and want to record it so I use search, find the bird and I have all the info but no sighting or even a checklist option. I need to try and figure what category the bird would be in (easy enough 80% of the time but a real bear the rest of the time) and add to list from there. Clumsy. Also you cannot change the year in the sighting entry page. So I can't add sightings from my hard copy life list to this app. Really?!?! No control of the date? But I can add s sighting in the future with not so much as a warning. Weird. I have high hopes though. Finally it's crazy that when you record a sighting, the app does not add the species to you lifelist automatically, you have to remember to check it off manually. Weird.

Because I identify birds by call as often as by sight, this app is absolutely what I've needed for years.Thank you!

This is a wonderful app, that would be made better and more useful with actual field pictures of the birds.

Nice work, but here are a few suggestions after working with the app and getting frustrated.1. You should be able to enter historic sightings, which I've kept in a journal but would like to put in the app. Details of when and where I first saw a certain bird, for instance.2. Any first sighting should add the bird to to the life list automatically, and inform the user that it's a life bird. Also you should the. Have the option to check that bird off in other lists you've created.3. Would like to see locations services used to enter the location of a sighting automatically with user option to override.4. Would like to be able to quiz myself on selected lists by visual, song, or both.

For me what make this app stand out is that you can flip through the pages as well as look for birds by shape. This is extremely help both when looking for a specific bird you have spotted and also when just studying generally. I wish all the birding apps had this feature. You can open the app. Go to any bird and then flip backwards or forwards though all the birds just as though you were looking at a book. This is the only app I have seen where that this is the case. This is certainly my choice as the best North American birding app.

I downloaded this app yesterday (9/4/11) and it is fabulous...My Peterson guide has been my "go to" guide for many, many years...Now, I can take my digital version with me everywhere!!! Thank you...

I would recommend this app!

After talking to you at MacWorld today, I got home and bought your app Peterson Birds of North America and downloaded the free app on Feeder Birds. I have gone through most of two apps and I am blown away how excellent they are. This are the best app s I have seen. They are very easy to use. You can look for birds in your own state AND county, you can catalog your own sightings, and add your own photos. Wonderful,wonderful. Thank you for designing such fine appsBob Wilson