- Hardcover: 544 pages
- Publisher: Crown Publications; 1 edition (13 Nov 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0679451226
- ISBN-13: 978-0679451228
- Product Dimensions: 16.2 x 3.8 x 24.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,068,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
David Allen Sibley, America's most gifted contemporary painter of birds, is the author and illustrator of this comprehensive guide. His beautifully detailed illustrations—more than 6,600 in all—and descriptions of 810 species and 350 regional populations will enrich every birder's experience.
The Sibley Guide's innovative design makes it entirely user friendly. The illustrations are arranged to facilitate comparison, yet still capture the unique character of each species.
The Sibley Guide to Birds provides a wealth of new information:
—Captioned illustrations show many previously unpublished field marks and revisions of known marks
—Nearly every species is shown in flight
—Measurements include length, wingspan, and weight for every species
—Subspecies and geographic varients are covered thoroughly
—Complete voice descriptions are included for every species
—Maps show the complete distribution of every species: summer and winter ranges, migration routes, and rare occurrences
Both novice and experienced birders will appreciate these and other innovative features:
—An introductory page for each family or group of related families makes comparisons simple
—Clear and concise labels with pointers identify field marks directly
—Birds are illustrated in similar poses to make comparisons between species quick and easy
—Illustrations emphasize the way birds look in the field
With The Sibley Guide to Birds, the National Audubon Society makes the art and expertise of David Sibley available to the world in a comprehensive, handsome, easy-to-use volume that will be the indispensable identification guide every birder must own.
The Sibley Guide's innovative design makes it entirely user friendly. The illustrations are arranged to facilitate comparison, yet still capture the unique character of each species.
The Sibley Guide to Birds provides a wealth of new information:
—Captioned illustrations show many previously unpublished field marks and revisions of known marks
—Nearly every species is shown in flight
—Measurements include length, wingspan, and weight for every species
—Subspecies and geographic varients are covered thoroughly
—Complete voice descriptions are included for every species
—Maps show the complete distribution of every species: summer and winter ranges, migration routes, and rare occurrences
Both novice and experienced birders will appreciate these and other innovative features:
—An introductory page for each family or group of related families makes comparisons simple
—Clear and concise labels with pointers identify field marks directly
—Birds are illustrated in similar poses to make comparisons between species quick and easy
—Illustrations emphasize the way birds look in the field
With The Sibley Guide to Birds, the National Audubon Society makes the art and expertise of David Sibley available to the world in a comprehensive, handsome, easy-to-use volume that will be the indispensable identification guide every birder must own.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This sets a new standard for birdwatching fieldguides.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Sibley Guide to Birds (Audubon Society Nature Guides) (Hardcover)
David Sibley's new field guide to the birds of North America renders all the existing guides obsolete at one stroke. The book itself is beautifully produced and crafted - the sort of book that gives pleasure just in the handling of it. In this single volume, he not only covers all the species likely to be seen in the whole of North America, but more importantly, he illustrates all the plumage variations for each species resulting from differences in age and sex and time of year. He also neatly incorporates pointers to the particular features of each bird that distinguish it, and introduces each family of birds with an illustrated page of its members, a summary of their habits, and what makes them different. The quality of the paintings is astonishing, and his achievement in producing all this artwork single-handed is amazing. This is very much a field and therefore an identification guide, and if you seek detailed factual information on brood sizes, moult sequences,food items, etc, then you will need to look elsewhere. As a field guide it has everything you need on the same page for each bird, including distribution maps, notes on calls and song, in addition to the most comprehensive set of pictures of plumage. He puts into one volume what Peterson divides between two, and the number and quality of his illustrations far surpass those in the National Geographic guide. It sets a new standard for birding field guides, which none of the guides to European birds can yet approach either - this is an absolute must for any birdwatcher who has the slightest interest in North American birds.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best field guide to North America,
By
This review is from: The Sibley Guide to Birds (Audubon Society Nature Guides) (Hardcover)
Universally acknowledged as the best field guide to the region.
In many ways this is the ideal guide:- - the entire continent in a single volume - everything pertaining to one species on one page - lots of illustrations per species - high quality illustrations, uniform in style - brief, succinct text - handy maps - expert author / illustrator - good sturdy, but flexible binding However, some things could be improved. First, it cannot really be taken into the field except in a bag, which deters many users from actually employing it as a FIELD guide. Some will say that the large number of species justify the bulk, but this is not so: look at the Collins Bird Guide (Mullarney, et al.) which has used smart layout and cut out the blank areas to cram as much information in as possible. If portability is a problem, then the separate Western and Eastern guides are a solution, or Kaufman for those who require less detail. Secondly, Sibley is often lacking in comparative identification notes for similar species. Both quibbles can surely be corrected in the next edition. So, which field guide to buy? For a light alternative for those wanting to avoid the thorny details, Kaufman is ideal. If you have more than a passing interest in birds, then definitely Sibley. In that case, though, you probably want several guides including National Geographic and Peterson as (the former in particular) offer additional insight. Don't forget this is the best birding aid for identifying migrants in Central and South America too.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (162 customer reviews) 162 of 164 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best field guide for identifying birds.,
By David D. Gersten "David Gersten" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Sibley Guide to Birds (Audubon Society Nature Guides) (Hardcover)
The latest attempt to publish the perfect bird guide book comes very close. The Sibley guide is more comprehensive than the National Geographic guide (NG) in its inclusion of views. In examining each page of the book I was bewildered at the number of views. The first published drawings I have seen of some species in flight are in this thorough book. The group accounts to begin each section are excellent. These accounts show all species in a family on one page; often examining hard to identify plumages like first-winter female wood-warblers. The range maps and voice details are much better than any previous attempt. Identification skills are sprinkled throughout the book in areas where they are most needed. In this regard, the Sibley guide gives the user some of what Kenn Kaufman's Advanced Birding, Jack Connor's The Complete Birder and the American Birding Association's Birding magazine provide. It falls short of perfection in four areas that will be considered minor by most readers: The drawings are not as sharp as in the NG. The feather detail is often absent and edges are blurred leaving less of the feather texture affect found in the NG. This may be a purposeful attempt to get users to focus on the feel of the bird rather than searching for details that can sometimes only be seen with a bird in hand. The habitat information is not as complete as in the NG. Unlike the NG where habitat and historical details are provided with individual species, the Sibley guide gives their habitat info in group descriptions at the tops of most pages. There are still some omissions. While I have not had time to search for every vagrant species, two birds I have personally seen in North America are not included - the whiskered tern and the brown shrike. It is not field worthy. In this I expect some will disagree. It will surely fit in a shoulder bag or backpack. Perhaps more important, it may be good for birding if birders don't take it with them. Birding skills are developed by viewing birds and trying to remember and record details. This guide's utility will be as the definitive guide for pre and post observation. I am still giving this book five stars and advise every serious birder to purchase it, study it, and learn from it. It will be the first guide I turn to when I'm back at my car after a cool morning in the field. 105 of 107 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New Standard for Bird Field Guides,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Sibley Guide to Birds (Audubon Society Nature Guides) (Hardcover)
David Sibley has written an excellent field guide. This book surpasses National Geographic's "Field Guide to Birds of North America" and the Peterson's Series of Bird Guides. It includes a greater number of illustrations and portrays more of the various ages of the birds. One has to appreciate the flight views of the many birds.The colors of the illustrations are excellent. This corrects one compliant of the 3rd edition of National Geographic Field Guide. Advanced and beginning birders will benefit from the examples. The range maps have been adjusted in several cases. Sibley has taken great care in producing the most up-to-date field guide. The accompanying text is very informative. It is packed with information about each species. Sibley "Guide to Birds" definitely shows that years were taken to produce this comprehensive reference. If there is a downside, this book is heavy. Many pages were required to incorporate all the interesting and informative information contained in this fabulous book! Sibley has set a new standard in Bird Field Guides. It will be years before this book is surpassed. Sibley's "Guide to Birds" is a must book for any birders library. 64 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful, practical guide!!,
By churchfan - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Sibley Guide to Birds (Audubon Society Nature Guides) (Hardcover)
After spending a weekend in the field with the new Sibley's, I can attest to the value of this book. Initially I was impressed by the many illustrations and detail that obviously go into every species description. Sibley spends needed time and space on difficult-to-identify species instead of just a couple of head profiles. On a weekend when I saw both Harlan's and Krider's Red-tailed Hawks (as well as the usual birds), this was quite welcome. The only item that could be a possible drawback with this book is that I don't feel enough attention was given to identifying habitat for many birds. When one is trying to Empidonax flycatchers, habitat is vital when making identification. While habitat is mentioned, I just don't think that it is given the importance it should have. That said, this book is a winner!! I wouldn't hesitate to purchase this book (or give it as a gift). It may replace your field guide of choice, but even if it doesn't it is an excellent supplement. As an aside - with all the splitting going on, this is the first book I've seen (I haven't looked at Kaufman's) that places Vireos with the Jays they have now been classified with. Also, all the most recent name changes have been included. Quite a benefit!
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