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The Sibley Guide to Birds
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
—Captioned illustrations show many previously unpublished field marks and revisions of known marks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 summer and winter ranges, migration routes, and rare occurrences
Both novice and experienced birders will appreciate these and other innovative
—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
—Captioned illustrations show many previously unpublished field marks and revisions of known marks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 summer and winter ranges, migration routes, and rare occurrences
Both novice and experienced birders will appreciate these and other innovative
—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.
544 pages, Paperback
First published October 3, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
October 22, 2008
The definitive birding guide for North America. Gorgeous paintings of hundreds of birds pack this well-designed, durable book that is essential to any birder's collection. The book is on the bulky side so I would recommend his compact The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America or The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America if you are packing light.
June 19, 2024
What a tremendous resource. Really clear and detailed pictures. Good info for identifying birds. If you want to know more info on a certain one, though, you’ll have to dig deeper somewhere else. But at least this one book will allow you to ID what you’re looking at, and then you can take it from there.
February 11, 2011
Currently the best field guide to North American birds.
January 1, 2012
This is my go to field guide. You can't beat the multiple illustrations of birds - in flight (from top and bottom), breeding v. non-breeding, male, female, and juvenile. This has got it all, plus comparison tips for very similar birds.
It's a mighty heavy tome to carry with you on a birding trip. Fortunately, that problem is solved for people with smart phones. The Sibley app is probably the most used application on my iPhone. It has all the info, plus the ability to record bird sightings by date and location.
I will never "finish" this book.
It's a mighty heavy tome to carry with you on a birding trip. Fortunately, that problem is solved for people with smart phones. The Sibley app is probably the most used application on my iPhone. It has all the info, plus the ability to record bird sightings by date and location.
I will never "finish" this book.
July 19, 2007
the only reason i didn't slap 5 stars on this rascal is cuz he poopoos the existence of the ivory-bill. i have to believe they found one down in arkansas for the sake of my very soul. c'mon sibley! don't be a stick in the mud.
dude can flat-out draw some birds! hardcore draw some dang avian life!!!!
dude can flat-out draw some birds! hardcore draw some dang avian life!!!!
August 27, 2022
What can I add to what everyone else says? Only that, even though my eyes can no longer see birds' markings in the field, I'm keeping this guide. It's just so neat to look at a bird in all its different plumages.
April 9, 2013
I might be reading this book for the rest of my life.
May 20, 2014
Despite my grumpy son's complaints, I'm very fond of Sibley's guides to birds and trees, this one included. It's a bit bulky for a field guide, but still a reasonable reference book with lovely art.
February 17, 2022
Quite an undertaking this masterful guide. This is a large format book with beautiful painted portraits of the birds in various movements. Info. for each species re movement and home locations with color coded maps. I really like a bird I.D. book with photos but this book is so wonderful and so complete that one can't complain.
April 19, 2020
the one to get and use.
September 5, 2009
Even better than Petersen's, but hard to fit in your pocket.
The range maps are more accurate, drawings include more variations, and the writing is less terse.
This is my go-to book when I'm not in the field.
The range maps are more accurate, drawings include more variations, and the writing is less terse.
This is my go-to book when I'm not in the field.
February 3, 2019
David Sibley is a god.
July 30, 2021
This is my absolute favorite birding field guide. The illustrations are beautiful and more 'real' than any others I've used. Sibley does an amazing job of distilling the feel of the birds. Excellent range maps, illustrations of regional variation, and descriptions of appearance and vocalizations. I like the 'group accounts' format - family sections are started with side-by-side thumbnails of the birds for comparison.
Only a few criticisms. First off, I haven't ever used this as a real 'field guide' because frankly it's just big and heavy. Hard to justify lugging around in a backpack unless you're in a pretty unfamiliar area. That said, I do a lot of birding by car and if I'm traveling I'll always have this in my car or base camp. And there's the Western/Eastern sub-guides to help with this.
Also, I originally learned birds on the Nat Geo guide, which has a couple features I like and that are missing in this one. The biggest one in my mind are the phenomenal subspecific range maps at the end of the book. Sibley has a few subspecies distributions embedded in the main text, but for fewer species. Also, Sibley only uses common names for the subspecies, which can be confusing when trying to compare to other references. I also think the visual index to bird families inside the dust jacket of Nat Geo is a really fantastic resource for beginning birders trying to sift through their field guides; it's harder to get around in Sibley if you don't already know your birds well.
All in all though, I think this is the best single field guide for any ABA birder with a bit of experience.
Only a few criticisms. First off, I haven't ever used this as a real 'field guide' because frankly it's just big and heavy. Hard to justify lugging around in a backpack unless you're in a pretty unfamiliar area. That said, I do a lot of birding by car and if I'm traveling I'll always have this in my car or base camp. And there's the Western/Eastern sub-guides to help with this.
Also, I originally learned birds on the Nat Geo guide, which has a couple features I like and that are missing in this one. The biggest one in my mind are the phenomenal subspecific range maps at the end of the book. Sibley has a few subspecies distributions embedded in the main text, but for fewer species. Also, Sibley only uses common names for the subspecies, which can be confusing when trying to compare to other references. I also think the visual index to bird families inside the dust jacket of Nat Geo is a really fantastic resource for beginning birders trying to sift through their field guides; it's harder to get around in Sibley if you don't already know your birds well.
All in all though, I think this is the best single field guide for any ABA birder with a bit of experience.
July 29, 2024
Yes, you really do want to buy the second edition, even if you have the first edition.
I made the mistake of buying the Eastern field guide first - then saw the first edition of the main Sibley guide to the birds of North America. Once you see the double-page spread of Red-tailed Hawks - you know that you absolutely positively MUST have this book.
Eventually, once the second edition came out, I found that I very much needed that one too.
Fabulous books, with fabulous artwork.
I do have a couple of reservations regarding these books. There is a printing problem that shows up on just about every page - the colours on the maps are messed up. It really is remarkable that the publisher for these books, where colours are critically important, made this error. Other field guides that are nowhere near as good as these have managed to print maps with proper colours – so I am baffled how these errors were not caught before printing. And I am even more amazed that the second edition has problems too. These are not critical errors – more of an annoyance, really, easy to get past.
My other reservation is that there are ongoing problems with certain colours that show up in a number of his illustrations. Specifically, the reddish tones in a number of his illustrations are rather off. For example, I do not believe that there ever existed a glow-In-the-dark, ultra-red rufous morph of an Eastern Screech Owl, like the ones shown in the first edition, the second edition, and the eastern guide. Other birders have told me that these problems only occurred in one particular edition – but I really don’t believe it.
But don’t let my minor quibbles deter you from adding these wonderful field guides to your birding shelf.
I made the mistake of buying the Eastern field guide first - then saw the first edition of the main Sibley guide to the birds of North America. Once you see the double-page spread of Red-tailed Hawks - you know that you absolutely positively MUST have this book.
Eventually, once the second edition came out, I found that I very much needed that one too.
Fabulous books, with fabulous artwork.
I do have a couple of reservations regarding these books. There is a printing problem that shows up on just about every page - the colours on the maps are messed up. It really is remarkable that the publisher for these books, where colours are critically important, made this error. Other field guides that are nowhere near as good as these have managed to print maps with proper colours – so I am baffled how these errors were not caught before printing. And I am even more amazed that the second edition has problems too. These are not critical errors – more of an annoyance, really, easy to get past.
My other reservation is that there are ongoing problems with certain colours that show up in a number of his illustrations. Specifically, the reddish tones in a number of his illustrations are rather off. For example, I do not believe that there ever existed a glow-In-the-dark, ultra-red rufous morph of an Eastern Screech Owl, like the ones shown in the first edition, the second edition, and the eastern guide. Other birders have told me that these problems only occurred in one particular edition – but I really don’t believe it.
But don’t let my minor quibbles deter you from adding these wonderful field guides to your birding shelf.
April 30, 2024
Considered by birders (I don't think of myself as that educated or obsessive) as one of the definitive guides to birds. It is extensive, has lots of nicely drawn pictures by Sibley and good information. Like other bird books, it also seems to be organized in ways only real birders could appreciate. It would be wonderful if this were online and searchable in various ways. Still, if you find the bird you are looking for in there, it is going to be very helpful.
For mere mortals, I suggest downloading the Merlin app from Cornell to your phone. It is amazing. you can show it a picture of a bird, give it some colors and sizes or even just have it listen to the bird sing and it is very accurate. It also lets you keep a list of what you have sighted. Finally, it provides various views and pictures of bird (mature, immature, male female, in flight etc) that can be very helpful in identifying them.
For mere mortals, I suggest downloading the Merlin app from Cornell to your phone. It is amazing. you can show it a picture of a bird, give it some colors and sizes or even just have it listen to the bird sing and it is very accurate. It also lets you keep a list of what you have sighted. Finally, it provides various views and pictures of bird (mature, immature, male female, in flight etc) that can be very helpful in identifying them.
March 5, 2023
An extraordinary guide, with stunning illustrations by David Sibley, of course.
Over the years I have progressively acquired most, if not all of the magnificent books illustrated by Sibley. The 2nd edition (2014) of this guide is astounding by the beauty of the drawings and the power of identification that the provide compared to any other guide I know.
The guide is not a pocket carry, and I keep it at home or in the car---I use the Sibley Birds West Guide in the field (it does not really fit in my back pocket either, but it is smaller).
Every time I open this guide, I am awed by the extraordinary drawings. I am sure you will be too. Get this book!
Over the years I have progressively acquired most, if not all of the magnificent books illustrated by Sibley. The 2nd edition (2014) of this guide is astounding by the beauty of the drawings and the power of identification that the provide compared to any other guide I know.
The guide is not a pocket carry, and I keep it at home or in the car---I use the Sibley Birds West Guide in the field (it does not really fit in my back pocket either, but it is smaller).
Every time I open this guide, I am awed by the extraordinary drawings. I am sure you will be too. Get this book!
March 31, 2024
The definitive guide to North American birds. Every known North American species is portrayed both in flight and on the ground or water as appropriate, both as adults and various juvenile stages, in all common morphs and as both sexes. If it has feathers and it's in North America, its likeness is in this book, and using this book requires absolutely no prior knowledge of birding. This is the single best birding book to buy on the continent.
November 13, 2018
Outstanding birding guide.
I use it in conjunction with Kaufman's Field Guid to Birds of North America. Sibley's is more complete but together they become a useful tool in identifying birds. I wrote that I finished the book - but this is not the kind of book one ever finishes. It will stay with me for a long time to come. A tremendous amount of work, research went into it.
I use it in conjunction with Kaufman's Field Guid to Birds of North America. Sibley's is more complete but together they become a useful tool in identifying birds. I wrote that I finished the book - but this is not the kind of book one ever finishes. It will stay with me for a long time to come. A tremendous amount of work, research went into it.
December 14, 2020
I didn't read all of it, checking it out to look up cormorants, gulls, and warbles but also got caught up in learning about other species. But this is a beautiful exquisite volume with tons of information, including information about rare species who drift into our borders from other countries , or interbreed with other species. A wonderful resource.
October 27, 2024
4.5/5: This is my favorite bird field guide. I typically pair it with National Geographic’s 7th edition as I’m an amateur birder so I need multiple resources to confirm sightings. The pictures are slightly better in this so if I had to pick one it would be Sibley’s. Too large to take out with you in the field but contains a variety of illustrated examples of each bird to help identification.
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April 21, 2020David Allen Sibley is a very talented artist who has realised which are the most important and key features for identifying American birds. The drawings are not detailed, but this is balanced with all the extra information about behaviour.
August 21, 2022
This is more of a reference text than a book to read. The illustrations and information are very useful (especially when you're uncertain whether the bird at your feeder is a chicadee or a nuthatch), and the book is also entertaining for a toddler to look at!
March 18, 2017
The paintings are very useful: variants are shown.
Great for identification. Should be used in combination of other bird book/app if you want descriptions of habits, etc.
Great for identification. Should be used in combination of other bird book/app if you want descriptions of habits, etc.
July 9, 2018
This is the best bird identification book ever.
June 1, 2019
Excellent reference.
April 28, 2020
Indispensable handbook to birding! Charming illustrations!
November 14, 2020
Excellent bird guide. His illustrations help identify birds. And his info is perfect.
July 8, 2021
This is a pretty excellently detailed and well-illustrated bird guide for birds of North America.
July 17, 2021
outstanding!
November 28, 2021
This is the definitive guide for bird identification.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews