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The Sibley Guide to Birds
by: David Allen Sibley

List Price: $35.00

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Binding: Paperback
Brand: Random House
Dewey Decimal Number: 598.097
EAN: 9780679451228
ISBN: 0679451226
Label: Knopf
Manufacturer: Knopf
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 544
Publication Date: October 03, 2000
Publisher: Knopf
Sales Rank: 15678
Studio: Knopf

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Editorial Review:

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 populati

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Amazon.com:
More than 10 years in the making, David Sibley's Guide to Birds is a monumental achievement. The beautiful watercolor illustrations (6,600, covering 810 species in North America) and clear, descriptive text place Sibley and his work squarely in the tradition of John James Audubon and Roger Tory Peterson; more than a birdwatcher and evangelizer, he is one of the foremost bird painters and authorities in the U.S. Still, his field guide will no doubt spark debate. Unlike Kenn Kaufman's Focus Guide, Sibley's is unapologetically aimed at the converted. Beginning birders may want to keep a copy of Sibley at home as a reference, but the wealth of information will have the same effect on novices as trying to pick out a single sandpiper in a wheeling flock of thousands. The familiar yellow warbler, for instance, gets no less than nine individual illustrations documenting its geographic, seasonal, and sex variations--plus another eight smaller illustrations showing it in flight. Of course, more experienced birders will appreciate this sort of detail, along with Sibley's improvements on both Peterson and the National Geographic guide:

As in Peterson, Sibley employs a pointer system for key field markings--but additional text blurbs are included alongside the illustrations to facilitate identification.
Descriptive passages on identification are more detailed than those in most other field guides. For example, Sibley includes extensive information on the famously hard-to-distinguish hawks in the genus Accipiter (sharp-shinned, Cooper's, and northern goshawk), noting differences in leg thickness and wing beat that will be of use to more advanced birders. A section on the identification of 'peeps' (small sandpipers) includes tips about seasonal molting and bill length. Confusing fall warblers, Empidonax flycatchers, and Alcids receive similar treatment.
As previously mentioned, ample space is given to illustrations that show plumage variations by age, sex, and geography within a single species. Thus, an entire page is devoted to the red-shouldered hawk and its differing appearances in the eastern U.S., Florida, and California; similarly, gulls are distinguished by age and warblers by sex.
Range maps are detailed and accurate, with breeding, wintering, and migration routes clearly depicted; rare but regular geographic occurrences are denoted by green dots.
The binding and paper stock are of exceptional quality. Despite its 544 pages, a reinforced paperback cover and sewn-in binding allow the book to be spread out flat without fear of breaking the binding.

Some birders will be put off by the book's size. Slightly larger than the National Geographic guide, it's less portable than most field guides and will likely spend more time in cars and desks than on a birder's person while in the field. For some it will be a strictly stay-at-home companion guide to consult after a field trip; others may want to have it handy in a fannypack or backpack. But regardless of how it is used, Sibley's Guide to Birds is a significant addition to any birding library. 'Birds are beautiful,' the author writes in the preface, 'their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature.' Pleasing, too, is this comprehensive guide to their identification. --Langdon Cook

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- Beautiful artwork
I'm keeping the book by the window that looks over my bird feeder.

The drawings are beautiful - one could cut out the pages, frame the pictures, and have a home full of beautiful artwork.

Rating:

- The Shelby Guide to Birds
This is the Best Bird Book on the market for beginers and those of experience. It is visually more complete than other books that I have or seen. It is a must as a birders' companion.

Rating:

- So nice I had to keep one!
I bought two of these books for gifts but when my husband saw it he had to have one for us.
It's that nice. We love it.

Rating:

- Gift
I used this book so much that this time I bought it to give as a gift.

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