Customer Reviews:
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 A Chilean opinion April 21, 2008
This book is very usefull even for forign bird watcher as my self, it contents almost every family that exist in south america with mthe exception of pinguins.
Very nice writen.
 Sibley bird behavior April 10, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Have not found this book to be interesting. It jumps around and covers many birds at once. You have to spend time looking to find a bird and then it is not comprehensive enough. Would not buy this book again. Disappointing as I do use his bird guide.
Another Gem July 28, 2007
Like all the Sibley books, this is comprehensive and well-written. A necessary and welcomed addition to any birder's library.
 An informative book. January 11, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a useful book about bird behavior written by a true expert. It's a bit like a textbook the way it approaches broad topics and discusses various aspects.
Like any textbook, I suppose, if you go into this book with a specific question and hope for a specific answer, you may not find it. However, if you were trying to write a school report or something you would certainly find lots of useful tidbits of information in the general area of your topic.
I'd say that rather than thinking of this as a reference book, you should think of it as background reading, to be taken in small doses, for the above-and-beyond birding enthusiast.
From the perspective of a non-birder... August 24, 2006
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I'm not a birder, though it seems like an interesting hobby. But I just look at the birds at the feeders and birdbath in the back yard and think, "I wonder what that one is?" So, I bought "The Sibley Guide to Birds" (which is outstanding) on the recommendation of a birder friend, and that led me to this book.
On the one hand, it's a long, dense, scientific work. The years of effort and study that went into it is astounding.
On the other hand, it's an extremely entertaining set of answers to all of those "Why do they do that?" questions that come up when you're watching birds. For example, why do bird knees seem to bend backward? Well, they don't; the knee is close to the bird's body, and what seems to be a backward knee is actually the bird's ankle. The birds are in effect walking around on their tip toes.
If hundreds of pages of information like that, coupled with beautiful illustrations and great maps, all wrapped in an easy-to-use organizational scheme sounds interesting and useful, then get this book.
For a non-birder like me, it's probably more information than I really need, but I found it fascinating.
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