I got interesting in birding via photography. I enjoyed our fine feathered friends as much as anyone, but in most cases I thought a bird was just a bird. When people in my camera club displayed their photographs of birds, I began realizing the great diversity in the bird world and became a more objective bird watcher. I am now getting better at identifying birds, and THE SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS has been an indispensable guide. The author, David Allen Sibley is the son of a famous ornithologist Fred Sibley, and began drawing birds at a young age. His love for birds has continued into his adult years and this book is a product of that love. He is a skilled artist and the book includes numerous illustrations of various birds, the different plumages of the birds, and the birds at flight. The variety of illustrations will help a novice birder identify different species with relative ease. The book groups the birds into categories based on species and includes the subspecies of the major groupings. The book also has helpful hints on identifying birds by size, characteristics of the particular bird, color, and call.
Due to the size of the book, it is not easy to carry the book while birding as it would be smaller guides. The best idea would be to take a smaller guide while birding for preliminary identification, and upon returning home compare notes with the SIBLEY GUIDE to fully appreciate the varied species of birds in North America.
This is the guide. If you ever wanted to identify a juvenile or a female, this guide has pictures for all. The book covers the Western coast to the Eastern coast. There are all different plumages as well. NOTHING compares to this book. As many people know, there are 2 "faults" to this guide. There is the rather large size, and it is basically just an identification guide; no information about the species life-style. However, there is another book that covers this by Sibley. Both are extremely big books, as they have to cover such a large area, with over 800 species! I use his other book which is very well written, and I highly recommend it!
The problem with size is very easy to overcome. I think that Sibley quickly realized this, and for that reason split his book into two. So, if you live in California you can buy the Western guide, and if you live in New York, you can buy the Eastern guide. This is a wonderful solution so as to not carry more than you will need. I do not use the separate guides though. Even though I own at least 4 other bird guides, the ONLY one I carry in the field with me (AT ALL TIMES) is Sibley's. The inconvenience in size/weight is worth the find of a female or juvenile bird that I could not otherwise identify.
For new birders, I strongly recommend pictures and NOT PHOTOS. Photos represent ONE bird (leaving out the idea of natural variation), and not the bird species as a whole. Also, Sibley covers hybrids and rare plumages as well. He also indicates that you should be aware of leucism, albinism, and melanistic birds.
Other important features covered include, song/call descriptions, easy to read maps which show summer, winter, year-round, migration routes, and accidental spots. These are the best represented maps I have EVER seen. They are colored not black and white stripes like the Audubon guide... They are rather large, and overall wonderful! The names are up-to-date. (Long-tailed Duck was once known as Oldsquaw) Name changes are indicated in the book. Sizes, weights, and wingspans are also noted, along with the size comparison for males and females. Different seasons are indicated (years for gulls), with notes on important markings for individual birds.
Sibley also notes the taxonomy of the birds, and the "topography" of a bird, with diagrams of all the parts of a bird. There is an excellent map in the back of North America, marking islands and territories/states. Sibley makes birding VERY easy, and enjoyable. There is also a quick index as well as a full index. This is THE guide, you can throw the other ones away.
Personally, I NEVER recommend photo guides, and I myself am not a fan of Peterson's. They just aren't complete or up-to-date. Sibley is THE man and this is THE guide.
