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.


The definitve guide to North American birds!   October 3, 2000
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This is the definitive guide to North American birds. Unfortunately it is too big to be usable in the field; nevertheless I will likely order a second copy to stay in my car. Sibley has simple but effective illustrations arranged in two vertical columns per page, generally providing two species accounts per page. He does however cover some species in greater details (e.g. the vaious morphs of Red Tail Hawk as well as most of the other hawks)including only the single species per page. Sibley tries to cover each species in some details including male/female/juvenile as well as various morphs and subspecies, providing many illustrations including many in flight. Text in general is sparse, to the point, and excellent. Distribution maps are on the same page. It's closest analogy is Svensson's excellent European field guide(Mullarney, Svensson, Zetterstrom and Grant, Collins/Princeton publishers), although I find the Svensson guide illustrations more esthetically beautiful and it is a true "field" guide, though admittedly at the cost of smaller illustrations. One noticeable criticism in Sibley's otherwise excellent guide likely (hopefully!) due to the color transfers or printing; is the inaccuracy of some colors, for e.g. most of the gulls appear very unnaturally blue backed. There are rumors that he is working on various regional "field" guides based on this guide, to appear some time in the future. I certainly look forward to these (if true). Overall though a great effort. This rises to being the best guide to North American Avifauna, bar none.


The best field guide for identifying birds.   October 3, 2000
 128 out of 129 found this review helpful

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.