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| The Sibley Guide to Birds | 
| Author: David Allen Sibley
Publisher: Knopf
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $20.10
You Save: $14.90 (43%)
New (37) Collectible (3) from $20.10
Avg. Customer Rating:  117 reviews
Sales Rank: 8820
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 544
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.6
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 5.7 x 1.1
ISBN: 0679451226
Dewey Decimal Number: 598.097
EAN: 9780679451228
ASIN: 0679451226
Publication Date: October 3, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 The Sibley Guide ot Birds February 26, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am a "convert" from Golden Nature Guides/Zim to Petersen to now
Sibley. Page layout good, larger and more images. Identified with this guide last week a Northern Harrier going thru my back yard even catching a sparrow on the wing. Book heavier.
Ron Schramm
An amateur's opinion February 20, 2006
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I am an amateur. I do not have any in-depth knowledge of the subject. Now that you know my lack of qualifications; let me begin.
This is simply the best book I have ever seen on the subject of birds. The illustrations are first class and have allowed me to identify many of my local species, many of which I have never even heard of. The amount of technical detail is just about correct for what I wish to know. The book was recommended to me by my father (who is a world renowned ornithologist) so this book must be appealing to people within the field also.
Let me re-iterate; this is the best bird book I have ever seen.
Whether you are an ornithologist or simply an amateur bird watcher, this is The Book for North America.
Buy it, you will not be disappointed.
Sibley February 10, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Best desk reference I have seen. A bit too large to be a field guide, unless birding from your car, still too nice for that. If you're looking for a field guide, Peterson or Nat. Geographic would be better.
Brilliant Armchair Field Guide December 23, 2005
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I suppose that you could, if you so desired, tote this volume with you on your next birding trip. It would without a doubt help you figure out just what in the world that little brown job skulking in the brush pile might be. You could also mark it up with various notes about what you have seen, where you saw them, oddities, etc... There is plenty of room on the oversize (for a field guide at least) pages. I must say though that if you do either of the above things you had better buy two copies as the book is just plain gorgeous to look at and marring the pages seems a sin.
It is clear from first glance that this is book is a labor of love, created by a man who is at the top of his field. The paintings are beautiful the text lucid. I could heap praise on this book all day. It is that good. I do however not think that it is really a field guide. It is too big and the two regional guides (Eastern and Western) that Sibley published after this one serve that purpose far better.
Bottom-line: this is the best armchair field guide that I have seen.
 The best field guide to North America November 9, 2005
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Universally acknowledged as the best field guide to the region.
In many ways this is the ideal guide:-
- the entire continent in a single volume
- everything pertaining to one species on one page
- lots of illustrations per species
- high quality illustrations, uniform in style
- brief, succinct text
- handy maps
- expert author / illustrator
- good sturdy, but flexible binding
However, some things could be improved. First, it cannot really be taken into the field except in a bag which deters many users from actually employing it as a FIELD guide. Some will say that the large number of species justify the bulk, but this is not so: look at the Collins Bird Guide (Mullarney, et al.) which has used smart layout and cut out the blank areas to cram as much information in as possible. If portability is a problem, then the separate Western and Eastern guides are a solution, or Kaufman for those who require less detail. Secondly, Sibley is often lacking in comparative identification notes for similar species. Both quibbles can surely be corrected in the next edition.
So, which field guide to buy? If you have more than a passing interest in birds, then definitely Sibley. In that case, though, you probably want several guides including National Geographic and Peterson as (the former in particular) offer additional insight. For beginners or those who favour portability, Kaufman is an excellent option.
Don't forget this is a the best birding aid for identifying migrants in Central and South Amnerica too.
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