Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The best field guide for identifying birds.
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.
Rating: - Every bird watcher will want this book in his or her library
From the moment I first opened David Sibley's new field guide, I was mesmerized. It offers a compact presentation on every species of bird north of the Mexican border and is undoubtedly one of the most user-friendly guides ever developed. In many ways, Sibley takes Roger Torey Peterson's method to its logical end--a guide that capsulizes all the essential information about similar species, arraying them close to each other for comparison. But unlike Peterson, Sibley presents ample information on the many plumages of individual species which are apt to confuse even some of the most experienced birders. Sibley's art work is very appealing to the eye, and his bird potraits are all very naturally posed. He also points out distinguishing field marks with text arrayed alongside his portraits, facilitating rapid identification. His approach also offers flight views together with perched views where that is helpful.There are a few negatives--only a few. The book would be unwieldy to carry in the field. (Best to bring it along and leave it in the car, perhaps.) The range maps are for the most part too small to easily distinguish, especially where birds appear in only limited areas. And the description of songs and calls strike me as inferior to Peterson's, from which I've learned most of the songs and calls I know over the past 40 years. In comparison to the other new bird guide just published, Kenn Kaufman's "Focus Guide," I much prefer David Sibley's. While Kaufman has crammed an incredible amount of information into a small, very quickly accessible volume, Sibley's is far more useful in distinguishing between species. Kaufman's is far handier to carry along in the field, but it offers far less data on individual species than Sibley. (Although I cannot feature using this information, Sibley even gives the average weight of each species--a fascinating bit of information not readily available in most other guides.) In any event, if you are a person interested in birds at any level of expertise, you are bound to enjoy David Sibley's excellent new guide. Buy a copy as soon as you can!
Rating:  - Great Pictures, not so great information
I fell in love with this book the moment I picked it up and opened it. The pictures of every type of plumage and sexes were great in helping to more accurately identify different birds, however the lack of information on these birds disappointed me. I still have to use my husbands other two bird books "National Geographic Birds of North America, Vol. 3" and The Birders Handbook: A field guide to the natural history of North American birds". The Birders handbook has much needed information about such things like nesting, number of broodes, food types, etc. The information in the Sibley Guide mostly compares one species with another. Don't get me wrong this book is wonderful and is my favorite but I recommend buying another book as well if you want more in depth information about birds and their lifestyles.
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