The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2nd Edition

Don't let some initial lukewarm reviews stop you from getting this wonderful guide. It's greatly expanded and improved in nearly every respect. It's packed with much more information on ID, behavior and distribution. There are more illustrations per species and coverage of many more rare species has been added. The range maps are updated and improved. In a number of the plates the colors are noticeably darker and richer than those in the first edition. This is intentional and in almost all cases this is a welcome improvement (i.e. Accipiters, thrushes and male Redhead which were too bright/pale in the first edition). A very few species are a little too dark for my taste (such as Pink-footed Goose and White-faced and Glossy Ibis), however I don't see any illustrations so dark that they lose needed detail. I've found the illustrations- with very few exceptions- are extremely accurate and lifelike, in typical Sibley style. In most cases the newer paintings blend seamlessly with the older and retouched artwork. Nits to pick? On a few birds the reds and oranges aren't quite right. The male Scarlet Tanager is a deeper red than it should be and the Chipping Sparrow's rust cap looks brownish, while the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak's red breast is a shade too deep and dark. But to emphasize, this is the case in only a very few illustrations. Overall the new edition more accurately portrays its subjects than the first edition (which was already pretty darn good). There are perhaps a dozen paintings out of a total of over 900 species and 7000 illustrations that don't perfectly represent a particular bird in question (and for the most part these appear to be relatively minor color corrections needed the scanning/printing process). That's a tiny percentage of "errors" and I can't see where any of these very minor issues affect the usefulness of the guide. Nor do they affect the identification of the species involved- with the possible exception of Chipping Sparrow. Most of the plates in this second edition are no darker (or barely so) than in the first edition. There are a few minor labeling errors which will be corrected in subsequent printings, but considering the scope of this book they are truly minimal and don't warrant much in the way of complaints. Obviously no guide is perfect, but I really can't find anything significant to fault in the new Sibley. On the other hand, I can find plenty to praise. The quality of the paintings and printing in many cases is noticeably improved over my first edition. In fact, after looking through the new guide and then going back to the old one, I found myself even more appreciative of the changes. The excellent first edition (which I am a big fan of by the way) now looks generally overly bright and washed out by comparison. It took me just a bit of time to adjust to the deeper/darker colors in the new edition, but I'm very pleased with almost all of them. In nearly every case they accurately depict the way birds look in the field. Another plus is the layout and general appearance of the new edition. It's cleaner and more comtemporary. The amount of text is greatly expanded and very helpful. There is so much information packed into this edition. Tips on ID (and similar species ID pitfalls), range, vagrancy, behavior are many. I can definitely understand why some have a problem with the comparatively small narrow font (though for me- at 53- this is not an issue). On the other hand a large and darker font could detract from and take attention away from the images of the birds themselves. I find it to be just visible enough without distracting from the illustrations. Clearly however, this is a matter of personal preference. I find this second edition to be a second remarkable achievement by David Sibley. What you are getting is worth many times the asking price. An absolute must have for any active birder or anyone interested in North American birds. The new standard. UPDATE: I've heard of variations in printing resulting in wild variations in color reproduction. I've been able to look at three different copies of the guide (two in local bookstores and my original from amazon). The colors- in these three copies at least- were essentially identical, and all looked good to me.

This guide includes pretty much every bird you can reasonably expect to see in the US, and some you can't. It even has a section for exotic parrots that people tend to keep, and many of the different sections have entries for rare migrants. There are birds in here with range descriptions like "seen three times in the US", things that aren't exactly likely to be seen. But they've been seen, so they're in here. I love that. It means the bird I saw is pretty much guaranteed to be in here, so if nothing stands out at first, I should look through again. The different sections have birds of similar appearances grouped together. That's really helpful, because it makes it easier to compare the options directly. Each section starts with a page or two showing all the birds in that section compared to each other, with the females on display, since they're harder to ID. Then each bird gets, on average, half a page vertically of its own. It shows male and female plumage, and usually the bird from multiple angles. Birds with more regional variation have more space, usually the full page. A few birds, like the fox sparrow, have two pages to themselves. The illustrations are nice to look at, and are good to see all the details on. The book points out specific details for ID, and in many places, tells you how to figure out if your bird was one species or another, closely related species. The type might be too small if you have older eyes. I'm not sure. My eyes are pretty good. I don't think they could make the type much bigger, without sacrificing either layout, size of illustrations, or detail of text. The only downside to this book is that it's pretty heavy. It's not anywhere naer pocket-sized. I'm sure either version of the half-a-country book would be much lighter, but I live in Texas, so neither of those would cover all the possibilities. So, I have a heavy book, because I wanted something thorough. I'd much rather have lots of detail and options, in a book I can't bring along, than much more limited options in a book I can carry. I'll take pictures and ID them at home, or flip through the book beforehand so I can try to recognize things later. The latter works better with more distinctive birds, though, like the black-throated sparrow. Its entry calls its markings "unmistakeable", and that's real hard to argue with! Anyway, get this guide. If you find yourself wanting a smaller, pocket guide, get a smaller guide also, and then you have this one for rarer or more unusual things that won't be in the smaller guide.

Beautiful and very informative. An absolute classic and the best guide to birds, for artists as well as birders.

I love this book! It’s amazing! I love the pictures, so detailed and beautiful, you’d never think the artist actually drew these by hand, of course they are replicated not originals but so good! I love that it gives the male and female, at various stages of development and even flying . I have spent hours looking up birds! It has a lot of info .

Bought as a gift for a friend new to birdwatching. She was thrilled. she told me that this is her first resource now and she is learning more each time she reads it.

The best guide

I received this book as soon as it was released and I am quite delighted with the content and ease of use of this guide. I use the Audubon Field Guide to Birds (both Eastern and Western Editions) and find their photos to be quite helpful, but sometimes a photo isn't as useful as it seems. After all, a photo is one example of the bird in question and is subject to available lighting and the circumstances surrounding the capturing of a photo -- but Sibley's illustrations, while not as technically realistic, are easy to apply to a bird you may be trying to identify. I wouldn't try to tote this big book around in the field, but it is an excellent research tool and it provides definitions of terms used to describe various parts of a birds anatomy (what is a 'Culmen' anyway?) Because of the excellent illustrations, this Guide can be very helpful in informing a person as to what to watch for in a particular species of bird and the illustrations show ideal examples of what you might see in the field. For myself, I intend to use this book in tandem with my Audubon field guides in making identifications or just plain enjoying the visitors to my back yard. I very much appreciate the space devoted to parrots and other birds that live in some parts of the US in flocks that have been created by escaped pet birds. While this is not an ideal situation, these birds do exist (in some places in great numbers) and being able to identify them as well as determine how likely they are to be recent escapees with some anguished owner desperately trying to find them is quite helpful. In some places, these birds are becoming part of the local environment -- for good or for bad -- and ignoring their existence is no longer a viable practice. While the index of birds is very well put together (and there is a "Quick Index" included,) I was a little disappointed that there is no general index or even a general glossary included. Overall, I'm thrilled with this book and happy to add it to my library. My only major complaint (hence only 4 stars) is that the print, in addition to being *very small*, is not quite black (it shows up as a fairly light grey) making it very difficult to read. Originally I thought perhaps I got a "bad" copy but the headings and some subheadings do show up as black so I assume this was a conscious decision. If this book has subsequent printings, as I imagine it will, I would suggest that the publishers spring for a little more ink and possibly consider a different (or just slightly larger) font.

**UPDATE 2** I have purchased the second printing of this second edition and I am very happy with the corrections. The richer colors add new life to Sibley's paintings, the text is clear and easy to read and the layout is much improved. Page space is better utilized in this edition, allowing Sibley's beautiful illustrations to take center stage. The only caution I add is that, to my knowledge, there is no way to know what printing of the second edition you are purchasing when ordering through Amazon.com. **UPDATE** The second printing has been released and should be available at brick & mortar book stores as well as a number of online stores. Hopefully Amazon will make a distinction between the first and second printings so that its customers can order the correct one. In case there is no way of knowing which printing you are buying from Amazon, I offer the following 2 options: 1) Go to a brick and mortar book store and physically purchase the guide. You will want to turn to the copyright page and look for "Second printing, July 2014". If it says "Second Edition, March 2014" then you are holding the first printing with the off colors and light font. 2) Go to an alternative online source such as Buteo Books, where the second printing is in stock, available for shipping and it is specified as the second printing. They even have the option to buy the first printing if one is so inclined. When I obtain the second printing, I will update this review. So far, I have heard good things: the font is readable and the colors are more representative of what one would see in the field. I'm looking forward to this second printing! ** A very annoying feature of this guide is the font. Not the size necessarily, but where many of the bird illustrations are WAY too dark, the font is way too light and lacks contrast. I keep tilting the book to get a better angle as if the text is catching or reflecting light but it's not. I have great eyesight, but I find the text a strain to read. Many of the birds are too dark and the colors are simply wrong. This shouldn't be a matter of opinion. The book betrays itself with statements like "brilliant red" on the scarlet tanager when it's obviously showing dark red; "flaming-orange throat" on the blackburnian when it's dark orange; "bright orange-red bill (never as dark red as many Caspians)" on the royal tern, well it's not bright and when you flip to the Caspian it's almost the same color! The orange-crowned warbler is green, the hooded warbler has a highlighter-yellow face, the baltimore oriole's orange is more like an american robin's red and there are many more disappointments. Some of the bird's faces are so dark that you can barely discern any detail. Sibley set the bar and his second edition does not measure up. Update: Thank you to R. Matz for providing a link to an article from birdforum.net in which Sibley has stated in a Facebook correspondence "There are a few images (like the male Scarlet Tanager) that are obviously not OK and will be corrected in the next printing, but I think that involves a very small number of images. The font is another issue, and it's clear that too many are finding it hard to read. Tests are already being done to find a way to fix that in the next printing." Improving the readability of the text will be a major improvement. Along with the male Scarlet Tanager, I hope Sibley will fix color issues with the following birds: - Eastern and Western Bluebirds (too dark) - Orange-crowned Warbler (too green) - Blackburnian Warbler (make the orange "flaming") - Baltimore Oriole (brighten the orange) - Lighten some of the birds on which the facial features cannot be discerned I look forward to the next printing (which should be available this September)and the fixes it will offer. A "Thank you" to B. Walker for contacting Knopf to find out that a fix is in the works and that we should have a new print available to purchase by late Summer.

He adquirido recientemente este libro y me parece una pasada. Muy completo, bien maquetado, con unas buenas ilustraciones (aunque no lleguen al nivel de otras guías como la Svensson, igualmente son buenas) y a un precio realmente asequible. Personalmente, no he tenido ningún problema con el color de la impresión de las ilustraciones. ------------------------------------- I've recently acquired this book and I think it's wonderful. Very complete, well laid out, with good illustrations (although they don't reach the level of other guides like Svensson, they are still good) and at a really affordable price. Personally, I have not had any problems with the color of the printing of the illustrations.

This book is a must have for any new or experienced birder. The volume of information from one of the world's leading authors on avian species is simply unmatched. Great illustrations, range maps, details, and more.

Sensational

北アメリカの野鳥図鑑としては、National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Sixth Editionが一番ポピュラーだと思うが、このSibleyのガイドも評価が高い。好みの問題であるが、Sibley一人で描いたイラストは非常に美しく、1種に対するイラスト数も非常に多い。また通常のフィールドガイドは左ページにテキスト、右ページにイラストの配置であるが、このSecond Editionから1種を縦型に配置する形に変更しており、他種と比較しやすくなっている。Second Editionの発売当初 印刷上の色の問題があったが、現Printingにおいてはその問題は解消している。 大変素晴らしいガイドだが、非常に大きい。外国のフィールドガイドは、日本人には大きいものが多いが、その中でも際立つサイズである。フィールドに持参するのは困難だろう。携帯用には、西部と東部に分冊になったThe Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western（又はEastern） North America: Second Editionが適している。（もしくはNational Geographic版である） 参考までにNational Geographic版との比較は以下の通り。 掲載種数 Sibley 923種、National Geographic 990種 大きさ Sibley 16 x 3.8（実寸では3.4） x 24.9 cm、 National Geographic 13.7 x 1.8 x 20.3 cm 重さ Sibley 1,361g National Geographic 771g ページ数 Sibley 598＋使い方や名称のページ National Geographic 576

Una de las mejores guías para la identificación de aves que hay hoy en día. Buen producto es lo que esperaba y en cuanto al envío fue rápido y sin ningún problema.