Sibley's Birding Basics

The first half of the book has some terrific information but is often light on content (the equipment section, birding by geography section, finding more info section) as well as some glaring gaps (breeding habits, migration patterns, birding history in North America). It's one thing to tell a beginning birder how the gestalt of a White Crowned Sparrow is different from that of a White Throated Sparrow but does the beginning birder even know when to expect either in their area? The ending on ethics and conservation is so small it almost plays to the criticism that birders are more in it for the sport than for birds themselves.

The second half of the book is a stunning review of the external structure of birds. It is better than many ornithology texts in this regard. Everything you could ever need to know about feather structure, molt, proportional differences and color perception is presented along with an excellent introduction to taxonomy and bird song.

Sibley is obviously playing to his strength here which is fine because what he knows, he really knows if you get my point. The art work is great, of course.

I don't want to come across as knocking this book. I own it, enjoy it and have learned a great deal from it. I recommend that you buy it. I'm just not sure it will serve this generation of up and comming birders as the ideal "basics" book the way Jack Connor's "The Complete Birder" did for many in the prior generation.

What do you think of a basics book that can take the time to touch on a birds nasal bristles or gestalt but omit a basic discussion on migration or breeding? Maybe it's me but it strikes me as a bit odd. I think the second half could have been published as part of a book called "Sibley's Ornithology for Birders" or something to that effect.


Great Introduction to nany aspects of birding   February 23, 2003
 24 out of 24 found this review helpful

I came into this book with some interest in learning to identify birds around the yard to a greater extent. This is the first book that I've seen to go beyond the basics of shape and color. It's actually a virtual biology lesson on birds with fine details about feathers, and molting among other topics. Very detailed materials that help the reader understand how to see the parts of the bird beyond quick impressions in order to make identifications. But I also gained a new insight into an animal that I took for granted just seeing every day. Sibley is an incredible artist and liberally demonstrates his concepts with sketches and drawings of a wide variety of birds. The combination of beautiful art, and clear, educational writing makes one of the best introductions I've ever seen to birds, and how to know and appreciate them. Highly recommended for the casual as well as serious bird enthusiast.


Veterans will love it too   December 23, 2002
 15 out of 15 found this review helpful

Perfect for the aspiring or beginning birder, veterans will wonder how they got started without it. Sibley begins with the simplest, logical advice - equipment, where to go to find birds (did you know Central Park, NY, rates with Cape May and the Monterey Peninsula for sighting migrating birds - it's the largest patch of green for miles), keeping records and avoiding mistakes. The bulk of this slim book is devoted to identifying, from behavior and voice to body configuration, feather arrangements, color patterns, structure of tail and wings, molt and more. Clear color illustrations provide plentiful examples throughout. Sibley teaches how to see and what to look for, depending on time of year, weather and habitat, and provides lots of useful information about common and unusual birds by way of illustrative examples.


The book to get before the others   November 12, 2002
 56 out of 57 found this review helpful

I was fortunate enough to attend a talk by David Allen Sibley at the Princeton University Bookstore a couple of weeks ago. He's a shy person, but once he starts talking about his favorite subject (birds, of course), he's as talkative as the most garrulous of people. Even in person, then, his knowledge of all minutiae of the avian world is staggering. That doesn't mean he doesn't understand the common pitfalls of the struggling, novice birder who wants so much to identify that giant bird with the colors of a goldfinch or the raptor as small as a songbird. He told us a couple of amusing stories about bird misidentification, one of which involved a mistake he made years ago... which just goes to show that if Mr. Sibley can make a birding mistake, there's hope for the rest of us.

Anyway, "Sibley's Birding Basics" does, indeed, serve as the introduction to his bestselling field guide that he'd originally hoped to include in the field guide. He covers all the essential bird identification topics in a clearly, if scholarly, written manner, from the importance, structure and groupings of feathers; to the bird's outer anatomy; to birdsong; to clues to bird identification (behavior, molt patterns, feather wear-and-tear) that aren't covered at all in other field guides. And the illustrations, a talent for which Mr. Sibley is justifiably famous, are the most meticulous you'll find anywhere, whether the drawing shows a comparison between a summer tanager and a northern cardinal or simply of feather types.

Finally, "Birding Basics" includes a brief but to-the-point admonition to birders who might venture too close or too noisily to the objects of their fascination. For example, you read about the usefulness of "pishing" in other books and hear about it from other expert birders, but Mr. Sibley believes this technique is overused and has the potential to harm many birds' ability to go about their difficult daily existence.

In conclusion, run, don't walk, to the nearest computer and order this book from amazon.com!