Rating: 
Summary: Nice guide to the life and behavior of birds
Review: As denoted in its title, this book aims to enrich the popular study of North American birds--it is a layperson's access to avian biology, rather than an identification guide. It is an authoritative effort by almost 50 authors and three editors. The first part of the guide reviews five major themes, each deemed basic to an understanding of the group Aves: avian flight, evolution, behavior, habitats, and populations. Throughout, principles are nicely illustrated with Sibley's colorful artwork. The second and major part of the book reviews each of the 80 bird families found in North America. This natural organization by families (e.g., "owls," "wrens") is very familiar to birders and allows for accessible overviews of selected subjects: features that distinguish the family, taxonomy, plumages, ecology (habitat and foods), behavior (including migration), and conservation concerns. Where appropriate other subjects are included (such as vocalizations), and again the work is enhanced throughout by Sibley's art. This guide will be well praised. All levels
Rating: 
Summary: Hefty Tome
Review: At 3.25 pounds this is a hefty book of weighty information. It is not an easy book for me to collect the enclosed vauable information. But it is work the effort. The side benefit is increasing muscle tone and bird knowledge increases.
Rating:
Summary: An Absolute Must-Have!
Review: Bottom Line: Whether you are a new wild-bird feeder, watcher, etc.,--or an old birder--you must have this book. I'll skip the excellent details found in the reviews and just get to the basics: this book is fantastic. I have a number of other guides that I have learned a lot from and enjoyed, but if I had to choose just one book, it would be the Sibley.
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Summary: as I go along from bird to bird..............
Review: Everything one needs to know for birding from a non-professional type birder person. Has various sections on different types of behavior and covers things that are not usually found in the "field books". It is not a cover to cover book, but I use it as a reference as I go along from bird to bird sightings........
Rating:
Summary: Super informative!
Review: Everything your field guide never told you. Want to know more about those crazy birds and what they're up to? This is THE book. If birds do it, it's in here. Good book, good price, good stuff.
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Summary: Wow! This book is great!
Review: I am not a bird expert; I am a homeschooling mother who is interested enough in birds to feed them and provide nesting boxes in our yard. I enjoy watching birds and this has lead to a curiosity about what they are doing and why.This hardback version is wonderful and will grace our family library shelves for years. The paper stock is heavy and fine. There are beautiful and detailed watercolor illustrations and very detailed explanations of bird life and behavior. This book picks up where the bird identification books leave off and is more comprehensive than other books I have read about bird identification and behavior. The index is easy to use for quick referencing about specific birds. There is loads of information here, probably everything you'd want to know about birds. Amazon has over 50 sample pages for you to view, including the detailed table of contents, so I won't repeat that information inside of my review. The information is detailed but not intimidating for amateurs such as myself. As a homeschooling mother this has already come in handy for discussions about the activities of our chimney swifts and Eastern Bluebirds that have taken up residence in our yard and home. Even if you are an amateur birdwatcher, I encourage you to buy a bird identification book and then this book, rather than others on the market. Once you see this hefty volume and all the information it contains you will see the price is worth it! This is a reference volume that will be used for years.
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Summary: Beautiful work of art about bird conservation....
Review: I bought THE SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRD LIFE AND BEHAVIOR for myself for Christmas. I wanted Sibley's Guide because I am an avid birdwatcher, interested in books, articles, films, etc. about birds. I had read glowing reviews about this book (here and elsewhere) and thought it must be the best bird book ever. Also, several reviewers noted that like JJ Audubon, Mr. Sibley was a gifted artist who depicted birds rather beautifully. Sibley's Guide is a beautiful book bird watchers will want to add to their collection (hardcover, please). Those who already know the difference between Bewick's Wren and a Carolina Wren may appreciate Sibley's Guide more than those who can't tell a White Throated Sparrow from a pigeon. However, sooner or later every bird enthusiast needs to understand the ecology of birds, and this is the strength of the Sibley Guide. I've been a bird lover since I was a child, and lucky enough to have parents and grandparents who were bird fanciers (my dad was an ecologist, my grandmother raised tamed birds). As a result, I know a great deal about birds and their environments. Sibley's book appeals to me because its central message is that all living things are connected and that the environment matters. One should never take the continuing presence of birds in the back yard as a given as their habitats are threatened. The Sibley Guide is not as well suited for fieldwork as the Smithsonian's Handbook, BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA (regional versions), or THE AUDUBON BACK YARD BIRDWATCHER. For example, on p. 440, the Sibley guide has an illustration titled "Troglodytid diversity" which shows the very small Winter Wren and the very large Cactus Wren. The Smithsonian handbook contains separate entries for each of these birds (and many other wrens) and each entry has a separate map showing the individual bird's range. You will immediately know from the Smithsonian Guide that the Winter Wren has an Eastern and Northern range while the Cactus Wren is more likely to be found along the Southwest border and in Northern Mexico. In contrast, Sibley's book contains a paragraph on "habitats" in the "wren" section and it says Winter Wrens can be found in the Pacific Northwest old-growth forests and the Cactus Wrens can be found in the Chihuahuan Desert. In an earlier part of the guide Sibley has described these areas with lovely maps. You can figure out the approximate ranges of each bird with a bit of page flipping, but you may not quickly deduce that the Winter Wren is also found on the East Coast. The Sibley Guide is nifty because it groups birds based on DNA results and discusses them as well as their general ranges, habitats, food and foraging behavior, and various aspects of breeding. The Sibley Guide promotes a deeper understanding of the ecology of birds. You will not want to take the Sibley Guide to the field for birdwatching, however.
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Summary: Very informative book for the less knowledgeable bird-lover
Review: I found this book very hands on, easy to look up specific facts on specific birds and it enabled me to gain some very interesting general knowledge about birds. I guess most important, Sibley wrote it in non-technical jargon so that everyone can enjoy it. The pictures are quite beautiful.
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Summary: Excellent reference!!!
Review: I LOVE this book! It has terrific drawings wit great colors for one thing but even more important is the great writing, which is easy to get into, and incredibly informative. The level of detail is at the family level - e.g. "woodpeckers" or "flycatchers" But within the section, individual species are discussed. The level of detail is perfect and subfamilies are addressed. Foraging habits (with drawings in some cases) are discussed, habitat that the birds live in, variations in colors, breeding, vocalizations, the whole nine yards! Its fantastic. I started this review by mentioning the drawings because they really are the icing on the cake - an example is the face of a flycatcher drawn to show the bristles around its mouth. Terrific! I like the Stokes books on bird behavior too but this is one big complete reference!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reference!!!
Review: I LOVE this book! It has terrific drawings wit great colors for one thing but even more important is the great writing, which is easy to get into, and incredibly informative. The level of detail is at the family level - e.g. "woodpeckers" or "flycatchers" But within the section, individual species are discussed. The level of detail is perfect and subfamilies are addressed. Foraging habits (with drawings in some cases) are discussed, habitat that the birds live in, variations in colors, breeding, vocalizations, the whole nine yards! Its fantastic. I started this review by mentioning the drawings because they really are the icing on the cake - an example is the face of a flycatcher drawn to show the bristles around its mouth. Terrific! I like the Stokes books on bird behavior too but this is one big complete reference!
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