Rating: 
Summary: The absolute best
Review: This book is the absolute best money can buy if you want to identify North American birds. It's bigger than the other guides ,and for some people that means it's a bit inconvenient; but it's so good at what it does, I bring it along with me on hikes anyway. Every time. I carry it in my binocular case around my shoulder. Golden and Petersons stay at home.
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Summary: Never Used one before, Glad I bought it
Review: I had never been a bird watcher, but my boyfriend lives in the country where we are surrounded by magnificent birds and he loves to know which is which so I got this for him. Now I have become a bird watcher too. This book is terrific, the drawings are more detailed than any photograph could be. A wonderful book even if you think you're only surrounded by robins and sparrows, pretty soon you'll realize there's much more!
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Summary: A Book for Every Birders Back pack
Review: One of the two best books covering birds of
North America. To quote another well known phrase, "Don't leave home (when you go birding) without it" and if you have feeders in your yard, keep it right near the windows overlooking your garden
Rating:
Summary: What an amazing book.
Review: Ihave been looking for a good bird book for several years. I'm glad I waited and bought this one. It would probably put others to shame. It's a GREAT book.
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Summary: The Sibley Guide to Birds
Review: Wonderful resource. Birds are shown in flight and at rest for greater ID capabiliity. I had checked several books trying to ID a bird in my back yard with no luck - until checking Sibley's.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Bird Guide
Review: Anyone really interested in watching and identifying birds should have this book in their collection. While it's too big to carry out in the field (though I often do) it's what you turn to when you have trouble identifying a new species or even to study when the weather's too bad to go outside. Sibley doesn't just give you one picture of each bird he gives you a number of them from different viewpoints both sitting and flying.The paintings are fantastic and for the most part very accurate. The only thing this book is missing is a faster way to find the section you need. If you're going out birding this should be the second book you buy. If you're not going to be going out with a field guide then this is the only book you need.
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Summary: Beautiful complement for my bird book library.....
Review: I've owned the SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRD LIFE AND BEHAVIOR for a while, and finally ordered the SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS to complete the set. Both books are published by Audubon, the leading name in all things involving birds--at least that is what my 87-year old Aunt Marge says, and she's been to Audubon camp on many occasions. The SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS is too heavy to take into the field--it's really a reference book. Roger Tory Petersen's guide books are the best for field work--especially when children are involved. Sibley's guides are great reference books. Unlike THE SMITHSONIAN HANDBOOK, Sibley's guide does not include a bird profile per page, but like the Smithsonian book and the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA the Sibley guide covers birds in the Northern Hemisphere (U.S. Canada, and Mexico). The National Geographic field guide is lighter than the Sibley guide and thus more likely to end up in the field as the title suggests, however, it is larger and more cumbersome than the Petersen guide and will probably travel in the camper trailer or glove compartment, not in your hand or back pack. So--use Petersen for field work, get the Smithsonian guide for extra individual detail, and buy the Sibley guide for making comparisons across species types. If you are really a bird nut, get the Sibley guide to Bird Behavior and the National Geographic bird book. The pictures in the NG book are beautiful with lots of contextual detail--i.e. the Kingfisher eating, flying etc, however, although the NG includes the range maps, it does not include the little arrows that help you identify bird idiosyncracies. The Smithsonian and Petersen guides include the arrows and maps, and the Sibley includes maps and selected arrows (not in most cases).
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Summary: Every bird watcher will want this book in his or her library
Review: Sibley is widely recognized as a top authority on field identification of North American birds. In 30 years of extensive fieldwork this talented artist accumulated the sketches, notes, and drawings that led to this superbly illustrated guide. The treatments of each of the 810 species have detailed paintings to show the natural variations in plumage (e.g., juveniles, male/female adults, seasonal and geographic changes). In all, there are more than 6,600 full-color illustrations. Clearly, this book is the most comprehensive of any North American field guide for bird life, particularly for the depiction of geographic forms, races, or subspecies. The text for each species has a short summary of identification key points, description of vocalizations, and an up-to-date range map. The size and weight of this volume make it more a reference than a handbook. Its exhaustive details of different plumages will be most appreciated by experienced birders. General readers; undergraduates through faculty.
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Summary: slow shipping is life
Review: although it took a week and a half to arrive, it got to me. . .and in great condition as well. Thanx
Rating:
Summary: world class
Review: A world class book on identification of North American birds!
Our family put up several feeders and began to wonder about
the names of our many new feathered friends. Mr. Sibley has
done a superb job of helping even a new bird watcher identify
the many birds going through our back yard. We haven't used
any of the other guides, so cannot compare directly, however
in this guide, there is an introductory section on classifying
birds, summary pages for each family, details for each bird
including range, key marks, calls/sounds (neat vocalization
as well !!). It was fun going out and listening to the
chicadees in our hedges near the feeder and being able
to recognize their calls. Overall, I give this book a very strong recommendation!
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