Rating: 
Summary: Good for some things, but not others
Review: In a nutshell, the Sibley guide is excellent for armchair birding (the illustrations are wonderful), short trips, and for resolving difficult IDs. Because of its size, it is not the best guide for long day hikes or overnight backpacks- unless you need the extra exercise!The Sibley guide should find a valued place on every birder's bookshelf. No doubt most hardcore birders already own it. One word of caution: in my experience, amateur enthusiasts often find the Sibley guide's expansiveness intimidating- these should start out with a simpler guide and work their way up.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Pictures, not so great information
Review: 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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Summary: Good design - works in the field
Review: Having read many of the enclosed reveiws of same guide - YES - it should be more pocket friendly. That said, this guide's well designed visual and informational data is most compatible in identification and appreciation of birds in the field. The extensive knowledge condensed and thumbnailed is impressively accessible. The Stokes have done a great job of recognizing what information would be most helpful in the viewing of such an illusive subject. I have been able to identify shy and peckish birds more by behavior and habit than with pictures alone. Adding to that is a novel feat that brings character and fussiness to the creatures we so desire to observe. I'm city folk and appreciate the small pockets of habitat (unlike the guide) that citizens share calm moments with urban, transient and migratory birds and other dear survivors. How can one complain of too much information - I wonder. This effort works well for all levels of birders - an obvious effort of love and, I think, a must for any naturalist who takes the time to slow down some to experience and appreciate oft unnoticed neighbors who face challenges so like ours. Over population, pollution, competition and ever shrinking resources that produce such interesting results - embraced by the Stokes with their attention to Morph examples and new habitat created in gardens - residential, city and otherwise. These guys do toot their horns, mimic and use us as part of their plan. Here in SF we have flocks of runaway birds - successfuly living in open space for years. Parrots, Love Birds, Parrakeets, South American Siskins - all on the lam but have found a way to survive. They do not migrate, but flock in a united endeavor to persist. It is morphing worth watching and having a guide book that takes that reality into consideration provides an important inroad in acknowledging the appreciable effect we - and feral cats - have on the momentous and voir dire role we must effect. No - it does not fit in my pocket - still - I take it everywhere. It has replaced all my other guides, even those that fit in my roomy jacket. There, Dare I go outside with the albatross (binoculars) around my neck and a bird in hand (this guide). Yup. If I can suggest improvements - I'd narrow the book and add ribbons - my bookmarks notoriously fall out of place and sometimes it takes more than one outing to identify the ususal suspects.
Rating:
Summary: Yes you can use it in the field
Review: This wonderful book needs no more praise. It is superb in the field. The problem is finding a belt pouch big enough. I found something suitable sold as a shoulder bag in a clothing store for teenage girls, with zippered pockets and all. Beats holding the book between your knees!
Rating:
Summary: Valuable Reference for Traveling, Experienced Bird Watchers
Review: Before reviewing The Sibley Guide to Birds, I would like to note that David Allen Sibley has done an outstanding job of research, illustration, and description in this unique resource. He should be commended and honored for his contribution! Think of this guide as an encyclopedia for experienced bird watchers that you would feel comfortable having with you in your car for checking birds you do not already know well. As such, it will be of most value for those who are doing extensive bird watching in distant geographic areas which are new to them, north of Mexico in North America. The book is too large, bulky, and heavy to be easily carried by most people during actual bird watching activities. If you are making extensive sketches or taking photographs with appropriate lenses, you can probably wait to do your identifications until you get home. If you already have a good guide for identifying rare birds in your library, you can probably skip this book. If you don't have such a guide, this book is for you! As a true, carry-along-with-you field guide, I would rate the book a three star effort for beginning bird watchers because it is well beyond their needs or easy ability to use. A beginner would still be trying to find the right section long after the bird was gone, as Mr. Sibley points out in his excellent inroductory remarks on how to identify birds. The book has many commendable features. The Guide's best feature are the more than 6600 illustrations of 810 species and 350 regional populations. The illustrations also cover each bird during its development to full adult markings and characteristics. Each one is carefully done to capture the bird both sitting and flying from the same perspectives, to make comparisons easier to do. The beginning of the book has a superb, brief description of how to identify the feathered and bare sections of the various major feather groups. Clearly, anyone could enjoy this book simply to view at home in front of the fire on a cold winter's night. The illustrations evoked in me many of the same feelings of wonder that I feel when looking at Audubon's illustrations. The habitat and migration maps are detailed and well done. The voice descriptions are excellent. Many of the species also have good general descriptions. If you are not sure about a person's familiarity with identifying birds, you may not want to give this book as a gift. You may unintentionally provide a volume that will not be very helpful. If someone tells you they want this volume, they will be delighted to receive it as a gift because they will have a practical use for it and will appreciate its beauty. After you have had a chance to look at these gorgeous illustrations, I suggest that you think about the other potential appeals of bird watching. Bird behavior to me is far more interesting than bird identification. I also enjoy watching nesting behavior more than feeding behavior. How can you capture more kinds of fun and learning from your bird watching? What lessons does that hold for observing people, as well? Capture all of your importance experiences in a way that's meaningful to you!
Rating:
Summary: LOTS OF INFO ON OUR BEAUTIFUL FEATHERED FRIENDS!
Review: Like every book, there are generally both positive and negative aspects to consider before buying. On the positive side, "The Sibley Guide" contains detailed info as an aid in identification, and while there may be the odd omission, the guide is quite complete. It is also excellent in covering plumage variations and detailed range descriptions.
As for the negative aspects of the guide, for a novice at least, the information is extensive to the point where it could easily become confusing. In my opinion, this guide would better serve those individuals with some prior knowledge and experience. The obvious size of the book is another drawback especially if you are planning to carry it with you. As well, some of the drawings also leave much to be desired as far as clarity. While the book will, no doubt, be valuable to those with a fair amount of expertise, I would personally recommend the National Geographic Guide over this one - you cannot go wrong with the National Geographic, it is a top-notch guide for info and illustrations and a treasure to have in your resource library.
Rating:
Summary: Si(m)bley the best
Review: It's hard to imagine a better thought out bird book than THE SIBLEY GUIDE TO BIRDS. With nearly 7,000 beautifully painted illustrations of over 800 species in 550 plus pages, there is no complaining about quantity. Quality is not a problem either. The illustrations show the birds in almost all plumages (seasonal & juvenile); regional variants and subspecies are shown in hundreds of additional paintings. The neccessary profiles for identification are here: perched, swimming, and flying - both top and bottom. The layout also shows that this is the work of a considerate birder. A page comprises two columns; picture, text and range map are arranged in identical order so a glance at an open book gives us a handy, side-by-side scan of four different birds. Even what I thought was a problem - it's oversized and doesn't fit in pockets - is suitably compensated for. I don't have to perpetually shield this book from a little rain; the cover is thick and flexible and it's weather resistant. Finally, I will gladly take the trade off, accepting the larger size for the additional illustrations.
Rating:
Summary: Wrong Book for a Beginner
Review: This book is excellent in that it shows multiple plumages for every bird and has the range maps on the same page as the pictures. However, it is too large to carry in the field, and there is alot of wasted space on each page, as well. It's also a bit difficult to easily flip to the right page within a few seconds, like it is in other bird books. [I also think that the pictures look a bit artifical] It's a good coffeetable/ reference book for verifying birds seen in the field. Buy this book if you're an intermediate to advanced birder, otherwise you won't use it.
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Summary: The Guide Experienced Birders Have Been Waiting For
Review: While a beginning birder might be better off with one of the Peterson Field Guides, the more experienced birders will relish the detailed information presented here. Especially useful are the treatments of geographic races, morphs (important in the Western states), and immature plumages, especially in the raptors and gulls. A lot of information here was previously available only in monographs and research papers. A few of the range maps are inaccurate in the far north, but this can be easily remedied in an updated edition. David Sibley is to be commended for a work tremendously well done.
Rating: 
Summary: If you had to have only one birding book, this is not it.
Review: This is a nice book and well worth the money; but if you are looking for the "one" field guide my recommendation is to select the National Geographic Society (NGS) Birds of North America or the Golden Field Guide. Here is why. Sibley is very large--about 13 sq inches larger the BNA and 18 sq inches large than Golden, too large to fit in any pocket and it is "heavy". The art work is good with many more view than either of the other two books, but the descriptive text is very limited. Here is an example: Huttons vireo. There are five pictures in Sibley. Two in NGS and one in Golden. But in my opinion only one of this bird is all that is required. Others may disagree. Sibley has one sentence describing this bird 15 words. NGS has 85 words. Golden, 79 words. All three note that Huttons vireo is similar to the ruby crowned kinglet, but Golden and NGS show you a picture of the kinglet right beside the vireo and explain how to tell them apart. Sibley just says to compare it to the kinglet.
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