The Sibley Guide to Birds, Second Edition

by David Allen Sibley

Overview

“Undoubtedly the finest guide to North American birds.”—Guy McCaskie, Birding
The publication of The Sibley Guide to Birds in 2000 quickly established David Allen Sibley as the author and illustrator of the nation’s supreme and most comprehensive guide to birds. Used by millions of birders from novices to the most expert, The Sibley Guide became the standard by which natural history guides are measured. The highly anticipated second edition builds on this foundation of excellence, offering massively expanded and updated information, new paintings, new and rare species, and a new, elegant design.

The second edition of this handsome, flexibound volume offers a wealth of improvements and updates:

• All illustrations reproduced 15 to 20 percent larger for better detail.
 
• Includes nearly 7,000 paintings digitally remastered from original art for enhanced print quality.
 
• Expanded text includes habitat information and voice description for every species and more tips on finding birds in the field.
 
• More than 600 new paintings, including illustrations of 115 rare species and additional paintings of common species and regional populations.
 
• More than 700 updated maps of ranges, showing winter, summer, year-round, migration, and rare ranges.
 
• 85 bird family pages now cross-referenced to species accounts.

• Revised taxonomic order and most current common names for every species.
The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition, brings the genius of David Allen Sibley to the world once again in a thoroughly updated and expanded volume that every birder must own.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780307957900
Publisher:	Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/11/2014
Pages:	624
Sales rank:	21,323
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.60(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

DAVID ALLEN SIBLEY, son of the well-known ornithologist Fred Sibley, began seriously watching and drawing birds in 1969, at age seven. He has written and illustrated articles on bird identification for Birding andAmerican Birds (now Field Notes) as well as regional publications and books. Since 1980 David has traveled the continent watching birds on his own and as a tour leader for WINGS, Inc. He has lived in California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey. He is the recipient of the Roger Tory Peterson Award presented by the American Birding Association for a lifetime of achievement. He lives in Concord, Massachusetts, with his wife and two sons.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Classification of Birds

Learning to Identify Birds

Variation in Appearance

Learning Songs and Calls

Finding Rare Birds

Ethics

Extinct Species

Bird Topography

Parts of a Passerine

Head Feathers

Body Feathers

Wing Feathers

Parts of a Shorebird

Parts of a Duck

Parts of a Gull

Molt and Plumage North American Birds Species Accounts

Loons

Grebes

Albatrosses, Petrels, and Shearwaters

Storm-Petrels

Pelecaniformes

Anhinga, Boobies, Cormorants, Frigatebirds, Gannets, Pelicans, Tropicbirds

Cormorants and Anthinga

Identification of Sulids

Wading Birds Bitterns, Egrets, Flamingos, Herons, Ibises, Spoonbills, Storks

Identification of White Herons

Identification of Dark Ibises

Swans, Geese, and Ducks

Identification of Swans

Geese Head and Bill Shapes

Domestic Waterfowl

Exotic Waterfowl

Identification of Scaup

Identification of Eiders

Diving Motions

Identification of Scoters

Identification of Goldeneyes

Diurnal Raptors

Eagles, Falcons, Hawks, Vultures

Harrier Flight Shapes

Raptor Hunting Techniques

Identification of Accipiters

Identification of Buteos

Identification of Falcons

Upland Game Birds

Chachalacas, Grouse, Partridges, Pheasants, Prairie-Chickens, Ptarmigan, Quail, Turkeys

Exotic Game Birds

Gruiformes

Coots, Cranes, Limpkin, Moorhens, Rails

Habits of Rails

Shorebirds

Avocets, Curlews, Dowitchers, Godwits,

Jacanas, Lapwings, Oystercatchers, Phalaropes, Plovers, Ruff, Sandpipers, Snipe, Stilts, Turnstones, Willet, Woodcocks, Yellowlegs

Rare Shorebirds

Aging and Identification of Shorebirds

Identification of Peeps

Aerial Displays of Snipe and Woodcock

Identification of Phalaropes

Jaegers and Skuas

Jaeger Bill Shapes

Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

Hybrid Gulls

Identification of Gulls Alcids

Auklets, Dovekie, Guillemots, Murrelets, Murres, Puffins

Identification of Murres

Pigeons and Doves

Parrots and Their Allies

Cuckoos and Their Allies

Anis, Cuckoos, Roadrunners

Owls

Goatsuckers and Swifts

Hummingbirds

Identification of Hummingbirds

Trogons

Kingfishers

Woodpeckers

Drumming Sounds

Tyrant Flycatchers Flycatchers, Kingbirds, Pewees, Phoebes, Wood-Pewees

Shrikes and Vireos

Jays, Crows, and Their Allies

Crows, Jays, Magpies, Ravens, Scrub-Jays

Larks

Open-Ground Birds

Swallows

Molt in Swallows

Chickadees and Their Allies

Bushtit, Chickadees, Titmice, Verdin

Drab Gray Birds of the Arid Southwest

Nuthatches and Creepers

Wrens

Scold Notes

Sedge Wren and Grass Sparrows

Old World Warblers, Thrushes, and Their Allies

Bluebirds, Dippers, Gnatcatchers, Kinglets, Robins, Thrushes, Warblers, Wrentit

Identification of Gnatcatchers

Typical Thrushes

Robinlike Songs

Mimids

Catbirds, Mockingbirds, Thrashers

Starlings and Mynas

Wagtails and Pipits

Silky-Flycatchers and Bulbuls

Waxwings

Wood-Warblers Parulas, Redstarts, Warblers, Waterthrushes

Blue-winged x Golden-winged Hybrids

Warbler Plumages

Identification of Fall Warblers

Identifying Songs

Aberrant Passerines

Tanagers, Cardinals, and Their Allies

Bananaquit, Cardinaline Buntings, Cardinals, Dickcissel, Grosbpeaks, Tanagers

Identification of Tanagers

Identification of Grosbeaks

Identification of Cardinaline Buntings

Emberizine Sparrows and Their Allies

Emberizine Buntings, Juncos, Longspurs, Sparrows, Towhees

Identification of Spizella Sparrows

Sparrowlike Birds

Identification of Emberizine Buntings

Icterids

Blackbirds, Bobolink, Cowbirds, Grackles, Meadowlarks, Orioles

Identification of Meadowlarks

Identification of Orioles

Finches

What People are Saying About This

Denny Abbott

Far and away the best single book on North American birds. —(Denny Abbott, founding member, American Birding Association)

Pete Dunne

This book represents the high-water mark for bird guides.—(Pete Dunne, Director of the NJ Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory)

Wayne Petersen

The Sibley Guide raises the standard of excellence in a North American field guide. —(Wayne Petersen, VP, American Birding Association)

Editorial Reviews

David Allen Sibley's illustrated guide to North American birds has been called an authoritative essential reference and The New York Times even praised its original edition as one of those rare natural history books that actually changes the way people look at the world; but even all those accolades fall short of the actual experience of perusing the new second edition. This 624-page treasure has undergone a thorough makeover: Dozens of species have been added; maps have been revised; most of Sibley's superb bird paintings have been revised; and hundreds of new paintings have been created. This is not just a ready reference; this is a birder's masterpiece.

★ 03/01/2014
Published to universal acclaim in 2000, Sibley expands the first edition of his guide by over 50 pages, with more than 100 species added—many rarities had not been included before, one of the few areas of criticism of the book. More than 600 paintings are new, the range maps revised, and information on habitat, behavior, and food preferences—largely lacking previously—enhance this superb guide. Sibley, a gifted artist, paints stylized birds, almost 7,000, capturing beautifully their general impression. He excels in depicting a species' variation, with 25 paintings of herring gull (e.g., "1st winter," "1st summer," etc.) and 41 of the red-tailed hawk. Most field guides are oversimplifications. Sibley's is not, but it avoids being overly detailed. The commonest exotic or nonnative species are given full due, too. This edition again offers detailed descriptions of birds' vocalizations, superior to other guides. Most birders will not want to carry this volume afield (it weighs three lbs.), one reason it is a "guide" rather than a "field guide." Sibley's Eastern North America and Western North America field guides, generated from the first edition, will still suffice for general use. VERDICT Sibley acknowledges 79 top consultants. Nevertheless his splendid guide is a virtuoso performance. Highly recommended for all birding collections.—Henry T. Armistead, formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia

Library Journal

Renowned bird illustrator David Sibley has graced this edition with gorgeous full-color drawings based on a lifetime of observation and study.

Barnes & Noble, Inc.

A must-have guide for anyone interested in birds.
—The New York Times

E. Vernon Laux

The bird-watching world knows Sibley best as an immensely talented painter. His thick, attractive and data-packed color guide offers nearly 7,000 images, along with range maps and detailed descriptions of songs, calls and voices, for all the birds North Americans might see. It's a more informative volume than Kenn Kaufman's forthcoming Birds of North America (Forecasts, Sept. 11) but less portable and harder for beginners to use. An introduction describes the key parts of major classes of birds--the tomia and culmen of a gull's bill, the scapulars and coverts of passerines (songbirds). Sibley then moves on to hundreds of pages of birds in 42 categories, from Loons and Grebes to Silky Flycatchers and Bulbuls. A typical page has two columns, with one species in each: that species gets a color-coded range map, a description of its voice, and four to eight illustrative paintings. These multiple images of single species are the guide's most attractive feature; they let Sibley show some birds in several poses, as well as important seasonal and regional, juvenile and mature, breeding and nonbreeding, or male and female versions of the same bird. (Gulls, terns, and many other seabirds, in particular, change their patterns completely when breeding.) Sibley assists viewers by giving, on the same page, images of species that might be mistaken for one another--one column shows 13 kinds of thrushes. He also describes calls for every bird (not just the more common ones), and makes many more comparisons. If Kaufman's guide belongs in birders' coat pockets, Sibley's big, detailed book belongs on their desks; it's easy to imagine birders rushing to Sibley's guide to check details of plumage or to confirm an ID the smaller guide has helped them make. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A renowned bird illustrator presents a field guide to North American birds which details the many plumages and habits, describes songs and calls, and shows the complete distribution of each species. Showing some 810 species and 350 regional populations with nuanced color illustrations, the contents are arranged in groups of related species to allow for easy comparison. Library of Congress CiP shows the title as Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

Not only fine feathers, but intelligent organization and design create a new classic...an impressive new guide.

Scientific American Editors