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The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2nd Edition (Sibley Guides) Flexibound – March 11, 2014
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“Undoubtedly the finest guide to North American birds.”—Guy McCaskie, Birding
The publication of The Sibley Guide to Birds, First Edition 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.
- Print length624 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherKnopf
- Publication dateMarch 11, 2014
- Dimensions6.4 x 1.45 x 9.8 inches
- ISBN-10030795790X
- ISBN-13978-0307957900
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- Publisher : Knopf; 2nd edition (March 11, 2014)
- Language : English
- Flexibound : 624 pages
- ISBN-10 : 030795790X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0307957900
- Item Weight : 3 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.4 x 1.45 x 9.8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #16,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Ornithology (Books)
- #24 in Bird Field Guides
- Customer Reviews:
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Doggone Gardener
About the author

David Allen Sibley (born 1962, in Plattsburgh, New York) is an American naturalist. The son of ornithologist Fred Sibley, he began watching and drawing birds at a very young age, and spent most of the 1980s and 90s traveling all over the North American continent in search of birds. He is the author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds (and several other books about birds), as well as the Sibley Guide to Trees.
Photo by Slowking4 (Own work) [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], via Wikimedia Commons.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book provides excellent details for identifying birds. They appreciate the clear illustrations and photos that stand out on the page. The text is helpful and detailed, with readable fonts and colors for range maps. Overall, customers find it an excellent guide for both new and experienced birders.
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Customers find the birding guide helpful for identifying birds. They appreciate that the information is grouped with the pictures, making it easy to identify them. The book provides useful information for both new and experienced birders, including where each bird migrates. It's a great reference book that offers more details than expected, and is a must-have for all bird enthusiasts.
"...The book points out specific details for ID, and in many places, tells you how to figure out if your bird was one species or another, closely..." Read more
"...I find this second edition to be a second remarkable achievement by David Sibley. What you are getting is worth many times the asking price...." Read more
"An Awesome book to help a beginner birder or one with many years experience.It gives so much more information than the first edition did...." Read more
"Love this bird guide!" Read more
Customers find the illustrations in the book nice to look at and good for seeing details. They appreciate the beautiful photos that stand out on the page. The images are accurate, lifelike, and depict various life stages, variations, mating plumage changes, and birds.
"...The illustrations are nice to look at, and are good to see all the details on...." Read more
"...illustrations- with very few exceptions- are extremely accurate and lifelike, in typical Sibley style...." Read more
"...It’s great that it uses drawings because actual photos can be distorted by lighting and position of the sun and shadows...." Read more
"...better utilized in this edition, allowing Sibley's beautiful illustrations to take center stage...." Read more
Customers find the book easy to use and informative. They appreciate the detailed maps and helpful text. The book provides a general guide with comprehensive photos and excellent written materials. It's great for beginners and has sharp text.
"...The illustrations are nice to look at, and are good to see all the details on...." Read more
"...So far, I have heard good things: the font is readable and the colors are more representative of what one would see in the field...." Read more
"...'s illustrations, while not as technically realistic, are easy to apply to a bird you may be trying to identify...." Read more
"...While some of the notes have quite small font, the color of the font is fine and I don't have any issues with reading...." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2021This guide includes pretty much every bird you can reasonably expect to see in the US, and some you can't. It even has a section for exotic parrots that people tend to keep, and many of the different sections have entries for rare migrants. There are birds in here with range descriptions like "seen three times in the US", things that aren't exactly likely to be seen. But they've been seen, so they're in here. I love that. It means the bird I saw is pretty much guaranteed to be in here, so if nothing stands out at first, I should look through again.
The different sections have birds of similar appearances grouped together. That's really helpful, because it makes it easier to compare the options directly. Each section starts with a page or two showing all the birds in that section compared to each other, with the females on display, since they're harder to ID. Then each bird gets, on average, half a page vertically of its own. It shows male and female plumage, and usually the bird from multiple angles. Birds with more regional variation have more space, usually the full page. A few birds, like the fox sparrow, have two pages to themselves.
The illustrations are nice to look at, and are good to see all the details on. The book points out specific details for ID, and in many places, tells you how to figure out if your bird was one species or another, closely related species.
The type might be too small if you have older eyes. I'm not sure. My eyes are pretty good. I don't think they could make the type much bigger, without sacrificing either layout, size of illustrations, or detail of text.
The only downside to this book is that it's pretty heavy. It's not anywhere naer pocket-sized. I'm sure either version of the half-a-country book would be much lighter, but I live in Texas, so neither of those would cover all the possibilities. So, I have a heavy book, because I wanted something thorough. I'd much rather have lots of detail and options, in a book I can't bring along, than much more limited options in a book I can carry. I'll take pictures and ID them at home, or flip through the book beforehand so I can try to recognize things later. The latter works better with more distinctive birds, though, like the black-throated sparrow. Its entry calls its markings "unmistakeable", and that's real hard to argue with!
Anyway, get this guide. If you find yourself wanting a smaller, pocket guide, get a smaller guide also, and then you have this one for rarer or more unusual things that won't be in the smaller guide.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2014Don't let some initial lukewarm reviews stop you from getting this wonderful guide. It's greatly expanded and improved in nearly every respect. It's packed with much more information on ID, behavior and distribution. There are more illustrations per species and coverage of many more rare species has been added. The range maps are updated and improved.
In a number of the plates the colors are noticeably darker and richer than those in the first edition. This is intentional and in almost all cases this is a welcome improvement (i.e. Accipiters, thrushes and male Redhead which were too bright/pale in the first edition). A very few species are a little too dark for my taste (such as Pink-footed Goose and White-faced and Glossy Ibis), however I don't see any illustrations so dark that they lose needed detail.
I've found the illustrations- with very few exceptions- are extremely accurate and lifelike, in typical Sibley style. In most cases the newer paintings blend seamlessly with the older and retouched artwork. Nits to pick? On a few birds the reds and oranges aren't quite right. The male Scarlet Tanager is a deeper red than it should be and the Chipping Sparrow's rust cap looks brownish, while the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak's red breast is a shade too deep and dark. But to emphasize, this is the case in only a very few illustrations. Overall the new edition more accurately portrays its subjects than the first edition (which was already pretty darn good).
There are perhaps a dozen paintings out of a total of over 900 species and 7000 illustrations that don't perfectly represent a particular bird in question (and for the most part these appear to be relatively minor color corrections needed the scanning/printing process). That's a tiny percentage of "errors" and I can't see where any of these very minor issues affect the usefulness of the guide. Nor do they affect the identification of the species involved- with the possible exception of Chipping Sparrow. Most of the plates in this second edition are no darker (or barely so) than in the first edition.
There are a few minor labeling errors which will be corrected in subsequent printings, but considering the scope of this book they are truly minimal and don't warrant much in the way of complaints.
Obviously no guide is perfect, but I really can't find anything significant to fault in the new Sibley. On the other hand, I can find plenty to praise. The quality of the paintings and printing in many cases is noticeably improved over my first edition. In fact, after looking through the new guide and then going back to the old one, I found myself even more appreciative of the changes. The excellent first edition (which I am a big fan of by the way) now looks generally overly bright and washed out by comparison. It took me just a bit of time to adjust to the deeper/darker colors in the new edition, but I'm very pleased with almost all of them. In nearly every case they accurately depict the way birds look in the field.
Another plus is the layout and general appearance of the new edition. It's cleaner and more comtemporary. The amount of text is greatly expanded and very helpful. There is so much information packed into this edition. Tips on ID (and similar species ID pitfalls), range, vagrancy, behavior are many.
I can definitely understand why some have a problem with the comparatively small narrow font (though for me- at 53- this is not an issue). On the other hand a large and darker font could detract from and take attention away from the images of the birds themselves. I find it to be just visible enough without distracting from the illustrations. Clearly however, this is a matter of personal preference.
I find this second edition to be a second remarkable achievement by David Sibley. What you are getting is worth many times the asking price. An absolute must have for any active birder or anyone interested in North American birds. The new standard.
UPDATE: I've heard of variations in printing resulting in wild variations in color reproduction. I've been able to look at three different copies of the guide (two in local bookstores and my original from amazon). The colors- in these three copies at least- were essentially identical, and all looked good to me.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2025An Awesome book to help a beginner birder or one with many years experience.It gives so much more information than the first edition did. It’s great that it uses drawings because actual photos can be distorted by lighting and position of the sun and shadows. A tad heavy, you may not want to carry it into the field. It’s a wonder reference.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2025Really enjoy this book. Very organized and comprehensive! Nice addition to my library of bird books
- Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2025Love this bird guide!
Top reviews from other countries
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estefaniaReviewed in Mexico on August 13, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Muy buen libro
Muy completo en cuanto a las especies de Norteamérica
- Danny CameronReviewed in Canada on June 17, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for birders
This book is a must have for any new or experienced birder. The volume of information from one of the world's leading authors on avian species is simply unmatched. Great illustrations, range maps, details, and more.
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MajanoReviewed in Spain on January 17, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Un libro fantástico / A wonderful book
He adquirido recientemente este libro y me parece una pasada. Muy completo, bien maquetado, con unas buenas ilustraciones (aunque no lleguen al nivel de otras guías como la Svensson, igualmente son buenas) y a un precio realmente asequible. Personalmente, no he tenido ningún problema con el color de la impresión de las ilustraciones.
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I've recently acquired this book and I think it's wonderful. Very complete, well laid out, with good illustrations (although they don't reach the level of other guides like Svensson, they are still good) and at a really affordable price. Personally, I have not had any problems with the color of the printing of the illustrations.
- Mr. D. BrownReviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Birds
The finest book on all birds of USA
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GérardReviewed in France on March 30, 2015
4.0 out of 5 stars L'un des meilleurs guides pour cette région
C'est incontestablement l'un des meilleurs guides pour cette région du monde même si sa taille ne le rend pas très pratique à emporter sur le terrain. L'Amérique du Nord est un grand continent et il y a de nombreux oiseaux à voir. Si les auteurs avaient voulu privilégier la légèreté de l'ouvrage, ils auraient dû sacrifier un certains nombre de pages, ceci ce faisant au détriment de l'aide à la détermination. J'avais déjà un vieil exemplaire du National Geographic, mais celui-ci est bien meilleur. Les dessins sont bons et les oiseaux sont représentés dans leurs différents plumages. Les cartes manquent forcément de précision étant donné la taille de l'Amérique du Nord mais elles sont d'une aide certaine. Je n'ai, en revanche, pas aimé la classification des espèces à cocher située à la fin de l'ouvrage. Elle respecte la taxonomie actuelle mais elle n'est pas très facile à utiliser à mon sens. J'aurais préféré la classique classification alphabétique.