[squidge]

Hi, looking for recommendations on a north American bird I'd guide. Something along the lines of the collins bird I'd guide. Thanks,

Ger.

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Sibley

[david kelly]

Andrew has recommended Sibley and I would agree but bthe American birders I know recommend the regional guides. If you are restricting your visit to either the east or the west then there are

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America

David

[squidge]

Many thanks, not planning a trip just yet but would like a guide for reference.

Ger.

[squidge]

I presume this is the latest version. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sibley-Audub...9595935&sr=8-4


Ger.

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Originally Posted by squidge

I presume this is the latest version. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sibley-Audub...9595935&sr=8-4


Ger.

Yes and that's the one that covers the whole of North America. It has the most illustrations, although the regional guides have a bit more text.

[J. Moore]

[Edit: cross-posting with Andrew]

Originally Posted by squidge

I presume this is the latest version. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sibley-Audub...9595935&sr=8-4


Ger.

Yes, there has only been one edition of the "Big Sibley", though I believe some subsequent printings may have corrected some minor errors. The big Sibley has the most information about how to identify birds, and the most depictions of different plumages, of any North American guide. It is different from Collins in at least a couple of respects though. Sibley dislikes big blocks of text, such as you find in the species accounts in Collins, so much of the ID information is communicated through depictions with notes and markers. There is textual discussion of each species, but it is brief and broken up into sections. I think the lack of extensive text for each species makes the book a bit difficult to use for birders unfamiliar with the North American avifauna, though. The regional editions have more textual explanation, so that is one reason these are sometimes recommended instead of the big Sibley. The other reason is that they are much more compact, so better for use in the field. However, the regional editions do omit depictions of certain plumages. Another difference between the big Sibley and Collins is that the former has more depictions per species, e.g. all passerines are shown in flight.

Probably the North American guide that is the closest to Collins is the sixth edition of the National Geographic guide. It has large blocks of text similar to Collins. But it has significantly fewer depictions per species than Sibley. And overall the big Sibley is generally accepted as the best pure identification guide for N. Am. birds.

Jim

[squidge]

Thank you for the replies. I think the 'big' sibley would best suit what I'm looking for.

Cheers,

Ger.

[njlarsen]

I think you should consider the Nat Geographic guide again. Even though I most often grab the big Sibley when I am at home, invariably, the book I grab when I am actually traveling to the US/Canada is the National Geographic. For many years I used the third edition, but the new 6th edition is even better. I would not recommend the big Sibley unless you have some familiarity with US birds (I lived in the US for four years some ways back).

Niels

[Mysticete]

Yeah I agree with NJ...Nat Geo is a bit easier to use for first time birders to the region. Sibley (IMHO) is great for tougher ID's, but I couldn't imagine hefting around the big Sibley in the field. Nat Geo is big, but still more portable.

[squidge]

Maybe as a compromise I'll get the Sibley and the nat geo. Therefore I've all options covered.

Cheers,

Ger.

[J. Moore]

Another option is to get both the big Sibley and one or both regional Sibleys. The regional Sibleys are more accessible than the big Sibley and considerably lighter than the Nat. Geo.

Jim

[Swissboy]

Originally Posted by squidge

Maybe as a compromise I'll get the Sibley and the nat geo. Therefore I've all options covered.

Cheers,

Ger.

National Geographic is the most updated one. And to get a general overwiew, it should fit your requirements perfectly. I'm definitely one who prefers this book over the ones by Sibley. Though I have those as well, and for some specifics they may be better. But with the sixth edition of NG, one gets the recent systematics plus the combination of text blocks and Collins type pointer-descriptions.

[lulubelle]

I have all of them and have found that I prefer Kaufman's field guide over all of them. It is very portable and I find the photos very useful. I know there is a big divide over paintings vs. photos - both have pluses and minuses.

I do have to say that the Nat Geo will have species shown in it that others don't at times and with the latest version, it contains all of the most recently seen U.S rarities, like the Bare-throated Tiger Heron that showed up in the Rio Grande Valley a couple of years ago. If I had to choose between Sibley's and Nat Geo, I would go for Nat Geo. I have the Collins guide and I think the Nat Geo is the closest to it in terms of illustrations, etc.

If you are willing to consider a photo field field guide, I would also consider the Stokes N. Am. Field guide that was released last year, although it is not field friendly in terms of weight!!!

Living in a state where we get western & eastern species, I personally think regional guides are very limited and not helpful in the field.

[Peter C.]

Another vote for National Geo.

[squidge]

Thanks, I've ordered the national geo sixth edition. I had a look at the first few pages and it seems ideal. I'll probably get the Sibley at a later date.

Thanks,

Ger.

[jedigrant]

Originally Posted by squidge

Thanks, I've ordered the national geo sixth edition. I had a look at the first few pages and it seems ideal. I'll probably get the Sibley at a later date.

Thanks,

Ger.

The NatGeo will probably tide you over until the next edition of Sibley, which is tentatively scheduled for sometime next year.

For your purposes, I think NatGeo will be great, although I personally use Sibley as my first go-to reference.

[squidge]

I received the nat geo yesterday. What an excellent guide it is. I really like the species marked finger indents for ease of use. There is enough detail and excellent drawings for what I was looking for, a quick referencing guide.

Thanks for all the recommendations. I will probably get the Sibley at a later date but with this guide there will definitely be no rush as its a brilliant guide in its own right.

Thanks,

Ger.

[Bill Atwood]

I'm with Laura on using Kaufmann's in the field.