Trailwalker
Member
Sibley, Peterson or maybe another I haven't heard of? Right now we are mainly using the iBird app. Thanks.
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Field guides for American birds. (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Trailwalker
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Trailwalker
Member
My apologies for not being more clear about my question, I should have said Field Guide books. I've looked at Peterson's, Sibley's, Kaufman's, Nat Geo and a couple of others and they all look pretty similar. I was wondering what is considered the "standard" or the best. Thanks again.
TwoDipsfromAmsterdam
Anything About?
Peter C.
...just zis guy, you know?
It may well...
... I favour this one: |;|
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=1654051#post1654051
(I found myself a bit surprised by the multiplicity of these threads! These are not the only two... or, er three, now.)
Peter C.
LabradorDuck
Well-known member
Sibley and Nat Geo seem to be the most popular, with Sibley having a definite edge. I have Nat Geo personally, which has served me well for many years; I've used Sibley enough to know that it has some advantages but not enough to conclude whether it is better overall. I like the smaller size of my guide better than the "big" Sibley, but current editions of Nat Geo have grown a bit and I'm not sure there's much difference anymore.
Nat Geo is currently more up to date on taxonomy and such, but Sibley has a new edition expected in March if you can wait that long. Also, as I'm sure most of us can attest, there is no shame in owning multiple field guides.
Nat Geo is currently more up to date on taxonomy and such, but Sibley has a new edition expected in March if you can wait that long. Also, as I'm sure most of us can attest, there is no shame in owning multiple field guides.
nartreb
Speak softly and carry a long lens
I recently acquired the Sibley eastern field guide to compare to my existing Peterson's north american guide. The Sibley is smaller, truly a field guide. This is partly because it excludes western birds, and partly because the illustrations are smaller.
I'm impressed with how well the Peterson emphasizes the key identifying traits, both in illustrations and in text. Compared to the Sibley, the Peterson also does a better job of matching my expectations for what should be listed as a "similar species". I find myself turning to the Peterson first, then using the Sibley as a double-check where I suspect that variability may be leading me in the wrong direction.
I'm impressed with how well the Peterson emphasizes the key identifying traits, both in illustrations and in text. Compared to the Sibley, the Peterson also does a better job of matching my expectations for what should be listed as a "similar species". I find myself turning to the Peterson first, then using the Sibley as a double-check where I suspect that variability may be leading me in the wrong direction.
Jaymie Arnold
Well-known member
You can't go wrong with the Peterson or the Sibley, after that I'd say the Kaufman and the American Bird Conservancy's field guide. Nat Geo at the bottom. While I haven't seen it personally since I live in the west, I hear really good things about the Crossley (currently only available for the eastern half of the US).
The Kaufman is the most portable and convenient guide for all of North America imho.
The others are noticeably fatter or multiple volumes.
Of course, portability is a moot point when most birders use an app instead of a paper book. Sibley is the best app, imho, even though at $20 it costs more than most of the hard copy guides.
Katemail13
Southeastern Utah, USA
I really like the Kaufman, for ease of use, and great pictures. I love the info in the Sibley, an the pictures and info in the Peterson, but for me, the Kaufman is the favorite. I also have the Audubon app, and iBird Pro, and I like iBird Pro a lot.
crazyfingers
Well-known member
I have Peterson's Eastern and Central North America and Sibley Eastern North America and I am unsure which I like best. I also have the Tekiela Massachusetts and Maine but I guess most people here poo-poo those.
The talk of Apps (for android) is interesting. I guess I was unaware that such things existed. I guess I should have guessed. But I think that I'd prefer not to do this on my phone but on the big computer screen. I don't usually try to ID something in the field. I download the my photos from that day and look at them on the computer and that's when I want to ID something that I don't know. It doesn't look like Sibley has a computer on-line guide having poked about the website a bit. I found the phone apps.
Neither does it look like Peterson has a computer version of the birds of Eastern NA.
Does anyone know of a good (non-phone) application with all the birds in a good guide for Eastern North America?
The talk of Apps (for android) is interesting. I guess I was unaware that such things existed. I guess I should have guessed. But I think that I'd prefer not to do this on my phone but on the big computer screen. I don't usually try to ID something in the field. I download the my photos from that day and look at them on the computer and that's when I want to ID something that I don't know. It doesn't look like Sibley has a computer on-line guide having poked about the website a bit. I found the phone apps.
Neither does it look like Peterson has a computer version of the birds of Eastern NA.
Does anyone know of a good (non-phone) application with all the birds in a good guide for Eastern North America?
lulubelle
Well-known member
Which field guide, which binocular and, now, which app are the million dollar most asked questions! The answers to the questions are as varied as the products fitting into each category!
If you are like many birders, myself included, you will end up with everybody's field guide on the market! You will have your favorite and find that the others have merits. I am not a Sibley fan, though many are. The drawings are too small and even he admitted to leaving out some detail (cannot remember where I read that, so don't ask, but was a quote from him!), but I do like that it shows the bird in flight from different angles. Peterson's & Nat Geo are better as far as illustrations go, but in the newest Nat Geo, they used different artists throughout the book and boy, can you tell! Not to their benefit to have done that.
Then you have the photographic guides - Kaufman's, Stokes, Nat'l Wildlife Federation & Smithsonian. I prefer Kaufman's over any of them, with Stokes being my next favorite. The Crossley book isn't meant to be a true field guide and it says so in the introduction . it is meant to be studied at home. Stokes's newest field guide suffers from a weight issue like the big Sibley - good to keep in the car!
All fail to an extent where photos or drawings of juveniles are concerned and fall warblers (Peterson's does have a confusing fall warbler section).
As far as apps, my personal.thought is that except for confirming a call, they aren't ideal for field ID, especially for new birders. They often have limited drawings & photos, much more so than field guides. For the sake of portablitity & saving space on the phone, much info is simply not included. Plus phone batteries eventually run down & screens are hard to see in the sun. Can't beat a hard copy field guide!
I suggest getting a couple of different field guides, including at least 1 photographic guide, since each has its strong points. As far as apps, there are more Apple apps than there are Android. The Apple.apps are often better functioning than the Android apps because they all a he the same operating system, where Android has a variety. It is easier to design for Apple phones. You can get ibird Pro, Sibley and a couple of unknown apps for Android, where you can get Petersons also for Apple.
If you are like many birders, myself included, you will end up with everybody's field guide on the market! You will have your favorite and find that the others have merits. I am not a Sibley fan, though many are. The drawings are too small and even he admitted to leaving out some detail (cannot remember where I read that, so don't ask, but was a quote from him!), but I do like that it shows the bird in flight from different angles. Peterson's & Nat Geo are better as far as illustrations go, but in the newest Nat Geo, they used different artists throughout the book and boy, can you tell! Not to their benefit to have done that.
Then you have the photographic guides - Kaufman's, Stokes, Nat'l Wildlife Federation & Smithsonian. I prefer Kaufman's over any of them, with Stokes being my next favorite. The Crossley book isn't meant to be a true field guide and it says so in the introduction . it is meant to be studied at home. Stokes's newest field guide suffers from a weight issue like the big Sibley - good to keep in the car!
All fail to an extent where photos or drawings of juveniles are concerned and fall warblers (Peterson's does have a confusing fall warbler section).
As far as apps, my personal.thought is that except for confirming a call, they aren't ideal for field ID, especially for new birders. They often have limited drawings & photos, much more so than field guides. For the sake of portablitity & saving space on the phone, much info is simply not included. Plus phone batteries eventually run down & screens are hard to see in the sun. Can't beat a hard copy field guide!
I suggest getting a couple of different field guides, including at least 1 photographic guide, since each has its strong points. As far as apps, there are more Apple apps than there are Android. The Apple.apps are often better functioning than the Android apps because they all a he the same operating system, where Android has a variety. It is easier to design for Apple phones. You can get ibird Pro, Sibley and a couple of unknown apps for Android, where you can get Petersons also for Apple.
stonechat1
New member
Doesn´t that mean you´re restricting (limiting) your observations/ID´s by yourself?
With a scope it´s possible to ID birds from hundreds of meter distant, I doubt that there is a lens with this quality. And even if they ´re, who´s investing the price of a small car in them?
Crazyfingers,
I really have enjoyed your contributions to the long-running SX40 and SX50 threads in the Canon subforum. You might think about getting a tablet. I carry a whole reference library in the field on a 7 inch tablet. A possibility for a windows computer, though, is the apps developed for windows phones and tablets. I've no idea whether they'd run on a computer, but it would be worth experimenting with. The windows app store has windows versions of the standard iBird, Audubon, and Sibley app. You might give it a try with the free iBird light app available there.
Will
Last edited:
crazyfingers
Well-known member
Hey thanks. You know that suggesting is worth considering. We have two 7 inch Samsung/Android tablets in the house that the kids use. I have tried to avoid using a 3rd device myself (already having a notebook and a smartphone) but since they are here, it's worth thinking about. Do you have any idea how much space these Android apps require in memory vs download as needed by wifi? I would not do this in the field. I only start trying to identify what I've photographed once I transfer the photos to the notebook and can look on the big screen.
crazyfingers
Well-known member
My 100x Canon SX50 is more powerful than any binoculars for IDing things in the field. And then I take a picture. Besides, my style of birding is photo-centric. If I don't have a photo I don't count it as a completed sighting. And I would never carry around a scope.
My experience has been that Sibley's and iBirdpro together fit comfortably within about 2 Gigs.
So there is no reason, apart from image size to aid our aging eyes, to add yet a third device. Any decent smart phone should have ample capacity to cover the waterfront in terms of bird guides.
Maybe there are different ways to bird....and most of the field guides suggested are the hard copy sibley and Kaufman standards.
There's many good online guides, with and without apps for the smart phones and tablets.
All About Birds My personal favorite.... and
Green Nature my personal project, with no apps.
I'm looking forward to more bird videos becoming available as birders begin using all the tools of their smart phones and tablets and make the transition from pictures.
There's many good online guides, with and without apps for the smart phones and tablets.
All About Birds My personal favorite.... and
Green Nature my personal project, with no apps.
I'm looking forward to more bird videos becoming available as birders begin using all the tools of their smart phones and tablets and make the transition from pictures.
