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 enlarge | Author: David Sibley
Publisher: Christopher Helm Publishing Company
Category: Book
List Price: $31.00
Buy New: $27.47
You Save: $3.53 (11%)
New (7) Used (2) from $27.47
Avg. Customer Rating:  60 reviews
Sales Rank: 884903
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 431
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 4.7 x 1.1
ISBN: 0713666579
Dewey Decimal Number: 598
EAN: 9780713666571
ASIN: 0713666579
Publication Date: January 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new book delivered from the UK in 10-14 days.
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| Customer Reviews:
 very useful field guide April 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a compact field guide derived from David Allen Sibley's highly regarded _The Sibley Guide to Birds_. This may be heresy, but in this instance the derivative surpasses the original, and that is no mean feat.
Most notably, it is compact enough to carry into the field, and that's where birders try to sort through as many diagnostic puzzles as possible. Most species accounts include fewer visual representations than the corresponding accounts found in the Guide to Birds, but the illustrations selected are usually quite sufficient.
Remarkably, the text associated with many species accounts is more informative than the information found in the larger guide: more information about habitat preferences, behavior, and description.
I have noticed some separation from the binding near the middle of each of the two field guides I have (eastern and western) but in neither instance is it really a problem. This isn't going to be my primary North American guide (I'll still rely on the National Geographic field guide for that purpose) but if I carry two guides into the field this will often be the second.
Sibley is the standard April 18, 2008
The Sibley field guides are the current standards of birding in North America. Nothing else needs to be said. If you're going to buy one birding field guide - this is the one.
Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America April 6, 2008
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America is the companion volume to The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America.
The Eastern volume covers the 650 bird species found east of the Rocky Mountains. As with any bird field guide, the user wants comprehensive, easily accessible, clear information that make identifications quick and indisputable. Sibley's field guides cover all the species within the range of the volume arranging the birds in vertical columns on the page with most two-page spreads showing four species. This means that there is room for large detailed, beautiful illustrations with field marks for the diagnostic features. These marks are extremely helpful for the new birder to show what to look for and how to distinguish one species from another. This arrangement is particularly helpful when confronted with the terrible and mysterious LBJs or little brown jobs. The reader can make quick comparisons between similar species.
The text covers key identification characteristics and field marks on the illustrations, whether the species is common, uncommon, rare, etc. to an area, nesting, behavior, food and feeding, and voice description. Accompanying the text is an excellent range map showing the bird's full North American distribution.
The inside of the front cover gives a quick reference guide to the parts of a bird and what the various colors mean on the range maps. The inside of the back cover provides a map of the USA and Canada, i.e., what counts as North America for birding purposes. The first leaf inside the back cover is a Quick Index to allow the user relatively fast access to the groups of species.
The volume is compact enough to fit into a hip pocket with a bit of manoeuvring. Since it covers only part of North America, it is lighter than single volume field guides covering all of North America.
The Sibley field guides have two exceptional features. One is that if there is some interesting or noteworthy characteristic about a bird or group of birds, Sibley put in a text box. For example, there is a text box on Woodpecker Climbing Motions explaining the roll of the feet and tail in climbing. The other feature is, if a species is more common in the east say rather than the west, then the Eastern volume will have more illustrations and adjusts the text to reflect more about the species. For example, in the Western volume, the Blue Jay has four illustrations and the text starts with "uncommon", while in the Eastern volume the Blue Jay has five illustrations and the text starts out with "common".
A single field guide is never sufficient. A birder needs to compare the information and illustrations of two or more field guides. This and its companion volume are excellent choices for one of the guides and I highly recommend them.
 Put on your specs April 4, 2008
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
Don't order this book if you are over 40. While the Sibley guides are well loved by many people, this version challenges the printing industry in terms of small type. If you can read 4-6 point type or walk around the woods with a magnifying glass, maybe you will find this field guide useful. I myself was totally disgusted that I could not read it in the house with my reading glasses on. I wondered if I was being picky, so I compared it to other field guides I have for birds, flowers, mammals, and trees. No question. The type in this book is much smaller and harder to read than any other field guide on my shelves. In addition, the copy I received seemed to be off color for anything that was a reddish tint.
For the birds! February 9, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a great book. It is easy to navigate and the illustrations are excellent. The range maps, illustrations and text descriptions are right together. Older field guides had color plates with page numbers to find the text. When I purchased this "paperback", I was a little concerned about durability. It is really not a paperback. It is bound like a hardback with quality paper. Instead of the hard cover, it has a soft laminated paper cover. It should last.
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