THE NORTH AMERICAN BIRD GUIDE

From Ontario to Alaska, David Sibley has been ever present as my guide to the avifauna of North America and I can happily say that I would have wanted no other. The first edition of Sibley's guide was an instant classic and remains so today nearly 15 years later. What Sibley did so well was to combine beautiful artwork showing every species in more different angles than any previous field guide with the kind of knowledge that can only be gained from extensive field experience. The result was a guide with beautiful plates and a minimalist design which really conveyed the gestalt of each species to birders of all skill levels. Of course every guide is not without its flaws and more exacting birders were critical of the artwork for favouring general impressions over extensive detail of field marks.

In this second edition Sibley has taken on board many of these criticisms while refining many of the key elements. Numerous minor flaws in the artwork are fixed, an additional 111 species have been added, the species order has been changed to reflect the latest taxonomic consensus and the range maps have been updated and improved. The more substantial changes include a major overhaul of the text with a much needed increase in quantity and a significant shift in emphasis towards highlighting the key field marks. The artwork too has an increased focus on how to identify tricky species groups with more illustrations showing direct comparisons which again highlight the key identification characters. Regrettably not all the changes have been for the better. The most conspicuous problem is the colour reproduction which is considerably darker than the first edition. The reds, oranges and greens seem most affected with, for instance, the orange breast of the Red-shouldered Hawk appearing a deep chestnut-brown. Those with less than perfect eyesight may also have problems with the small size of the font used for most of the text.

So should you buy this latest edition? Well, that depends upon your situation. If you’re looking for your first guide to all the birds of North America then I would say look no further. If like me you’re considering an upgrade then the decision is trickier. Personally I’m not inclined to replace my 1st edition just yet. Hopefully there will be a reprint which fixes the issues with the colours or better still, the more ‘pocket-friendly’ eastern and western versions of the guide will receive updates.

Book reviewed by David Hodkinson

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