Bird watching is one of the most popular hobbies in the world, and there are hundreds of bird watching books available for you to choose from. When choosing your first field guide, look for a book that provides detailed color photographs or illustrations of the birds. If you’re a newcomer to bird watching, poorly illustrated guides that miss the sometimes subtle details can cause you to misidentify your observations.
One of the most popular field guides on the market are the Sibley guides. Written and illustrated by David Allen Sibley. The Sibley Guide to Birds contains over 6,600 illustrations total and descriptions of 810 species and 350 regional populations. This easy to use guide is arranged to make comparison easy for beginner and veteran “birder” alike.
The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior is a great reference work with complete information on avian life, including evolution, body structure, life cycle, nesting, and flight dynamics for the 80 families of North American birds.
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America includes 650 species plus regional populations that are found east of the Rocky Mountains. There are more than 4,200 finely detailed illustrations with accompanying text. Each entry includes information such as nesting, frequency, behavior, feeding, vocal description and the key identification features.
For birders west of the Rocky Mountains, there is The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America with updated range maps, and detailed illustrations for 703 species found in the western United States. Includes information for western Canada, Alaska and Baja California.
Tags: Best Bird Watching Books, Bird watching, bird watching books, birders, collections and books, David Allen Sibley, North American birds, Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, Sibley guides, The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America, The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior, The Sibley Guide to Birds
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Thanks all! I do really enjoy sneieg these birds. Very inquisitive, and quite brave. Almost every one I have encountered will take peanuts from your had (and will steal your lunch if you aren’t looking!)For those of you in the New England area (or willing to travel), I am considering trying to organize a trip to the White Mountains for Birders Who Blog Tweet & Chirp, where we would very likely encounter them. I’ll let you know…