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Re: the new bird guides





I received my copy of Sibley earlier in the week.  After spending a few evenings
with the hefty tome I have only one complaint, the size of the font and
pictures.  There are so many drawings of each species (probably 6 on average)
that the drawings and accompanying font must be very small to all fit on the
page.  I would estimate the wording to be 8 point or so as compared to maybe 12
for many of the other texts.  This makes reading the print difficult, I would
imagine especially so for our friends with less than perfect eyesight.  The
drawings are tiny as well.  I also noticed the range maps always use the entire
US/Canada area even if the species in question is restricted to a very small
area.  Try finding the small speck of color in south Texas for the Grey-crowned
Yellowthroat for instance!  Many other texts would use an exploded map of the
south-central US to show the range of this species.

With that said, the Sibley book fills a niche left open by other birding texts.
The treatment of plumage variation by age and range is unsurpassed.  As others
have mentioned, this is not a fieldguide but rather a reference.  Beginners may
be hopelessly confused by the myriad drawings representing each species,
especially coupled with the lack of text to describe the habitat and relative
abundance of each species.  As such the new Kaufmann and venerable Peterson's
guides remain the best bets to fill the pocket of a beginning/intermediate
birder in the field.  NGS will probably remain the book most frequently seen in
the hands of birders at Santa Ana or on the CBBT.  Sibley will be best used by
the intermediate to advanced birder wishing to validate/review field notes taken
during a birding excursion.
I really wish I could draw half as well as Sibley.  You probably could not tell
the difference between my rendering of a flamingo and a junco.  Sibley's
sparrows are especially spectacular; by far the best I have seen anywhere.

Incidentally I've heard that the Sibley book has become available at BJ's/Sams
Club for considerably less than the $35 or so list price.  (I don't own stock in
either place :-)


Best,
Steve Shultz
Cary, NC
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