Re: [cobirds] Re: New Sibley Guide: Wait for the next printing

I've been perusing my new copy of Sibley's 2nd edition, and with each passing day I'm coming to enjoy it more and more. I bought my copy from the Boulder Bookstore where I checked as many of the copies there as I could for color rendition and the font/text clarity. All the copies there seemed to be of the same quality, which I felt was quite good overall.

When I got home I compared the new edition with my old beat-up, worn-down edition from 2001. I certainly haven't done an entirely exhaustive comparision, but I tried to compare key species that I'd seen mentioned in other reviews. I agree that some (but definitely not all) of the reds and browns that are depicted are quite rich. Specifically, I compared the depiction of Scarlet Tanager, the coloration of bills in breeding plumage for Royal and Caspian Terns, and a number of the buteos. For all these, again I agree that they seem a bit rich, erring on the side of over-coloration. However, birds like Hepatic and Summer Tanager, the rails, the buntings, and the dubious Brown Thrasher from the first edition all look quite good in the new book, to my eyes anyway.

Yesterday, I had the book with me while I flipped through it in a city park on a gloriously bright afternoon. Interestingly, I thought those relatively dark illustrations looked pretty good then in bright sun, which made me think that maybe the key to coping with the darker renditions is to make sure you have plenty of light available. :)

In the end, I would agree with Chuck H. If you are someone who habitually buys books online, for this one you might forego that and visit your favorite local bookshop and check out the copies on hand in person. If you find it acceptable, buy it there so that you have a version that you are sure you'll be happy with. The local store owners will appreciate it anyway.

And if nothing else, the updates to the presentation of the species, the selection of species, and the overall quality of information with them (identification, life history, behavior) are all just staggeringly good. Whatever complaints I have with the book are entirely overshadowed by everything else that is fabulous about it.

Eric

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Eric DeFonso
Boulder, CO

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