The Sibley Guides series began with the publication of The Sibley Guide to Birds in 2000, and since then has expanded to include four additional books on birds and, in 2009, The Sibley Guide to Trees. This website presents some of my ongoing efforts to identify and understand the birds and trees of North America.
I’ve been watching and drawing nature for most of my life, with a heavy emphasis on birds until about seven years ago. I consider myself a scientific illustrator and the goal of most of my art is to reveal the larger patterns and systems of nature by learning what makes each species different from (and similar to) other species. I hope you’ll join in this pursuit of knowledge and share the pleasure of discovery. There are still so many mysteries to solve and things to discover all around us, and the opportunities for learning never end.
I have written and illustrated a number of books, listed below. Clicking on any title will lead to a page with more information about that book.
Author and illustrator:
The Sibley Guide to Trees, 2009
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America, 2003
The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America, 2003
Sibley’s Birding Basics, 2002
The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior, 2001
The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2000
The Birds of Cape May, 1993; revised edition in 1997
Illustrator:
Bright Wings, 2009
Atlas Of The Breeding Birds Of Nevada, 2007 (cover)
Birds of Denali, 2002
The Wind Masters, 1995
Hawks in Flight: The Flight Identification of North American Migrant Raptors, 1988
The Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State, 1988
Hawkwatch: A guide for beginners, 1986
Tales of a Low-Rent Birder, 1986
Writing:
Arctic Wings: Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land
and many magazine articles
do you have a book for colombia south america?
No, just North America. Try Buteo Books at http://www.buteobooks.com/
Under the species account for Townsend’s Warbler, the description says “Structure like Black-throated Green…”. What does structure refer? The actual shape of the bird? Or the pattern of the plumage?
I use “structure” to refer to all aspects of shape and proportions. So this statement means the both the overall shape and proportions as well as details like bill shape and tail shape are similar to Black-throated Green.
Will you be publishing any more field guides?
Yes, definitely. I’m currently working on several new projects about birds.
I know that there was some talk, at one time, of publishing your Field Guides in Spanish. Has this actually happened and if so where can I get copies?
Birding Basics has been translated into Spanish (link above), and the Eastern Field Guide translated into French. Currently there are no other plans for translations.
Any chance of a Windows Phone 7 app, or is the platform too new?
Yes, there is a chance, but with so many different phone platforms around, as well as iPad and other tablet OS, we have to choose carefully where to invest time and effort. A Blackberry version of the eGuide is currently in beta-testing, and I’m not sure which will be next, or when, but I will announce it here on the website whenever it is decided.
Have you considered putting bird songs/sounds into your Bird Identification Guides? I have Peterson’s North American Birds CD, but it would be nice to have a guide + songs all in one volume. I do have Music of the Birds by Lang Elliot, which lists only 75 bird sounds.
I am enjoying your Bird Calendar for 2011, one of many gifts I get with a bird theme!
Thanks for your guides and your help.
Phyllis Little
Thanks Phyllis, You can get all the content from the book along with audio of songs and calls in the Sibley eGuide for iPhone/iPod, Android, and (soon) Blackberry. There are no plans to publish a CD to accompany the book.
When will a revised edition of Guide to Birds be released? I assume you’re working on it?
I am working on it (truthfully I have been since the day the guide went to the printer). No firm date is set for publishing the revised edition but it will hopefully be in two years or so.
Do you plan to offer you Tree ID book as an iPhone app? I hope so!
No plans (yet) to make an app of the Tree Guide, but things are changing quickly in the electronic publishing world and I’m sure it will happen at some point.
David:
Do you plan on coming out with an update to the “big Sibley” to reflect the 2011 AOU changes? There is an audience out there waiting for that new edition.
Thanks!
Steve
Stevan Hawkins
San Antonio TX
I’m currently working on a full revision of the Guide, which will include all of the many AOU changes since the first edition. Hopefully it will be out in 2013.
David,
Will you be publishing a new edition of The Sibley Guide to Birds to include changes to taxonomic order, the new splits and the new names of many birds including the warblers?
Thank you.