Which book is right for you?
The Sibley Guide to Birds is the all-in-one identification guide. If you are a serious or aspiring birder or travel between east and west then this is the book for you. It is hefty at over 2.5 pounds, but many birders carry it in a backpack or keep it in the car for reference. If you do much back-packing, or like to carry a guide with you in the field, the smaller Eastern or Western guide would be a better choice.
The Eastern and Western Guides are much smaller and lighter at 1.5 pounds each, with a relatively small trade-off in reduced illustrations and detail. These books show fewer subspecies, and do not show less frequently seen plumages of many species. The voice descriptions are also less detailed than in the Guide to Birds. On the positive side, these books have a brief summary of the status and habitat of each species that is not included in the big book, and the updated maps are more accurate than the maps in the Guide to Birds.
All of the books above are strictly identification guides. They will help you to name the birds you see, but for learning more about the birds once you've identified them you will need the Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. This is a book to be read while relaxing at home. Reading a chapter of several pages allows you to learn more about a family of birds. It can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in birds, but a beginning birder will probably want a field guide along with this book.
Birding Basics functions as the introduction to a field guide. It is primarily about bird identification techniques, but by itself will not identify birds, it simply helps you make the most of the field guide, and by improving your bird identification "aptitude" it helps you make the most of your time in the field.
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