My thoughts are pretty much in alignment with Tom’s. I think the Geo guide’s
text is sufficiently better and more detailed so that I prefer it (also it is a
bit smaller and easier to carry), but the illustrations in Sibley are more
consistent in their “look” so that there is a certain ease of use related to
the pictures. Sibley’s maps have improved; both books are good. I think these
are the two choices for everyday field use by more experienced birders.
There are all kinds of other useful books out there including Peterson, Ted
Floyd’s guide, Rich Stallcup’s remarkably useful little book on “nearshore
seabirds” and so on.
These days I tend to use the apps a lot on my phone. There are definitely
issues with what’s available. I like the Sibley phone app better than the geo
app, particularly for how it handles the art. They both have adequate but
limited sound files - what we really need is an app of nothing but chip notes !
One piece of advice for owners of field guides: read them a lot. There’s
nothing like being prepared when you see something odd.
Alan Contreras
acontrer56@xxxxxxxxx
On Oct 21, 2015, at 3:47 PM, Tom Crabtree <tc@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Michael,
You will get emails from people with a lot of different recommendations.
There isn’t a bad answer (except maybe the DK book). The new editions of
each guide provide improvements. Personally, I like the National Geographic
Guide (Sixth edition). To me it has better illustrations, more complete text
and more up-to-date range maps and is an easier size to carry in the field.
For what it’s worth, it is the #1 selling field guide at Amazon (Sibley is
#2). They even have a “Western” version that is even more compact. A lot
of people will recommend Sibley. The Stokes guide is good if you prefer
photos to drawings. The Crossley Eastern Guide is a good reference for
pictures, but the text is lacking and it is huge. The good news is there is
so much choice available now. When many of us started there were only two
choices, Peterson’s and Pough’s.
Tom Crabtree, Bend
From: obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
[mailto:obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:obol-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>] On
Behalf Of Michael Medina
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2015 10:06 AM
To: OBOL
Subject: [obol] Field Guide Recommendations
Hopefully this doesn't spark a too heated debate.
I was looking to replace my first edition Sibley with a newer one (I'm aware
of the color corrections they did on the later printings). However someone
recently made a disparaging comment about Sibley which got me wondering if
it's worth replacing the first edition.
I've got an old library of Petersons from the 80s, NatGeo from the late 90s,
Stokes from the late 90s, and maybe one other.
Is there newer versions of these that are better? Something new that I
should have?
Thanks
Michael Medina
Portland, OR
