Sibley's Birding Basics: How to Identify Birds, Using the Clues in Feathers, Habitats, Behaviors, and SoundsFrom the renowned author of the New York Times best seller The Sibley Guide to Birds, a comprehensive, beautifully illustrated guide to identifying birds in the field. Sibley's Birding Basics is an essential companion for birders of all skill and experience levels. With Sibley as your guide, learn how to interpret what the feathers, the anatomical structure, the sounds of a bird tell you. When you know the clues that show you why there’s no such thing as, for example, “just a duck” birding will be more fun, and more meaningful. An essential addition to the Sibley shelf! The Sibley Guide to Birds and The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior are both universally acclaimed as the new standard source of species information. And now David Sibley, America’s premier birder and best-known bird artist, turns his attention to the general characteristics that influence the appearance of all birds, unlocking the clues to their identity. In 200 beautifully rendered illustrations and 16 essays, this scientifically precise volume distills the essence of Sibley’s own experience and skills, providing a solid introduction to “naming” the birds. Birding Basics reviews how one can get started as a birder—the equipment necessary, where and when to go birding, and perhaps most important, the essential things to look for when birds appear in the field—as well as the basic concepts of bird identification and the variations that can change the appearance of a bird over time or in different settings. Sibley also provides critical information on the aspects of avian life that differ from species to species: feathers (color, arrangement, shape, molt), behavior and habitat, and sounds. |
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Sibley's Birding Basics: How to Identify Birds, Using the Clues in Feathers ... David Allen Sibley No preview available - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
adult alternate plumage American Robin appearance auriculars base Basic feather groups basic plumage behavior bill length binoculars bird identification bird-watching bird's birders Blue-headed Vireo body breeding calls changes characteristics Chickadee color patterns dark David Allen Sibley Downy Downy Woodpeckers ducks edges example feath feather wear field guide field marks flanks flight feathers flight style folded greater coverts Greater Yellowlegs Guide to Bird Gull Hairy Hairy Woodpecker hawks identification clue juvenal juvenal first basic look lower mandible malar throat mandible mantle molt nape neck Northern Cardinal notes observer outer overall overlap pale partial molt passerines patch phrases pitch Plover plumage Prairie Warbler prebasic molt primary coverts relatively Ring-billed Gull scapulars secondary coverts seen Semipalmated shape showing Sibley Guide similar simply song songbirds Sparrow subspecies subtle supercilium tail feathers Tanager terns tertials tion upper uppertail coverts variation Vireo vocalizations Warbler Western Sandpiper wingbeats wingtip Woodpecker Yellowlegs