SIBLEY'S BIRDING BASICS

Birding Basics, published in October 2002, is meant to be the introduction to The Sibley Guide to Birds. It was clear when I was writing the Sibley Guide to Birds that the introduction in that book, kept short for very good reasons, would not be sufficient to cover all of the details that I thought it should. So I cut and condensed the info to make the intro, and two years later came up with the idea to create a whole new book.

This book introduces readers to the basic information that underlies the techniques of modern bird identification. It is a beginner’s guide to the concepts and tools of bird identification; topics such as molt, feather wear, shape, structure, and feather patterns, to name a few. Understanding the basis of the appearance and variation of birds will help any birder of any level advance to make quicker and more accurate identifications. This book will work with any field guide.