'The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior' by David Allen Sibley

Title: 'The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior'
Author: David Allen Sibley
Genres: Non-Fiction, Natural History, Reference, Field Guide, Bird Watching, Ethology
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2001

'The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior' is a comprehensive reference that covers a wide range of topics pertaining to bird life. The text is written at an intermediate level and is superbly illustrated by David Allen Sibley. This book is a collaboration of numerous authors, each bringing their own area of expertise to the book to create an in-depth portrait of bird life and avian families.

'The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior' covers the following topics:

• Flight, Form, and Function
• Origins, Evolution, and Classification
• Behavior
• Habitats and Distribution
• Populations and Conservation
• Bird Families of North America

The book is divided into two parts, the first part focuses on bird biology (physiology, evolution, adaptation, behavior) while the second part takes a close look at individual bird families, describing birds groups such as loons, grebes, albatrosses, larks, nuthatches, and dozens more.

"The central theme of bird evolution is flight. Most avian features can be related back to this fundamental adaptation. The avian forelimbs are dedicated almost entirely to aerial flight, for instance. To meet the diverse demands of survival without hands, birds have been subject to a fascinating evolutionary makeover." ~ 'The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior', page 15

'The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior' is a staple ingredient for any birder's library. It extends beyond the 'nuts & bolts' of 'Sibley's Birding Basics' yet retains the same approachable writing style that encourages readers to explore the book's many topics.

My one disappointment with the book is that the authors do not cite their sources directly in the text and instead direct readers to look up sources at www.sibleyart.com. This isn't a problem if you have access to the internet, but if you don't have such access, it becomes a cumbersome process to identify a reference for a particular portion of the text.

But overall, the text is well worth reading and is a valuable tool to help teach the basics of bird biology and behavior.

I recommend this book to intermediate level bird watchers and animal enthusiasts interested in learning more about bird biology and behavior. The second part of the book focuses on the birds of North America but the first part of the book applies to a broader scope of species.