Sibley’s Birding Basics is not a guidebook similar to The Sibley Guide to Birds but rather an introduction to Birding meant for beginners (and intermediates alike). This Basics guide was originally published in 2002 and has gone through multiple printings since then. A thorough background on David Allen Sibley, the author, is not needed here as he is a pioneer of current birding culture, but it is remarkable to see the care he puts into every one of his books. Beyond the valuable information jampacked into a 154 Christmas stocking-size book, it is the art that draws your eye and awe. There are 200 individual illustrations in Sibley’s Birding Basics that play a critical role in understanding the topics at hand. It is invaluable to be physically able to see the individual feathers and molts when Sibley is talking about properly aging a bird or using it as a reference to ensure that we are on the same page when primary feathers are mentioned.
This book is marketed to beginners so they can get a better understanding of the greater dynamic of birding when getting started. The first few chapters, in particular, can be beneficial to those just starting as Sibley lays out the groundwork of what birding is and the challenges that come along with this hobby. The expectation setting that there can (will) be difficulties and a learning curve associated with progressing in birding is something that I wish I had when I started birding. Something is refreshing about telling beginners what to expect and then how to overcome those difficulties without necessarily including a “become an expert quick” trick to keep beginners engaged. Throughout the book, Sibley talks about gaining experience and stresses the importance of getting out there seeing birds, and working through the process of identification. We obviously would all love to become experts overnight in the first few weeks of a new hobby but it isn’t possible without taking the reps over and over again.
“It is only through experience that you will be able to develop the detailed mental image of each species that is necessary for rapid identification. You should seek out more experience whenever possible, making an effort to see each species in different seasons or habitats.”
While Sibley’s Birding Basics is marketed at beginners there are some aspects to this book that will be overwhelming at times to those just starting. When I began birding two years ago, I did not invest much time in the skeleton or feather system of birds and if I did I’m not sure if I would have been incredibly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information. The 2nd half of Sibley’s Birding Basics does cover the skeleton system and in particular the feather groups. There is an incredible amount of information here and one that will only really stick when used in conjunction with seeing the birds in the field. Feather groups and molt systems were not something that I knew more than the bare minimum to be able to identify a bird in the field when starting this book but the way that Sibley presented the information, and especially the illustrations, opened a desire to lean into the unknown and start leaning more. At the very core that is what this book is about, opening the eyes of birders and helping them get more comfortable and confident in this hobby.
