SIBLEY'S NEW GUIDE: A "MUST HAVE" (10/12/01)

Last year David Sibley presented to the birding world “The Sibley Guide to Birds.” The New York Times had these glowing words for this original format of a guide to identifying North America’s birds: “Once in a great while, a natural history book changes the way people look at the world. In 1838, John James Audubon’s Birds of America was one... In 1934, Roger Tory Peterson produced Field Guide to the Birds ... Now comes the Sibley Guide to Birds.”

There is no higher praise that one could reap! Now, just one year later, Sibley has produced another astonishing book, The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. At last, here is a detailed treatise on the subjects for which most people want information. This comprehensive guide provides everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the life cycles, courtship, nest-building, migration, feeding and other activities of the 80 families of North American birds.

One of the nice features of birdwatching is that the more you learn, the more you want to know. Whether you are mainly a backyard birder or one who travels either locally of further afield, questions about bird behavior are endless. Why does such and such happen? How are birds able to perform this and that?

This guide is divided into two sections. The first, is a basic overview of bird biology. This broad subject explains how birds’ bodies work, bird evolution, behavior, habitats and conservation. The second part treats the the families of birds that occur in North America, each written by expert birders and ornithologists. Here, too, you’ll find a recurrent theme of the multiple conservation problems that birds face. We on Cape Cod can certainly relate to that concern, as less and less habitat is available for birds to nest and feed in. What happens to them?

Let’s take a look at some of the material in Part I. Flight, of course, is one of the main attributes that separates birds from most other creatures, but how do birds do it? How does the laying of eggs relate to flight? Most mammals use their forelimbs to accomplish tasks. Birds use their bills and feet for many types of tasks. How many examples can you give?

Back to flight for a bit. Whenever I teach a class on birds to young children, I always start by bringing a bunch of turkey feathers, one for each child. First, I let them play with them and examine them. I take my feather and mess it all up by running my thumb and forefinger from top to bottom. This produces a very messy feather, a little more disheveled than what a bird in the wild has to clean up, but not too far from reality. Birds use their beaks to keep their feathers in order; you know this action as preening.

So what if birds’ feathers are in disarray. Does it really matter? If you cannot answer this yourself, Sibley will do it for you. How many reasons can you think of why feathers are important to birds? I make children struggle to come up with the answers, and they usually do, especially when I help them by showing pictures of birds in different settings.

I also do a lesson on birds’ feet, as does Sibley. At first, you might not think of that as a complex subject, but it is. Actually, I’ve been planning a whole column devoted just to birds’ bills and their feet, so I won’t say much about them here. Other subjects that Sibley covers that generally interest folks are about birds’ hearing, taste and smell and their intelligence.

What is the origin of birds? Did they evolve from reptiles? David gives you the latest scientific thinking on this subject. He then explains how the various bird species originated and the methods scientists use to classify each, including the latest uses of DNA to resolve hybridization questions. However, when he gets into birds’ behaviors, starting with the ways that birds acquire and recognize food, he touches on a subject that many people will find extremely interesting.

Since I am often asked questions about migration, these passages (no pun intended!) should be of profound interest to many. He covers the why and how of migration, including how birds navigate and orient themselves. How can birds born in the Arctic in June possibly find their way without the help of their parents or other adults to their wintering sites in Latin America, many thousands of miles away? This is one of those topics about which none of us can tire of reading.

Part two, detailed descriptions of each species’ specific abilities in navigating their world is where I will turn again and again to gain more knowledge on the life of birds. I’m sure you will, too,

Regardless of your standing as a birder — from beginner to advanced — you will learn much from Sibley. Furthermore, you won’t have to check out my Frequently Asked Questions anymore, as you will know all the answers! Sibley’s latest book is scheduled for publication in October, so be sure to watch for it!