March 14, 2014

David Sibley

Harvard Book Store and Mass Audubon welcome naturalist and bestselling author DAVID SIBLEY, and CHRISTOPHER LEAHY, Gerard A. Bertrand Chair of Natural History and Field Ornithology at Mass Audubon, for a discussion of the second edition of The Sibley Guide to Birds.

Details

The publication of The Sibley Guide to Birds in 2000 quickly established David Allen Sibley as the author and illustrator of the nation’s supreme and most comprehensive guide to birds. Used by millions of birders from novices to the most expert, The Sibley Guide became the standard by which natural history guides are measured. The highly anticipated second edition builds on this foundation of excellence, offering massively expanded and updated information, new paintings, new and rare species, and a new, elegant design.

The second edition offers a wealth of improvements and updates:

  • All illustrations reproduced 15 to 20 percent larger for better detail.
  • Includes nearly 7,000 paintings digitally remastered from original art for enhanced print quality.
  • Expanded text includes habitat information and voice description for every species and more tips on finding birds in the field.
  • More than 600 new paintings, including illustrations of 115 rare species and additional paintings of common species and regional populations.
  • More than 700 updated maps of ranges, showing winter, summer, year-round, migration, and rare ranges.
  • 85 bird family pages now cross-referenced to species accounts.
  • Revised taxonomic order and most current common names for every species.

The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition, brings the genius of David Allen Sibley to the world once again in a thoroughly updated and expanded volume that every birder must own. 

About Author(s)

Artist, writer, and naturalist David Allen Sibley is the author and illustrator of a series of successful guides to nature, including the New York Times best-sellerThe Sibley Guide to Birds. He has traveled extensively throughout North America and abroad as a birding tour leader and lecturer. Sibley has contributed art and articles to Smithsonian, Science, The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, Birding, and North American Birds, and he wrote and illustrated a syndicated column for The New York Times. He is the recipient of the Roger Tory Peterson Award for Lifetime Achievement from the American Birding Association and the LinnaeanSociety of New York’s Eisenmann Medal. He lives in Concord, Massachusetts.

Christopher Leahy currently holds the Gerard A. Bertrand Chair of Natural History and Field Ornithology at Mass Audubon. He has been a professional conservationist for more than thirty years and served as Director of Mass Audubon’s Center for Biological Conservation. His interests in natural history are comprehensive, and he is a recognized authority on birds and insects. His published works include: Birdwatcher's Companion to North American BirdlifeThe First Guide to Insects, Introduction to New England BirdsAn Introduction to Massachusetts Insects, and The Nature of Massachusetts. He is also the editor of a series of authoritative books on the flora and fauna of New England.