News - Category Archive

I wish I could attend these two events, but alas, I will be at home, far away from either. But if you’re any closer, check them out!

First, Rick Wright announced that there will be a panel discussion on field guides at the Tucson Festival of Books on Saturday, March 13. Wright will be joined by well-known birder and author Jon Dunn, along with Elizabeth Rosenthal, the author of the Roger Tory Peterson biography Birdwatcher. More details are here.

Across the country, the American Museum of Natural History in New York is hosting an evening devoted to the recently released anthology of bird poetry, Bright Wings. Some poets will be there, of course, along with David Allen Sibley, whose paintings grace the book. The event will be at the museum on Wednesday, March 10 at 6:30 pm. More details.

You knew it was bound to happen. Earlier this month, The Sibley eGuide to the Birds of North America iPhone app was released.

I think the Sibley guide (the printed one) is the best North American field guide, and I am pleased to see that it is now available in a digital format. I will be posting a full review sometime soon, but in the meantime I’ve added a brief description and comparison to iBird in my iPhone Bird Guide Comparison.

I’ve finally created a Facebook page for The Birder’s Library. I’m still trying to figure out the best usage of it, so if anyone has something they’d like to see there, please let me know. Feel free to add a discussion, or comment on the Wall. You should be able to do that if you have a Facebook account and become a fan of the page. But everyone should be able to view it.

And please check out my status update to help decide what gets reviewed next.

The Well-read Naturalist just posted about a new FTC ruling regarding endorsement disclosures. The intent seems to be to make sure that relationships “between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed”. We’ve all seen celebrities endorse products in commercials, on talk shows, etc, without being clear if this is their own opinion, or if they’re just getting paid to say it. Online, there are all kinds of websites talking about products. Sometimes it is hard to tell if they are by a legitimate third party, or just some kind of shill-site created by the manufacturer.

It’s hard to argue against attempting to clear these muddy waters. But these guidelines seem ambiguous to me, such that I wasn’t sure at first if they would apply to a site like mine. After looking through them more, I think they might. Regardless, as annoying as it is, in a situation like this I’d rather be safe than sorry.

I do not get paid to write reviews, or receive any sort of payment from publishers. However, I do receive complementary review copies from publishers and authors. Many of the books I review now are such review copies. But whether a book I review is sent to me by the publisher or bought with my own money, it does not affect how I review it. I don’t do this to get free books; I just want to provide a service for fellow bird bibliophiles. Honestly, when I started this site almost three years ago, it never even occurred to me that I would eventually be getting free review copies.

To comply with the FTC, I will now add a statement to each review where the product was provided by the publisher or author. And I will be going back and doing the same to previous reviews.

The Sibley Guide to Trees

by David Allen Sibley
September 15, 2009; $39.95

Nine years ago, The Sibley Guide to Birds was published and quickly became generally regarded as the best North American field guide. And now Sibley turns his tremendous talent to a very different group of organisms.

The Birder’s World magazine blog has an excellent multi-part interview with Sibley. In it, he discusses why trees, the process of creating the guide, why birders will enjoy it, and much more. It’s a fascinating interview, and made me really look forward to the guide. Amazon also has a video interview.

I’m very excited about this, since I’ve been telling myself for some time that I need to learn trees better.

Trogons: A Natural History of the Trogonidae

by Joseph M. Forshaw

I love trogons, and the description of this new book left me drooling:

This is the definitive natural history of the spectacularly beautiful tropical birds known as the trogons, a family that includes the legendary Resplendent Quetzal, the sacred bird of the ancient Mayans and Aztecs. A collaboration between renowned ornithologist Joseph Forshaw and eminent bird artist Albert Gilbert, Trogons combines science and art to create an unprecedented picture of a threatened bird family. Forshaw’s text provides the most authoritative and comprehensive account of the trogons ever written, and Gilbert’s stunning paintings are the first to accurately depict all species of trogons in their natural habitats and true colors. The book’s detailed synthesis of current knowledge about the trogons is enriched by Forshaw’s personal field observations in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Americas, while Gilbert’s meticulous artwork is based on fieldwork in the same areas. With its large format, more than 40 full-color plates, and state-of-the-art five-color printing, this limited-edition book promises to become a classic and a collector’s item.

However, there are some over at BirdForum that were leery of the artwork. After seeing a couple of sample plates, I can see why.

But I went ahead and ordered it anyway. The trogons are one of my favorite families, and I couldn’t resist. Additionally, this is a limited edition, with only 700 copies available in the U.S. and another 700 for the rest of the world. I hope publishers don’t read this, but I’m a sucker for limited editions.

As soon as I get this, I’ll post my initial thoughts as soon as I can. But in the meantime, if you think you will eventually want a copy, I would suggest ordering it sooner rather than later. Amazon currently shows only one left in stock. I have no idea if they will be receiving any more. But given how much it costs, I wouldn’t blame anyone from holding off until they can see it first!

I’ve been pretty busy lately and haven’t had enough time to write reviews. I’m hoping that will change soon. But in the meantime, here are some thoughts on some recently published bird books.

• Life List: A Woman’s Quest for the World’s Most Amazing Birds
  Olivia Gentile

  This is an excellent biography of uber-birder and lister Phoebe Snetsinger. I have already written a review of Birding on Borrowed Time, Phoebe’s memoir, and I was curious to see how this biography would compare. Briefly, in just about every regard, I consider this bio as superior. I would recommend starting with it.

• Birdscapes: Birds in Our Imagination and Experience
  Jeremy Mynott

  My favorite bird book from last year was The Life of the Skies. I’m less than 50 pages into Birdscapes, but so far it reminds me very much of Life of the Skies. It may touch upon some of the same subjects, but it’s really the way that it makes you question things, and really think. I’m going to make a bold prediction and say that this may be my frontrunner for favorite book of 2009 – I’m enjoying it that much so far.

• Birdsong by the Seasons: A Year of Listening to Birds
  Donald Kroodsma

  Kroodsma’s The Singing Life of Birds is fantastic, and should be required reading for anyone interested in bird song. This book, which is a celebration of birdsong from January to December, looks like it could be just as good.

• Flyaway: How A Wild Bird Rehabber Sought Adventure and Found Her Wings
  Suzie Gilbert

  A verteran bird rehabber chronicles her experiences with injured birds. This looks like an interesting story, all the more so because it’s a subject that is underrepresented in birding literature.

• National Geographic Complete Birds of the World

  This guide presents an account for each of the world’s bird families, similar to The Princeton Encyclopedia of Birds. I’ve only had a chance to skim through this one, but my initial impression is that if, given the choice, I’d take the one from Princeton.

• The Travails of Two Woodpeckers: Ivory-Bills and Imperials
  Noel F. R. Snyder, David E. Brown, Kevin B. Clark

  I believe the title says it all. Snyder has written books on several other extinct and endangered species, and I’m interested in his take on these two.

The blog 10,000 Birds is giving a way a copy of Corvus: A Life with Birds. The contest ends April 26.

Giveaway at 10,000 Birds

Update, Dec 13, 2009: Apparently, the Sibley Online Guide has been taken down. I have no idea why.

Update, Feb 28, 2010: The site’s disappearing act may have something to do with the new Sibley iPhone app.

The Sibley Guide to Birds is now available online. And this isn’t just some abbreviated version, it’s just about the entire “big” Sibley! The species accounts include everything from the printed version, including all of the illustrations (with the invaluable annotations), range map, and text. As a bonus, it also includes an audio sample.

You can search for birds both by family and by typing in any part of the name in a search box. The interface isn’t as nifty as Cornell’s All About Birds, but it is simple and intuitive.

There’s also a reference section that includes some material from The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior

I wouldn’t give up my printed Sibley guide for anything. But I can see this online version being very useful at times when your hardcopy isn’t available. And if you don’t already have this guide? Then check out this online version and see what you’ve been missing.

A big thanks to John from A DC Birding Blog for bringing this to my attention.

This book, by Andrew Nikiforuk, is available for free as a pdf download. You need to hurry, though, it’s only available through March 20 (that’s tomorrow, as I write this).

This is a very important, and controversial, issue that directly impacts birds and other wildlife, and indirectly affects every living thing on this planet. Here is some more information on the book:

Canada has one third of the world’s oil source; it comes from the bitumen in the oil sands of Alberta. Advancements in technology and frenzied development have created the world’s largest energy project in Fort McMurray where, rather than shooting up like a fountain in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, the sticky bitumen is extracted from the earth. Providing almost 20 percent of America’s fuel, much of this dirty oil is being processed in refineries in the Midwest. This out-of-control megaproject is polluting the air, poisoning the water, and destroying boreal forest at a rate almost too rapid to be imagined. In this hard-hitting book, journalist Andrew Nikiforuk exposes the disastrous environmental, social, and political costs of the tar sands and argues forcefully for change.

The Boreal Songbird Initiative has further information about the book and the giveaway.