The Sibley Guide to Birds was published in 2000 – twenty-six years ago! I did a lot of touching-up of the original art for the second edition in 2014, but since 2020 most of my new work for the Sibley Birds app and other projects has been digital. I have decided to make some of […]
Original art from the Sibley Guide to Birds is now available Read More »
Summary: In practice virtually all will be identified presumptively by range. Positive identification depends on careful analysis of details of song (but questions remain about variation in song). Positive identification of silent birds is not possible on current knowledge. The Warbling Vireos were considered a single continent-wide species until 2025, when two species – Eastern
Identification of Eastern and Western Warbling Vireos Read More »
This morning (Oct 13, 2025) my Facebook page was hijacked and is being filled with spam AI videos. I am waiting for Facebook to restore control to me. In the meantime please spread the word to ignore those posts, and check back in a few days. Thanks for your support and patience. Stay healthy and
My Facebook page hijacked Read More »
This course has been taken offline while I transition to a new platform, hopefully returning soon! Estimating numbers of birds in flocks is a skill that we use a lot while birding, but something we rarely get to practice. And – it turns out – something we are really not very good at! I’ve
Test your skills at estimating numbers with a new course Read More »
I’ve just posted about 30 original gouache paintings for sale in the shop. Most of these were painted in 2016 for the app Song Sleuth, and show portraits of common birds singing. The rest are from the early 2000s and were painted for the NY Times syndicated newspaper column “Sibley on Birds” that was
New original art for sale in the Sibley Guides shop! Read More »
The 2023 Clements/eBird taxonomy update has just been announced, and the biggest surprise is that Cattle Egret will now be considered two species! Few people are familiar with variation in Cattle Egret, and while the split won’t have much impact on North American birders I thought it would be helpful to describe the differences. At
Two species of Cattle Egrets? Read More »
For North American birders the most consequential change in the 2021 AOS Checklist supplement is the split of Mew Gull into two species – Short-billed Gull and Common Gull. For most birders this simply means changing the name of the species on your list from Mew Gull to Short-billed Gull. The North American population, common
Mew Gull is now two species! How to identify Common Gull and Short-billed Gull Read More »
I was fortunate to be able to spend ten days in mid May 2021 on Great Gull Island, an American Museum of Natural History research site at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, New York. The island is occupied in summer by a very large colony of Common and Roseate Terns (among the largest
Common and Roseate Terns high overhead Read More »
On sale 17 November 2020 from Clarkson Potter – a new Backyard Birds Jigsaw Puzzle for $19.99 A 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle featuring 49 species of familiar North American birds, with original artwork by David Sibley. A fold-out poster of the puzzle image is also included!
A new puzzle for 2020! Read More »
A brand new line of greeting cards is now available from Earth Sky + Water. These 5 by 7 inch cards (blank inside, with envelopes) feature art and text from my newest book What It’s Like To Be A Bird, with a large image on the front and brief text from the book on the back.
New Product – A ten pack of greeting cards with art and text from my newest book Read More »