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Two new bird books



The following rather rambling discussions or reviews of two new birding
books are from Tweeters, a birding listserv in Seattle.  I apologize if
this is old news.


Kenn Kaufman. Focus Guide to the Birds of North America
(this is $16.00 plus shipping on Amazon.com)

NAS Sibley Guide to Birds (Audubon Society Nature Guides Ser.)
(this is $28.00 plus shipping from Amazon.com)

From Kenn Kaufman: To my friends in the birding world --

I hate to be sending out something that looks like a form letter. But this 
year I've been completely out of touch with almost all my birding friends -- 
didn't even make the ABA convention this year, for the first time since 1978 
-- and I wanted to try to catch up a little.  

Mostly I've been out of circulation because I'm heavily involved in a new 
book project.  Until recently, the publisher had asked me not to discuss it 
widely.  You may have heard rumors.  I'm writing to confirm the rumors,and 
to dispel the false impression that seems to go with them.  

Yes, I'm working on a field guide.  A guide to all birds, all of North 
America.  But birders I've told so far have jumped to the same conclusion: 
this book should be big, advanced, cutting-edge, filled with new details,  
pushing the limits of identifying subspecies and rarities. There seems to be 
a universal perception that all field guides should strive for that. 
Actually, I'm going the opposite direction. This note is to explain some of 
my rationale in advance.  

Here's my starting point.  Say I have some friends who are sharp, 
intelligent, curious people, and they've decided to try birding... but on 
their own, not going with organized trips.  What field guide do I recommend 
to them?  

Well -- at the moment, there isn't a good one to recommend.  The Petersons 
come closest, but they're drifting out of date, and the separation of plates 
and maps is irksome.  The Golden Guide is out of date, and problems with its 
illustrations are well known.  We all know that photo guides, the way 
they've been done in the past, aren't effective for identification.  The 
National Geographic is great for experts, but it is very clearly and 
pointedly not meant for new birders.  And I'm looking forward to the Sibley 
guide as much as anyone, but at two volumes and eight or nine hundred pages, 
it won't be something for casual birders to toss in the daypack.  

For my friends who are just getting into birds, there is not a good guide to 
recommend.  So I'm working on such a book now.  (There are good people 
working with me on it, too, but I'm the one who will take the blame for 
anything wrong with it, hence the first-person tone of this note.)  

To get started on the book, I had to make basic decisions. Fortunately, in 
the nine years since my Advanced Birding was published, I've spent loads of 
time talking to casual or beginning birders, so I had a basis for deciding 
questions like these:  

Should the book include only common birds?  My answer is, No. Everything 
that occurs regularly has to be there.  Even a total beginner will wonder, 
"Could it be something else?"  

Should the book include extreme rarities?  Generally, no. Particularly not 
Attu specialties; anyone who goes vagrant-hunting in Alaska will go with 
experienced leaders or will carry more heavy-duty references. Ditto for very 
rare pelagics; no one sees those on their own.  Ditto for those that are 
very hard to identify; inexperienced birders should not even be thinking 
about Little Stints -- only a minority of birders have even worked out the 
differences between Leasts and Semis.  The more extreme rarities are 
included, the more likely people are to be confused or to misidentify what 
they see.  

Should the book be arranged in the latest AOU sequence?  Not when it means 
that similar species won't be close together.  The purpose of a guide, 
obviously, is not to teach checklist order (which will change again anyway); 
it's to allow people to put names on birds.  

Should the book show subtle differences among subspecies?  Yes if these 
affect the identification to species; otherwise, no.  You and I may care 
about the race of a Spotted Towhee, but 99.9 per cent of birdwatchers are 
happy to get it to species.  Some recent books make people think they can 
identify birds to subspecies in cases where they really can't.  

Should the book show subtle age and gender differences?  Again, only if the 
differences are noticeable enough to make people wonder about the speces 
identification.  Some recent books make people think they can identify birds 
to age and sex in cases where they really can't.  

With these points in mind, I'm working on a field guide that's intended to 
be complete but compact, highly accurate without being overwhelmingly 
detailed, with thorough attention to the basics and with the attitude that 
these birds are all exciting and worth seeing.  

I already know that some experts (especially those who deal with the public) 
will welcome a high-quality, entry-level guide.  But some will insist that 
every beginner should start with an advanced field guide. think that idea is 
based on a false perception of the typical beginner. The typical beginner is 
not Claudia Wilds on her first Chincoteague survey, or Steve Howell on his 
first Mexico trip.  And I'm certainly not talking about kids, like some of 
these amazing kid birders in ABA today.  A youngster who gets into it, with 
all that time and energy, may build their skill and knowledge very rapidly --
 it's misleading to think of them as "beginners."  

No, the typical beginner -- the one who makes up 99.9 per cent of the bird 
watching public -- has other interests besides birds, and other demands on 
his/her time, and will never be able to devote a lot of time to developing 
their skill.  The typical beginner will never become an expert, AND THERE IS 
NO REASON WHY THEY SHOULD.  The purpose of a standard field guide should NOT 
be to turn beginners into experts, but rather to help people enjoy birding.  


Why do I care so much about beginning / casual birders?   Simple answer. 
Bird habitats face monumental threats.  Birds and nature need all the 
friends they can get.  Someone who's totally thrilled by their first Yellow 
Warbler today may vote in favor of habitat protection tomorrow. Anyone who 
cares about conservation should want birding to be  as open and welcoming 
and inclusive as possible.  We need to cater to the entry level, the first 
step -- not insist that everyone should learn to swim by being dumped into 
the deep end of the pool.  

So that's my new focus. It's coming along well.  I'm already resigned to the 
inevitable:  some short-sighted hotshots will write blistering reviews of my 
new field guide merely because it's not intended for experts. (Fair is fair -
- I did the same thing to Roger when his revised eastern guide came out two 
decades ago.)  But regardless, I wanted to let you know what I was working 
on before the news gets out to the general birding public.  

Kenn Kaufman


_______________________________________________________________

Subject: New Sibley field guide
Author:  "ORNITH-L: the scientific discussion of Ornithology"
 at @internet
Date:    9/13/00 8:24 AM


I went to Jerry Connolly's Audubon Shop in Madison, CT today to buy the
new Kenn Kaufman field guide, which had just arrived. It is interesting,
but what really got my attention was a copy of the new, and long awaited,
bird guide by David Sibley. Jerry obtained a copy of this guide well in
advance of its October 10 release date and has already had a chance to
test it while birding in the western US. In a word, WOW!

To be honest, I had not raised my hopes too high in anticipation of this
guide. The reason is that, although David us undeniably one of the best, if
not THE best - and many think he IS the best -- birder in North America and
has proven to be an excellent artist, David just doesn't talk much. I ran
into David many years ago while he was working on this book and talked to
him about it. I was left with the impression that the emphasis would be on
the bird art and that text would be as taciturn as David. But this is not
the case, the guide contains a great deal of art and alsocontains an
impressive amount of text. It appears to have it all.

Jerry Connolly's opinion is that the Sibley guide just blows away
everything else. Please note, that this message from me is not to be
considered a review of the book, I looked at it only superficially and only
for a short period of time. Nevertheless, my first impression of it is,
again, WOW! I eagerly look forward to reading reviews of the Sibley guide
by knowledgable persons after they have taken the time to study it
carefully. This book is sure to test the knowledge of the best
ornithologists and birders in the world. Jerry was eager to show me
Sibley's illustration of a Botteri's Sparrow, which Jerry had just used to
ID a Botteri's in the field. The illustration looked just like the bird
Jerry saw, he said; then Jerry turned to illustrations of the same species
in the NGS guide (3rd ed.), which did not look anything like Sibley's
illustration or what Jerry saw out West. No wonder I had trouble with that
species on my last trip to its habitat!

The Sibley guide is large, much larger than the NGS guide. It is not field
guide size at all and most certainly is not a "pocket guide." It promises
to challenge even the largest coat pockets - I know some birders buy their
coats based on the coat's pockets' ability to hold favorite guides (and
snacks). Well, good luck finding a coat for this one! The size of this
guide is sure to put some people off. However, for the serious birders the
information in this book is worth packing it around. And, best of all, it
costs only $35.00 retail. I consider this a tremendous bargain.

As mentioned above, the release date of the Sibley guide is October 10.
David Sibley is to be in New York on that day to give a talk, "The Making
of A Field Guide," although I don't know where this will take place. I
understand that he will be on all the morning talk shows that day as the
publisher is investing quite a large sum of money in publicity for this
book. Book signings will take place then.

David will then travel to Guilford, CT (my home town!!!) on October 11,
where he will again give his talk at the monthly meeting of the
Menunkatuck Audubon Society. The talk will take place from 7:30 pm to 8:30
pm at the Nathanael B. Greene Community Center in Guilford, on Route 77
South. This is a few hundred yards from the Guilford Green. From I-95,
take Exit 58 and turn south. David will be available during the one hour
before his talk and during the one hour after his talk to sign copies of
his new guide. Thus, the event is scheduled from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm. Jerry
Connolly has arranged the whole affair and will have a couple hundred
copies of the Sibley guide available for purchase. Many people, like
myself, are already reserving copies. Some people are reserving two
copies, one to use, the other to rat hole for the future, this being the
first printing of the first edition of a guide that many think will be on
par with Roger Tory Peterson's first guide as a collectable. The publisher
is marketing a trail from Audubon through Peterson to Sibley! Thus,
those familiar with this guide think it is BIG -- and it appears to me
that they just might be correct. If you wish to reserve a signed copy of
this book, you can contact Jerry at: (203) 245-9056 or 1-888-505-9056 or
fax (203) 245-8235 or by e-mail at: jjconn@ix.netcom.com  [I do not profit
in any way from this book.] The book will be sold at a 10% discount the
night of David's talk in Guilford -- I don't know if the discount applies
to non-members of Menunkatuck Audubon Society outside of that night. All
copies of the original shipment of this guide sold by Jerry will be signed
copies. The Menunkatuck Audubon Society meeting is free and open to all.
Parking is free. Expect standing room only crowds.

I understand also that on October 12 David will have another book signing
and slide lecture in Boston. Thus New York (Oct. 10), Guilford, CT (Oct.
11), and Boston (Oct. 12). I do not have details on times and locations
for New York and Boston. Nor do I have knowledge on signings that may
occur after these three dates. For those of you thinking about coming to
from out of the area to New England for these events, know that the peak
of the fall foliage season in southern New England is around the second
week of October and we expect very good color this year on account of
the weather we've had this summer.

If you are considering coming to the Guilford book signing, you may be
interested to know that many other "big named" birders may possibly be
present as there is quite a bit of birding talent in this area, including
numerous other authors and well-known bird photographers. I know,
for example, that Noble Proctor will be present, but I can not speak for
certain about anyone else at this time.

It is too bad that Kenn Kaufman's guide came out so close to the Sibley
guide as it is destined to be overshadowed by it. However, don't overlook
the Kaufman guide. It employs digitally enhanced photos of birds. Although
I purchased a copy of it today, I spent my time looking at the Sibley
guide and can not comment on Kaufman at this time, other than to say that
it costs an even $20.00 - a fair price. The two guides are very different
and are aimed at different end users, Sibley being for the more advanced.
It is possible that between these two new guides many others will be
shelved. However, I feel that the venerable old Peterson guide will enjoy
a long life yet.

The Sibley guide was worth the wait.

Please feel free to cross post this announcement to other lists.

Byron
******************************************************************
Byron K. Butler         "A liberal education ... frees a man from
58 Windfall Lane        the prison-house of his class, race, time,
Guilford, CT 06437      place, background, family and even his
byron.butler@yale.edu   nation."     ---  Robert Maynard Hutchins
******************************************************************


Diane McKenzie
diane_mckenzie@unc.edu

Health Sciences Library CB# 7585
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill NC  27599
Phone:  919-966-1776
Fax: 919-966-1388