There must be 100’s of different bird guides available, but my favorite by far are the ones written and illustrated by master birder David Allen Sibley. Being an artist and having a love for painting of all types myself, probably has something to do with it. It’s hard to believe, but David hand-illustrated and painted every image in his guides, and I just love looking at them. According to the Audubon website he “painstakingly draws what he sees in the field—900 species for his most recent field guide—first in pencil and then in gouache paints. Sibley has been hailed as the heir to the great birder and artist Roger Tory Peterson, placing him in a long line of artist-naturalist hybrids that leads straight back to John James Audubon himself.”

Don’t get me wrong, photos of birds can be jaw-dropping. There is just artistry and uniformity to his paintings that I find very visually appealing. And the way all of the information is laid out works well and I find myself looking through the guide I have, cover to cover, over and over again. There is just so much to contemplate!

So if you have a bird feeder and are curious about what you are seeing, or if you want to get serious about birding, I highly recommend David’s books. When you get your hands on one I suspect you’ll appreciate the years of research and practice drawing and painting that obviously went into them. Birds are amazing and I’m grateful to have a guide to understand them better.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support.