Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2000 10:27:37 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Henry Armistead <74077.3176@COMPUSERVE.COM> Subject: Sibley guide's future MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii The future seems to be the present. While writing a review of the Guide a lot of information has come my way about the process of creating it, which is an ongoing one. My apologies if any of this is more widely known than I am aware of. In this electronic age it is really exciting to have an author who encourages and solicits commentary so that we can help contribute to and even make incremental improvements to this superb guide more or less continuously. The present situation may very well be the most open, inclusive, and dynamic forum ever to exist for a natural history field guide. 1. The author was frustrated that more text was not included. In his words: "The completion of every book is the result of many compromises." Supplemental information, including some of the text that was omitted, will be available on Sibley's website: www.sibleyart.com. At this site he also provides a good, extensive explanation of why he handled subspecies the way he did, omitting Latin trinomials and using instead geographic terms such as tundra, interior west, central California, etc. I like this approach. 2. There will be a 2nd edition eventually. Even now Sibley plans to make changes and corrections in each new printing of the present Guide. There are also plans for several, derivative regional guides (at the very least East and West ones) as well as a "volume 2", the latter geared to a discussion of families and avian biology with c. 500 illustrations (c. half from the Guide), c. 600p., entitled: "The National Audubon Society Sibley Guide to the Birdlife of North America", with 5 extensive chapters (population, conservation, etc.), the chapters and family descriptions by some 40 contributors. "Vol. 2" will be out in a year, mas o menos, possibly menos. 3. Sibley encourages constructive commentary be sent to him at: david@sibleyart.com. However, certain topics he has already heard from sufficiently that he feels no further discussion will add anything new concerning the Guide's: 1) maps; 2) subspecies names; 3) molt and plumage nomenclature, i.e., the Humphrey-Parkes terminology vs. other systems of description. He is also very much aware, obviously, that the printing process left many reddish/rufous colors - call them what you will - too bright and reddish. He emphasizes that the dots on the maps are intended "to show continental patterns, not local records", that he is "working constantly to make corrections in each printing", and that, "I have lots to learn about bird identification" (sure. right). I'd imagine Sibley is being flooded with mail now, garnering compliments by the bushel. A suggestion: if you send him anything, you better "make it good" and try to steer clear of anything he may have heard about 37 times already. Will Russell, who was involved with the Guide, recently e-mailed me this comment: "My only caveat would be to beware of criticizing bird shapes drawn by the likes of Sibley and Jonsson. In almost every case where I thought they got it wrong, they didn't. I think they simply see things more clearly than the rest of us." This commentary derived from recent e-mail from Will, Joan Walsh (Mrs. Dave Sibley), George Armistead, and an extensive e-mail of Dave Sibley's someone forwarded to me, as well as a phone conversation I had today with one of the editors of "volume 2". However, I bear responsibility for posting this and all the comments made herein, which I hope contain no misinterpretations. Best to all.-Harry Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia, PA 19119. ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================