Kind of off-topic, but since bird books were mentioned...
I just bought a copy of "Sibley Birds West" to replace my 1966 copy of "Birds of North America." All I can say is WOW! The number of bird drawings and info packed into 477 pages is incredible. Too much, perhaps, as the typeface is pretty tiny for a senior's eyes. The illustrations - all by Sibley - are simply awesome. He depicts birds in flight that you'd normally see flying, and ground birds walking. Usually both ways. Raptors in particular are shown in great detail, both juvenile and adult.
My level of bird identification would require a book divided into "Little brown ones" "Big brown ones" "Little kinda yellow ones" and so on...So this volume is a LOT more sophisticated than I need, but it is a joy to simply page through.
