The son of Yale University ornithologist Fred Sibley, David Sibley began birding in childhood. A largely self-taught bird illustrator, he was inspired to pursue creating his own illustrated field guide after leading tours in the 1980s and 1990s and finding that existing field guides did not generally illustrate or describe alternate or juvenile plumages of birds. He cites European wildlife artist Lars Jonsson as a great influence on his own work.

Sibley is married, with two sons, and currently lives in Concord, Massachusetts. He is not known to be related to ornithologist Charles Sibley, although his father studied under and worked for Charles at Yale. Charles did some genealogical research but found they could be no closer than fourth cousins.

The following is a list of publications which Sibley has written or illustrated:

• The Birds of Cape May
• Sibley's Birding Basics
• The Sibley Guide to Birds
• The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior
• The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America
• The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America
• Hawks in Flight
• The Sibley Guide to Trees
• An Illustrated Anthology of Poems About Birds, edited by Billy Collins