Collins Bird Guide

Product Information

Eleven pages of introductory material are followed by the book's main content: 366 pages of text and colour paintings. Covering the characteristics of anatomy, life cycle, and behaviour, and providing a survey of the habitats in which birds live, RSPB Birds of Britain and Europe is an essential reference for the novice twitcher or the long-time birder.

Numerose specie aggiunte alla seconda edizione, ma anche numerosi disegni in più sparsi in tutta la guida. Er enthält einführend jeweils zu Beginn der Kapitel zu den einzelnen Vogelfamilien kurze, aber prägnante Erläuterungen zur Biologie und zur Ökologie sowie zum Verhalten der zur Familie gehörenden Vogelarten. Common birds are then identified using six descriptive groups: seabirds, waders, birds of prey, game birds, woodpeckers and other exotic-looking birds and passerine (perching) birds.

Designed as a field companion, it supplements the standard field guides and provides much additional information. Inside this hefty hardback book, G J Huisman has compiled an unprecedented photographic, descriptive and factual guide to all 34 genera of these extraordinary finches over 369 pages. I gave up several times before realising I needed to continue scrolling through, which is unhelpful in the field.

Illustrated with specially commissioned photography and maps to show where in Britain the birds are found and at what time of year, this accessible guide also features cross-references to similar-looking species, containing everything a birdwatcher needs to know in one, easy-to-use, portable volume. Similar developments in the understanding of the status of the region's birds are also reflected – for example, the discovery of breeding Saunders's Tern in Egypt in 2012 sees this species now included in the third edition. This book is more technical than some others like the Princeton wildguides Europe's Birds (unquestionably the best ID guide on European birds), but is extremely useful regardless. Although open to debate in many cases, I was personally a little surprised to see the black-eared wheatears retained as a single species, especially given that close attention had been paid to revising the illustrations for these two taxa.It covers all the rare and scarce birds that have occurred in Britain and Ireland four times or more, as of February 2015. It covers the whole of the Russian Arctic, China, Tibet, Japan and the whole of Europe - the most popular birdwatching area in the world. Each species entry also has: notes and cross-references to detailed field information that will further help you to make an accurate identification; a handy guide to show you the likelihood of spotting each species; size comparison to familiar species; and information on when you are most likely to see each species and the habitat in which it occurs. There are at least six illustrations of each species and Peter Hayman's unique painting style brings the birds to life. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

It was a resounding success in its first two incarnations and the indications are that the third edition – initially published as a hardback version in November 2022, but now also available in paperback – is set to continue this trend. Maybe it has an embargo against reintroduced specimens, but other birds eg the capercaillie are entirely descended from reintroductions in the UK, as are bearded vultures in the Alps (which it has no problem showing there).

Stunning photos show adults in typical plumage, with male, female, juvenile and summer or winter variations helping you to identify birds in the field quickly and easily. The combination of definitive text, up-to-date distribution maps and superb illustrations, all in a single volume, makes this book the ultimate field guide, essential on every bookshelf and birdwatching trip.