Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65591 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Synopsis
The only comprehensive, full-colour, pocket-sized guide to significant British and Northern European birds. This completely new edition of the best pocket-sized bird guide around uses both photography and original artwork to provide a practical and attractive identification guide. Collins Gem Birds has easy-to-use identification details linked to full-colour illustrations for over 200 European species, covering all those that most birdwatchers could expect to see in a lifetime. Each bird entry includes notes on appearance, colour and distinctive features, and information on juveniles, range and habitat, nests, call and breeding sites. In addition, an introduction covers general information on plumage, habitats and migration, and gives first-time birdwatchers advice on what equipment to buy and where to go to spot the most desirable species.

Customer Reviews

great book and so small
this book is great for people who have just got into bird watching and want to find them it has some good facts and it is so good that it has real pictures which is so good but be aware there is not that much information

Great Little Book

I have been reviewing some of the bird books that I have re-acquired recently. Modern printing techniques make the latest bird book offerings far superior to their older counterparts, the photographs and drawing almost 'fly' off the pages at you. But guess which one I use most of all, The Collins gem.

It is not the most comprehensive bird book in the world, although it does describe and illustrate 230 European species. It also gives details of appearance, habitat, nest and song and calls. It also gives a map of the areas in which particular species can usually be found. All this is excellent. The photographs are not the biggest, but adequate, but where this little beauty beats all the others, is it can stay with me all the time, because of its size (11 cms. deep x 8 cms. wide, and that is why I get more use out of it than anything else.

If I am out and about and see a bird I am not sure about, I look it up in this book and then if I can pin it down to a particular species I can look in one of my more comprehensive books at home and that is why it gets much more use than any of the others. I wouldn't be without it.