Product Description

A field guide to all the non-passerines or songbirds found from Britain, eastwards to Japan, and as far south as the Sahara and Himalayas. Perfect for the travelling birdwatcher! This is the essential companion for the keen birdwatcher. Together with the volume on passerines, published in 2007, this book covers all the non-perching birds of the Palearctic, a zoographical area running from the British Isles eastwards to Japan, with its southern border marked by the Sahara, the Middle Eastern deserts, and the Himalayas. It covers the whole of the Russian Arctic, China, Tibet, Japan and the whole of Europe -- the most popular birdwatching area in the world. Every non-passerine species found in this wide area is illustrated in every plumage in which they can be seen in the wild. Author and illustrator Norman Arlott is one of the world's leading bird artists and has seen nearly all of the 1,800 species featured. The accompanying text concentrates on the specific characteristics and appearance of each species that allow identification in the field, including voice. Every species will also have a distribution map -- in many cases the first time this has been compiled for the area.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107502 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

About the Author
Wildlife artist Norman Arlott has illustrated nearly 100 books and his artwork regularly appears in magazines. He has designed special bird stamp issues for countries including Jamaica, Bahamas, Seychelles, British Virgin Islands, The Gambia, Malawi and Christmas Island. He has also led ornithology tours to East Africa.

Customer Reviews

Collins Field Guide: Birds of the Palearctic - Non-Passerines
Following the arrival in 2007 of the Passerines half of this two-volume set I have been awaiting this book with interest. While I know that some reviewers have been critical of the lack of text, the great achievement of these books is that they illustrate every species in the Palearctic, which makes them a unique set.

Covering about 800 species, this book weighs just 450 grams, and will fit easily into your pocket. In order to achieve this the content has been carefully managed to fit the space. All of the birds are depicted on the right-hand page, facing to the left. I know some people hate that approach - but I really like it! Both male and female plumages are shown where there are differences, but juveniles are excluded. Such a decision is understandable for many species, but in the case of raptors and gulls it is unhelpful. Flight views are not generally shown, although are included for raptors and gulls, while tubenoses and swifts are only shown in flight. In my opinion It would have been helpful to show wildfowl in flight too. Waders and gulls are shown in both breeding and non-breeding plumages. Colour morphs and significant races are also shown in a number of cases. The text is located on the facing page and gives brief notes on plumage, vocalisations and habitat.

The Passerines volume suffered from rather dark printing, but these illustrations are fine. Norman Arlott has included every species that has ever occurred in the Palearctic up to the close of 2007 including vagrants from North America, and parts of Africa and Asia not within the Palearctic region.

Colour maps are included at the back of the book and cover all species except vagrants. I like these as they are all the same size and allow immediate comparisons to be made between related species. They also show distribution well beyond the southern limits of the Palearctic, which is helpful. However, in common with so many recent books, these do not indicate migration routes.

While the breeding ranges shown may be reliable, those familiar with the eastern Arabia (the UAE and Oman) will notice that a number of birds that winter there in good numbers (for example Grey Heron, Little Egret, Steppe Eagle, Pacific Golden Plover) are not shown as being present. I have not tried to analyse the maps in detail, but in a check of the first few pages I noticed errors including Cattle Egret (not shown breeding in France), Great White Egret (not shown wintering in France or Egypt), Glossy Ibis (not shown breeding in Spain).

Norman Arlott has chosen to use more traditional names rather than follow recently publicised changes. However I am perplexed over the decision to rename Grey Heron back to "Heron". There are a few typographical errors - Amami Woodcock has ended up as "Amani Woodcock", and Pacific Golden Plover is "Pacific Plover".

Birders are well-served by field guides for most destinations around the Northern Hemisphere, but those heading to more remote parts of the Palearctic such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Tibet have called for a book to help them. Now they have it in two handy volumes.