Product Description

This new field guide offers a complete identification reference to all of the sandpipers, plovers, stints and other waders found in Europe, Asia and North America. The superb plates show birds at rest and in flight, in every plumage variant likely to be encountered in the region. Species have been grouped, especially on the flight plates, so that similar species are shown close to each other. Facing text summarises key identification pointers to complete a quick-reference, field-friendly guide to this difficult and challenging group.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66149 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
" a definitive guide to the 124 species of the northern hemisphere waders" Birdy World (April 2006) " an excellent resource " Birdwatch (May 2006) " the most significant book about waders to come out for some time this book is a real advance for wader fans everywhere." Birdtours.co.uk (29th August 2006) " it is an excellent reference publication, and those with a particular interest in shorebirds will certainly want to consider it." Scottish Bird News (September 2006) " this is a useful addition to wader identification guides and, unlike many 'field' guides, is small and light enough to carry easily in a field bag." The British Ornithologists' Union (2006)

About the Author
Don Taylor is a lifelong birder with a particular interest in waders. His previous books include Birding in Kent (Helm). Stephen Message is an acclaimed bird artist whose work appears in many books and articles.

Customer Reviews

Helm Field Guides: Waders of Europe, Asia and North America
Helm’s new field guide covers 125 species of waders in a little over 220 pages and is divided into three sections – Introduction, Waders at rest and Waders in flight.

The 25 page introduction covers many field guide standards such as bird topography, moult, plumage variation and behaviour. It includes a number of useful identification tips and is liberally scattered with Steve’s illustrations including some particularly pleasing ‘looser’ paintings depicting aspects of wader behaviour.

The waders at rest section consists of 45 double page spreads each covering two to four species. The text is concise and starts with a few ‘key ID features’ before covering behaviour, habitat, plumage and confusion species.

Most potential purchasers will look at the illustrations first and this is where the guide scores highly. The large image size and uncluttered design of the plates makes them a joy to browse through or grill intensely. Steve Message has done an excellent job at illustrating a very difficult group of birds and has produced some of the best field guide plates of recent times.

The in flight section gives upper- and under-wing illustrations and brief notes covering key ID features, flight action, voice, distribution and confusion species as well as distribution maps. It finishes with two appendices that tabulate upper- and under-part flight patterns.

This is a very good guide for anyone who wants to take their shorebirding to a new level and will certainly help you identify a Baird’s Sandpiper in Hampshire or a Bar-tailed Godwit in New Hampshire.

Slightly disappointing compared to available guides
Being a shorebird enthusiast, I have had this title in my sights for a while and planned to purchase it as soon as I could find a copy to look through. I have owned the old Helm guide since it came out but, for portability, in the field I tend to use Sibley or the Collins Bird Guide as a shorebird identification supplement to whatever national guide I am using (that is here in the Western Hemisphere). I felt it was about time I got my library up-to-date with this new volume which promised to supersede all my guides. However, when I finally managed to look over a copy I have to say I found it a little disappointing. For me at least, the illustrations do not match those of Killian Mullarney, Peter Hayman or David Sibley and the text does not seem to add much to the older Helm guide - indeed, I prefer that pioneering guide. It just shows how much care went into the preparation of those older guides - Shorebirds is 21 years old now and still hard to beat! This may be a personal view - and admittedly based on a short perusal - but I could not justify adding the book to my library.

Chris Sharpe, 25 September 2007. ISBN: 071365290X