Product Description

Following on from its hugely successful launch in 1999, Collins Bird Guide -- the ultimate reference book for bird enthusiasts -- now enters its second edition. With expanded text and additional colour illustrations, the second edition of the hugely successful Collins Bird Guide is a must for every birdwatcher. The book provides all the information needed to identify any species at any time of the year, covering size, habitat, range, identification and voice. Accompanying every species entry is a distribution map and illustrations showing the species in all the major plumages (male, female, immature, in flight, at rest, feeding: whatever is important). In addition, each group of birds includes an introduction which covers the major problems involved in identifying or observing them: how to organise a sea watching trip, how to separate birds of prey in flight, which duck hybrids can be confused with which main species. These and many other common birdwatching questions are answered.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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7356 in Books
• Published on: 2010-01-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

Review
/ 'The richest, most comprehensive of the current guides.' The Times / 'This book will surely become our standard guide for many years to come.' BBC Wildlife / '!buy this book, read it in the bath, keep it in the car boot and use it.' Bird Watching / 'One of the most talked about and fervently anticipated bird books of the past decade has finally arrived ! The wait has been worth it.' Birding World / '! this book is a must for every birdwatcher.' Country Life / 'If you want to have only one guide to British and European birds, this is the one to get.' British Wildlife / 'As essential as binoculars for those who take birdwatching seriously' New Scientist / '!go on, buy it and enjoy it -- it really is a very good book!' RSPB Birds magazine

From the Publisher
Reviews of the prize winning field guide
Winner of the British Birds/British Trust for Ornithology Bird Book of the Year and Birdwatch Book of the Year

our standard guide for many years to come - BBC Wildlife

As essential as binoculars - New Scientist

it really is a very good book - RSPB Birds

The richest and most comprehensive of the current guides - The Times

About the Author
Lars Svensson is Europe's leading field ornithologist. Killian Mullarney is one of the world's finest bird illustrators. Winner of numerous awards, this is the first guide that he has illustrated. Dan Zetterstrom is widely acclaimed for his bird illustrations.

Customer Reviews

The best field guide to any avifauna
This book emerged onto a highly competitive market already burgeoning with numerous field guides, most by renowned authors and many having benefitted from improvement over several editions. Quite simply though, this book won instant recognition as the best field guide available for Europe - and perhaps a model for field guides everywhere. Its authors are well known experts in their field having spent many years studying and publishing on the birds of the region. However, the key to the guide's success is the fact that so much more useful information has been condensed into a guide which is much the same size as existing books. The book boasts excellent illustrations, succinct text and handy maps, all presented on a the same page. Small enough to fit into a pocket and cheap, it is a must for anyone even remotely interested in British or European birds. Don't hesitate!

Very good, but not quite the definitive guide.
Much attention and comment has been focused on this book since its original publication in hardback, and deservedly so. As stated in The Times review, it most probably is 'the richest and most comprehensive of the current guides'. Just holding the book and looking at the cover, you get the impression that the publishers had every confidence that this book would sweep away the competition, and wanted to display it that way. The front design is striking - jet black, with bold, shining, gold and white upper-case text - 'BIRD GUIDE' - the image of a barn owl on silent wings and the proclamation of 'the most complete field guide to the birds of Britain and Europe' adding to the effect. The book seems to scowl 'Buy me, I'm brilliant and I'm the best!'. Clever, yet the appearance is strangely unwelcoming and almost intimidating.

Does it live up to the hype? The earlier 'Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe' with Bertel Brunn is a landmark, a classic book that had everything right - perfect illustrations, clear and unambiguous descriptions. Has this continued in that vein? Well, yes and no. By-and-large, the contents are excellent. Extraordinary works of art show the appearance of each species, immaculate, stunning and intimate in their detail. This, coupled with perfectly clear and in-depth descriptions of form, plumage, song and flight, provides a wonderful guide to the identification of even the most easily confused species. For the size of the book, everything has had to be crammed in, and the visual 'feel' is of slight overcrowding - but this is unavoidable if you want a book this informative and descriptive for field use. The major fault is that for some species, some distribution maps contain inaccuracies. Examples - the cormorant breeds quite happily along most of the Irish coast and on lakes in the midlands, yet the relevant map wrongly indicates it is only a winter visitor to most of the coast, and a resident only in pockets. The map for the yellow wagtail shows it as absent from Ireland and Wales, though it is not. Also, the nightjar breeds in parts of the Algarve, yet is only shown as a passage visitor to the region. I have spotted several more examples relating to Ireland, Portugal and Italy which makes me wonder if other maps are unreliable for other countries. This is a real dissapointment for what otherwise is a very fine book, and could cause confusion for learners and those hoping to use this book while travelling - defeating the purpose of a field guide.

If these errors could be corrected, this book would be the definitve guide to Europe's birds.

Excellent book for the seasoned bird-watcher
The original version of this book is good but the larger print version is even better. The diagrams are first class. Overall a first rate reference book to have at home to check on those birds you are still unsure of after reviewing your field guide. The section on gulls shows the different appearances of first winter gulls, second winter etc., something most field guides omit. The size of the book prohibits it being taken into the field but is ideal for those cold dark winter nights when the repeats are on telly.