Field Guide to the Birds of Britain

Product Information

Over ten years in the making [and known throughout its gestation as `HBI' - Handbook of Bird Identification,] this is THE identification guide of the decade.

The Handbook - HBI as it is already known - must now jostle for bookshelf space with not only the BWP but also the other major treatments of the birds of Europe or the Western Palearctic which have emerged over the last decade. To do so successfully, it must offer something identifiably different and of sufficient quality to meet the demands of an increasingly sophisticated market. The acid test of the success of HBI must therefore lie in its text. This I found to be excellent, with an appropriate balance given to jizz and plumage minutiae. The more complex identification problems are well-handled and are models of crisp precision given the constraints of space. HBI is not, therefore, the source of major new enlightenments (nor presumably was it intended to be), but it does give an admirably solid and authoritative snapshot of our knowledge of bird identification in the late 1990's. Other more specialist sources may have more detail on a particular topic, or one may prefer some other plates by other artists in other works, but no other single guide brings together so much of such a consistently high quality.' Andy Stoddart, Birding World " And here my personal favourite - the best book on European birds in my opinion and quite complete (beware : NOT a field guide, this one - too heavy anyway to take in the field !!) Try to see the bird that is making the unfamiliar sound – if you then identify it, this will help the process of remembering it for next time.For ease of use, the book includes a glossary, an index, and a ribbon marker, and is organized according to the latest phylogenetic arrangement from the Assembling the Fungal Tree of Life project. Each species features up to five vibrant photographs, to aid with identification, along with notes on range, season, spore print, look-alikes, conservation status, and more. Introductory essays explain the various parts of a mushroom—both above and below ground—common host trees, nomenclature and taxonomy, mushroom ecology, and the impacts of our changing climate.

GPS coordinates for each species of the top three to five locations where you're likely to see the bird and what time of year is best for this May is simply a wonderful time to visit Britain, with the rural landscape at its greenest, bird song and nesting activity at a peak, and spring migration still in full flow. From the creators of the world's most trusted field guides--a go-to source for millions of nature lovers--comes a completely new and unparalleled reference work: the most comprehensive, authoritative, and up-to-date guide to the trees of North America. The Collins Bird Guide is undoubtedly the finest field guide that has ever been produced and now deservedly sits in a bird book elite of essential titles - nestling between BWP, HBW and Birds of Europe. The nomenclature and taxonomy may not be to everybody's liking, but it is a certainty that the magnificent work of Mullarney and Zetterstrom has set the illustrative standard for decades to come and will be admired and enjoyed by thousands of birders worldwide for many years. The word `classic' is so often over-used these days but, for once, it is a particularly fitting way to refer to this book. This is the last great bird book of the 20th Century, and I am sure that Peter Grant would have been happy knowing that. It is a fitting tribute to him, and his co-author and the world class artists. This book is an absolute gem.' Mark Golley, Birding World "As we continue to enjoy nature close to home, we’ve asked NHSN members to tell us about their favourite field guides for the garden or on nearby walks. In this post, local naturalist Neil Pont recommends guides for identifying birds. Field Guides for Bird Watchers superb, full-colour plates with extensive captions and detailed facing-plate identification texts and maps, to enable identification at a glance. This handsome volume, from the world’s most trusted name in nature field guides, is the result of a collaboration among leading scientists, scholars, taxonomic and field experts, photo editors, and designers. An indispensable resource, it covers 853 species of wildflowers, with nearly 5,200 full-color photographs.

This definitive and bestselling field guide is the perfect companion for nature enthusiasts and birdwatchers. The Winter coastal birds guide features 44 of the birds you can see around the coastline of Britain and Ireland in the winter months. All the species which have occurred in the region are described and illustrated (including vagrants and accidentals). Species are covered by family, with each family introduction followed by the relevant text colour plates and species accounts. For 625 species there are detailed colour maps within the species texts.This post is an extended version of “Field Guides to Inspire You,” featured in our Summer 2020 Special Edition of North East Nature. This special digital-only issue is available to everyone. Nearly forty years on from the original publication, the new seabird identification guide is a vastly improved offering bringing together many of the advances in field identification. However impressive the book is, the authors also point out that this book is only another new beginning. It is not the last word on seabirds as even details as basic as species delimitations are still to be resolved using a combination of traditional morphometrics as well as new technologies such as molecular phylogenetics and acoustic analysis. I am glad that this book follows a series of important seabird books by Klaus Malling Olsen and Steve Howell et al. (including the fairly recent Oceanic Birds of the World: A Photo Guide published Princeton University Press in 2019). It makes it easier that taxonomic decisions, suggestions and discussions in previous books are already factored into this book. But seabird taxonomy remains in flux. The most comprehensive and authoritative guide to the mushrooms of North America, updated for the first time in decades to reflect the impact of climate change and the advancements in DNA sequencing that have radically altered the classification process. By Lars Svensson. Illustrated by Killian Mullarney and Dan Zetterström. 2nd ed. HarperCollins, 2010.