Collins Field Guide - Birds of the Palearctic: Non-Passerines [Hardcover]

Well painted bird pictures, which in many cases should be in a bit larger size, though. A short reference to the main distribution area in the text could be also useful.

In a small book a large area; but maps should be in the text, this is more complicated...browse.It pays to buy both parts.

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.