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Review
"A mind-blowingly vast array of field characteristics" -- BirdGuides.com, July 6, 2010
"This book is great. In many ways it's better than expected." -- BirdGuides.com, July 6, 2010
If you're serious about your birding, and especially if you travel widely in the Western Palearctic, then this is going to be pretty essential -- Bird Watching magazine, August 2010
It is so groundbreaking in both content and ease of use that it is bound to become one of the classic works in birdwatching literature -- Sunday Express, August 2010
"A mind-boggling repository of information in a simple and readily accessible format, the like of which cannot be found anywhere else in a single pocket-sized volume.... This is a book to be taken seriously"
-- Birdwatch magazine, October 2010
"It's like no other field guide, indeed bird book of any kind, that you will have seen before... it's a must-have"
--British Birds magazine, November 2010
"ground-breaking research" --Sunday Express
"Advanced birders in the Western Palearctic will want this book!"
--Birdbooker Report
'Bird Book of the Year'
--Birdwatch magazine, February 2011
"This book is great. In many ways it's better than expected." -- BirdGuides.com, July 6, 2010
If you're serious about your birding, and especially if you travel widely in the Western Palearctic, then this is going to be pretty essential -- Bird Watching magazine, August 2010
It is so groundbreaking in both content and ease of use that it is bound to become one of the classic works in birdwatching literature -- Sunday Express, August 2010
"A mind-boggling repository of information in a simple and readily accessible format, the like of which cannot be found anywhere else in a single pocket-sized volume.... This is a book to be taken seriously"
-- Birdwatch magazine, October 2010
"It's like no other field guide, indeed bird book of any kind, that you will have seen before... it's a must-have"
--British Birds magazine, November 2010
"ground-breaking research" --Sunday Express
"Advanced birders in the Western Palearctic will want this book!"
--Birdbooker Report
'Bird Book of the Year'
--Birdwatch magazine, February 2011
Product Description
This innovative guide will be an essential addition to the library of any serious birder. It accurately describes every key detail of every plumage of all 900 species that have ever occurred in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East - the region known to all birdwatchers as the Western Palearctic. Its level of detail is unprecedented for a book of this size, and it will be sought after by all bird enthusiasts. A large number of existing bird field guides cover Europe and the Western Palearctic. This, however, is a guide with a difference. It has no colour plates or illustrations, but instead its unique selling point is that for every species the detailed text lists the key characters of each recognizable plumage, including male, female, immature, juvenile, all subspecies and all other variations. This level of detail includes, for example, all eleven forms of Canada Goose and all nine forms of Yellow Wagtail known in the region. In the past such in-depth detail has only been available in huge multi-volume tomes such as Birds of the Western Palearctic. "The Advanced Bird Guide" enables birders to take this information into the field for the first time. The detailed yet concise nature of the guide means that the original Dutch edition of this title became an instant classic when it was published in 2002. UK birders who know of the Dutch edition have been eagerly awaiting an English-language version for many years, so this is an exciting opportunity for New Holland in terms of publishing a cutting-edge bird book. The book will be endorsed by the renowned journal "British Birds", which has been running for more than 100 years and which has a dedicated and enthusiastic readership.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This amazing book (in association with top birders journal British Birds) describes all the field marks of all the birds (1,300 forms/races) of the Western Palearctic. With this book you have all the pointers to be able to age, sex and race any bird you are likely to see in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The only illustrations are the bird topography drawings near the front of the book, and there are no distribution maps. Certainly do not let this put you off - this book is absolutely crammed with cutting edge identification criteria.
Design is modern, crisp and looks very 'workmanlike' and thorough. Size wise it's about the same as an average paperback. The design is very pleasing on the eye. All the relevant ID pointers are presented in 'bullet form' underneath the species heading, with the most key at the top, and then listing others in order of relevance. Starting with field marks to identify the species in 'All plumages', all the pointers to ID the bird in adult and juvenile/immature plumages (at different times of the year) are included. Where relevant you also get key pointers to identify the birds in flight, key behaviour, any key calls or songs, notes on key moult patterns, and other interesting notes that help ID certain species.
It is extremely thorough when dealing with races. For instance, in the superb Collins Bird Guide (2nd edition), one race of Eider is described (mollissima). The Advanced Bird ID Guide describes a further 4 races - Northern Eider (borealis), Dressers Eider (dresseri) a race from North America recently confirmed in Europe, Pacific Eider (v-nigra) a possible vagrant, and a race from Shetland and the Faroes (faroeensis). If you see a slightly strange Hen Harrier and wondered if you have a 'Northern Harrier' from North America, then the information you need is in this book (nothing in Collins Bird Guide). Incredibily it includes information on 3 extra races of Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler! It does state though that 'some individuals are very difficult to identify to subspecies'....I bet they are!
This book would not suit people new to the hobby, they really do need illustrations. However this book is an excellent addition to the modern birders arsenal. Coupled with the Collins Bird Guide (a stunning and beautiful book), the Advanced Bird ID Guide gives european birders all the portable ID information they could wish for. Thanks for author Nils Van Duivendik for putting this together. At just over £10 from Amazon, this has to be the best value bird book of all time. Highly recommended.
Design is modern, crisp and looks very 'workmanlike' and thorough. Size wise it's about the same as an average paperback. The design is very pleasing on the eye. All the relevant ID pointers are presented in 'bullet form' underneath the species heading, with the most key at the top, and then listing others in order of relevance. Starting with field marks to identify the species in 'All plumages', all the pointers to ID the bird in adult and juvenile/immature plumages (at different times of the year) are included. Where relevant you also get key pointers to identify the birds in flight, key behaviour, any key calls or songs, notes on key moult patterns, and other interesting notes that help ID certain species.
It is extremely thorough when dealing with races. For instance, in the superb Collins Bird Guide (2nd edition), one race of Eider is described (mollissima). The Advanced Bird ID Guide describes a further 4 races - Northern Eider (borealis), Dressers Eider (dresseri) a race from North America recently confirmed in Europe, Pacific Eider (v-nigra) a possible vagrant, and a race from Shetland and the Faroes (faroeensis). If you see a slightly strange Hen Harrier and wondered if you have a 'Northern Harrier' from North America, then the information you need is in this book (nothing in Collins Bird Guide). Incredibily it includes information on 3 extra races of Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler! It does state though that 'some individuals are very difficult to identify to subspecies'....I bet they are!
This book would not suit people new to the hobby, they really do need illustrations. However this book is an excellent addition to the modern birders arsenal. Coupled with the Collins Bird Guide (a stunning and beautiful book), the Advanced Bird ID Guide gives european birders all the portable ID information they could wish for. Thanks for author Nils Van Duivendik for putting this together. At just over £10 from Amazon, this has to be the best value bird book of all time. Highly recommended.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A field guide with no pictures sounds bizarre, but this is an amazing book for getting to grips with trickier IDs. It's not for absolute beginners - you'll have to have narrowed you bird ID down to a few similar species first - but all the plumage details in one place, displayed in simple bullet-point form, is an act of simple genius. You can only imagine the tireless hours that went in to compiling it.
I'd recommend every birder grabs a copy of this, it's a superb piece of work.
I'd recommend every birder grabs a copy of this, it's a superb piece of work.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found it hard to believe that a bird guide could be so different. I was wrong because here it is!
This book, unlike others, does not contain pictures to aid identification. At this point, you might start to panick but there is no need. The layout is simple - concise detailed checklists of the finer points of identification for the range of species found in the area covered. As has been mentioned by other people, this may not be suitable for some beginners but I would certainly consider this a worthwhile point of reference for the majority of birdwatchers who want a quick reminder of various aspects of bird identification.
This book, unlike others, does not contain pictures to aid identification. At this point, you might start to panick but there is no need. The layout is simple - concise detailed checklists of the finer points of identification for the range of species found in the area covered. As has been mentioned by other people, this may not be suitable for some beginners but I would certainly consider this a worthwhile point of reference for the majority of birdwatchers who want a quick reminder of various aspects of bird identification.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
disappointing
I wanted something more definitive than the usual field guides but I found this book very difficult to use in the field. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mik
Advanced Bird Guide
Packed with very detailed information and a very useful adjunct to the Collins Guide. Probably too detailed for the less experienced birder. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Peter, Telford
You can never have too much information
What an awesome guide! It is packed with all the information that will give you the confidence that you've made the correct bird ID. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Stuart Forth
A Bird Giude without illustrations?
The Advanced Bird guide is unusual as it has no illustrations but it works very well. It does mean that you need a knowledge of bird anatomy and plumage but this is worth learning... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Grey Heron
European Bird ID - Degree Level
This guy deserves every tribute for an amazing work.
The idea, the layout, the meticulous factual information, the coverage.
The whole package. Read more
The idea, the layout, the meticulous factual information, the coverage.
The whole package. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Bill
Fantastic!
I think every birder should have a copy of this book. It's perfect for identifying rarer species or separating subspecies. Read more
Published 17 months ago by JimmyG
Birds
well package and just at time. It comes 3 days before the limit they assume
Published 19 months ago by américo
This has the potential to be best....
If you are serious about bird ID, then buy it. The amount of information is simply staggering. At this level, you don't need illustrations.
Published 20 months ago by Pterodroma
Birders Friend
An interesting addition to the library of anyone with an interest in the birds of the Western Palearctic.
Published 20 months ago by D. P. J. Lowman
advanced bird id guide
As the title suggests, it is for advanced bird watchers and ringers. In excellent company along side Collins Bird Guide if identification becomes tricky.
Published 20 months ago by martyn
Listmania!
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