杏吧原创

A SPEC is not twitchers鈥� slang for a spectacled warbler, and nor is a spectacled warbler a SPEC (though several other species of warbler are). No, a SPEC is a Species of European Conservation Concern, and these are the birds that are the subject of Birds in Europe, a book that should be compulsory reading for Europe鈥檚 environment ministers. It certainly will be an essential reference book for anyone with a serious interest in European bird conservation.

A considerable number of European birds gain a SPEC rating, ranging from the familiar (skylark and swallow) to the unfamiliar (Andalusian hemipode and roller). There are four categories of SPEC birds. Fea鈥檚 petrel rates a 1 because it is endangered worldwide, the gannet a 2 because 75 per cent of all the gannets in the world are to be found in Europe, while the black-winged kite and the osprey attract a 3 because they have an 鈥淯nfavourable Conservation Status in Europe鈥�, though most of these birds live outside Europe. Category 4 contains birds such as the wood pigeon which are concentrated in Europe, and which have a 鈥淔avourable Conservation Status鈥�.

The bulk of this meticulously researched volume is taken up with double-page spreads devoted to SPEC 1, 2 and 3 birds. Each one has been written individually by the European expert on the species.

Each account is illustrated not with a picture of the bird, but with a clear map showing population trends at a glance. A blue downward arrow indicates a falling population, a black upward arrow a rising one. A black rectangle is used to show stable or fluctuating numbers, an empty rectangle unknown trends.

But this description makes Birds in Europe sound boringly academic, a book aimed at the professional ornithologist or conservationist rather than the keen bird-watcher. This is not the case, for any serious birder will find this fascinating reading. Since most data about population trends comes from field work, it is not surprising that we know far more about the birds in Northern Europe than we do in the east and south, where bird-watchers are not as numerous.

It is difficult to be sure quite how accurate this picture is, and for a minority of species the maps may be misleading. The winter population trend for the red-breasted goose looks very encouraging, but if you read the text you will discover that this is probably due to a shift to wintering grounds from the Caspian to the Black Sea.

Of Europe鈥檚 514 regularly occurring species, 278 qualify as SPECs, of which no fewer than 198 are either declining, or are highly localised and thus vulnerable. Most population declines are believed to be connected with changes in land use and management, which explains why farmland habitats hold the highest number of threatened birds. As the book鈥檚 summary points out, 鈥淭he overall message from this review is starkly clear: the numbers, range and overall diversity of European birds are under considerable threat from environmental change 鈥� since birds act as good environmental indicators, these conclusions have serious implications regarding the health of the European environment in general.鈥�