THE nine-volume Birds of the Western Palearctic is a massive
presence on my bookshelves, but I rarely refer to it. Not only does it present a
largely indigestible mass of information, it is also dated. The early volumes
were published more than 20 years ago, and took 17 years to complete. Winging to
the rescue comes the excellent two-volume Concise Edition of Birds of the
Western Palearctic, edited by D. W. Snow and C. M. Perrins (Oxford
University Press, 拢150, ISBN 019854099X. The texts been revised and
updated, with 80 accounts of new species, and there are no fewer than 230 new
colour plates.
Thanks to a more modern and attractive layout, the new edition is inviting
and the text鈥攏o longer interrupted by constant references鈥攊s much
more readable. The artwork also shows how the standard of illustration has risen
over the past couple of decades: there are some magnificent repainted plates
here. I also like the redrawn maps, which are bright, colourful and easy to
understand. Such improvements make this concise edition an attractive buy, even
for those with the original.
Unlike the nine Palearctic tomes, the 12 planned volumes of the Handbook
of the Birds of the World are likely to appear quickly. Volume 4,
Sandgrouse to Cuckoos, has just been published almost on schedule, and
lives up to the exceptionally high standard of the preceding volumes (Lynx
Editions, Barcelona, 拢110, ISBN 8487334229).
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The price is high, but the production quality is superb. This is a reference
book to browse through and enjoy time and again. The successful formula is a
blend of scholarly but highly readable essays on each family, followed by
concise species accounts. And well-researched and beautifully reproduced
colour photographs are complemented by colour plates drawn by Europe鈥檚 leading
bird illustrators.
I much preferred the colour plates of parrots in this handbook to those of
the five different artists who worked on Parrots: A Guide to the Parrots of
the World by Tony Juniper and Mike Parr (Pica Press, 拢35, ISBN
1873403402). However, Parrots contains a wealth of information that is
beyond the more general handbook鈥檚 scope, making it an invaluable reference book
for this large鈥�350 species鈥攁nd often spectacular family.
Just one parrot鈥攖he ring-necked parakeet鈥攆eatures in both the
Pocket Guide to Birds of Britain and North-West Europe, by Chris
Kightley, Steve Madge and Dave Nurney (Pica Press/Yale in the US,
拢11.95/$20, ISBN 1873403496) and Bill Oddie鈥檚 Birds of Britain
& Ireland (New Holland, 拢12.95, ISBN 1853688983). In Oddie鈥檚
book, the ring-neck warrants just two brief sentences and one picture, while the
Pocket Guide gives it more detailed coverage, including four drawings
and a distribution map.
Though the two books may be for the same market, their aim is different. The
Pocket Guide is designed to be taken into the field, and here the
novice will find it really does help in identifying birds, thanks to a punchy
text and illustrations of a variety of plumages and postures.
In contrast, Oddie鈥檚 chatty book is more of an armchair read, designed to
inspire beginners. It should succeed, as the illustrations are excellent and
Oddie does know his birds. However, he isn鈥檛 always right, for we are told that
mandarins, one of the most aerial of ducks, 鈥渁re very rarely seen in flight鈥�.
Not true, unless, of course, they have been pinioned.
One bird that never flew was the great auk. Despite being extinct for nearly
150 years, it has been granted comprehensive coverage in The Auks by
Antony Gaston and Ian Jones, with colour plates by Ian Lewington (Oxford,
$75, ISBN 0198540329). This is the fourth in Oxford鈥檚 Bird Families
of the World series, and continues in the same vein: a third of the volume
is taken up with general chapters on topics such as evolution and ecology, and
the remainder with accounts of species. Academic in approach, this is a volume
aimed at serious ornithologists, detailing lots of research not easily found
elsewhere.