Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume 7: Jacamars to woodpeckers edited by Josep del Hoyo, Andrew Elliott and Jordi Sargatal, BirdLife International/Lynx Edicions, 拢110, ISBN 8487334377
EVER heard of the Liverpool pigeon? I hadn鈥檛 until I read through the foreword on extinct birds included in this volume. The Liverpool pigeon, Caloenas maculata, is a mystery species: the sole surviving specimen has resided in the Liverpool Museum since 1851 but was probably collected on a Pacific island for Edward Stanley, the 13th Earl of Derby.
The chapter on extinct birds is a bonus in this 614-page volume that concludes this series鈥� description of the passerines (birds with feet adapted for perching). It does so in great style, starting with jacamars and toucans and going on to honeyguides and woodpeckers. As we have come to expect with this series, the quality of production is superb, the plates beautifully painted and reproduced, the picture research stunning, the texts remarkably readable.
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What is also outstanding is that it is a mere 10 years since the first volume was launched, an amazing rate of production for such an authoritative work. Each succeeding volume has surpassed its predecessor: bird books just don鈥檛 get any better than this. Enthusiasts for HBW will be delighted to know that the publishers have opted for more than the projected 12 volumes, following 鈥渢he recent trend of longer, fuller texts, more photos, and more extensive coverage of subspecific variation on more plates鈥�