RSPB Pocket Birds of Britain and Europe

By Jonathan Elphick and John Woodward

Published: 2nd January 2009 Price: £8.99

Compact and easy to use, this stunning fully revised guide uses the highest quality close-up photography to bring over 300 species to life on the page. RSPB Pocket Birds of Britain and Europe covers the 320 most commonly seen bird species in Europe, divided into six easily recognisable groups: passerines, gamebirds & other non-passerines, wading birds, waterfowl, seabirds and owls & birds of prey. Within each group, the birds are arranged broadly by family, so that similar looking species appear together for ease of comparison, and generally in ascending order of size, so that the smallest birds are at the beginning of a section and the largest at the end.

Each of the six groups opens with an introductory page describing the group’s shared characteristics. Photographs of representative species show the diversity in the group and a typical page describes two species with one or more photographs, supported by artworks of the bird in flight. Annotations, scale indicators and a set of simple symbols add key information such as sex, approximate age and seasonal plumage. Each profile also features a map showing the range of the bird, with colours indicating seasonal movements.

Both the beginner and the more experienced birdwatcher will discover a perfect companion in RSPB Pocket Birds of Britain and Europe, and one that will become an indispensable part of Big Garden Birdwatch 2009 and of every birdwatching trip.