In a departure from my usual content about birds and birding in Cadiz Province, I thought I'd share my thoughts on this new guide from Helm. I have particularly tried to do so from the point of view of a birder based in Spain.
The Helm Guide to Bird Identification
Vinicombe, Harris & Tucker ISBN: 978-1-4081-3035-3
Pub: Christopher Helm RRP: £25.00
Given the age profile of most birders, many of the more experienced will be aware of the excellent ”Macmillan Field Guide to Bird Identification” (1989) and, I suspect, most will have a copy on their bookshelves. Appearing ten years before the all-conquering ‘Collins Guide’ this and its companion guide (”The Macmillan Birders’ Guide to European and Middle Eastern Birds” – 1996), were the ‘go to’ books for resolving tricky identification problems. This new guide from Helm is an extensive and detailed reworking of this highly regarded original volume incorporating some illustrations from the later volume and adding many more species. The three questions that I have tried to address here are - Do you need this book (especially if you have the original)? Has the ‘Collins Guide’ made it superfluous? How useful is it to Spanish based birders?
The Helm Guide to Bird Identification
Vinicombe, Harris & Tucker ISBN: 978-1-4081-3035-3
Pub: Christopher Helm RRP: £25.00
Given the age profile of most birders, many of the more experienced will be aware of the excellent ”Macmillan Field Guide to Bird Identification” (1989) and, I suspect, most will have a copy on their bookshelves. Appearing ten years before the all-conquering ‘Collins Guide’ this and its companion guide (”The Macmillan Birders’ Guide to European and Middle Eastern Birds” – 1996), were the ‘go to’ books for resolving tricky identification problems. This new guide from Helm is an extensive and detailed reworking of this highly regarded original volume incorporating some illustrations from the later volume and adding many more species. The three questions that I have tried to address here are - Do you need this book (especially if you have the original)? Has the ‘Collins Guide’ made it superfluous? How useful is it to Spanish based birders?
Compared to the original, which omitted some surprising species from a British perspective, this new guide is far more comprehensive as about fifty additional species have been included. Although some of these - Pacific Diver, Northern Harrier, Thayer’s Gull, American Black Tern, Oriental Turtle Dove and Moltoni’s Warbler (often regarded as an eastern race of Subalpine) have been described but not illustrated. Most surprisingly, and disappointingly for those in Spain, Iberian Chiffchaff is another species described, but not illustrated. Oddly, River Warbler which was originally illustrated is now only covered textually. Those species now covered are pretty much all of the ones whose absence so annoyed in the original – egrets, rare peeps, Red-backed/Brown/Isabelline Shrikes and small phyloscophus warblers come to mind. It also includes taxa of which most birders weren’t aware a generation ago – Cackling (Canada) Goose, Brent Goose subspecies, Caspian Gull and Buff-bellied Pipit for example. Lariphile friends tell me that the coverage of large gulls (esp. Caspian) is better than anywhere outside of specialist gull guides (although Kumlien’s Gull has only one illustration, of an adult, Thayer’s none at all and American Herring Gull is omitted entirely). However, Auduoin's and Slender-billed are not covered. Many of the plates are carried over from the older book although the images are a little larger (in keeping with the guide’s larger format), darker and generally better printed. Unfortunately, there are exceptions one being, another unfortunate problem for those based in Spain, Pallid Swift which looks far too dark. Another example, although one less likely to trouble Mediterranean based birders, are the Arctic Redpolls which look more like ‘slushballs’ than snowballs. Some of Alan Harris's illustrations have been lifted straight from the second MacMillan guide, but others are brand new. This means some raptors - harriers, Honey Buzzards, Gos/Sparrowhawk, both Milvus kites and some falcons are very well covered, but for Spanish birders there's nothing on vultures, the most relevant eagles or Lesser Kestrels. Similarly there's nothing about tricky Iberian larks (other than 'Greater' Short-toed), Sylvia warblers (esp. those tricky juveniles) and a few other groups. A good few of the birds dealt with are species that, although fairly regular in the UK are extremely rare in Spain (e.g. rare phyloscopus warblers). This sounds rather negative, but there are plenty of positives since for many groups the book remains extremely useful. For example confusing female/imm. ducks, egrets, seabirds, larger gulls and skuas, treecreepers, etc it remains first rate. It is particularly good for all those puzzling waders which are covered in great detail.
The text clearly rests on the foundation of the original book and many phrases, even whole paragraphs, have been left virtually untouched. The same useful organisation of the text into numbered points (where needed) makes the guide simple and easy to use. However, this is diminished by abandoning the original layout in two columns which I find easier to navigate. Where necessary the text has been updated to include the very latest ID information. Naturally each account is supported by a reference to a relevant ID paper although this is of limited use to those without access to various birding magazines (esp. ‘British Birds’). Most usefully for those based in the UK, the introduction to each species or species groups gives an excellent overview of the species’ status in Britian. Although obviously aimed at the British market this guide would be useful across much of northern Europe. One inevitable criticism is that the book could have included more confusion species (and one surprising omission to me is the Pied/Collared/Semi-collared Flycatcher complex). There is a degree of merit in this complaint and it’s hard not to think that relatively few additional species would have made this guide useful across a wider arc of Europe. Some might even argue that both the original ‘Macguides’ should have been welded into one bumper guide. However this is probably wishful thinking and the resulting tome would have been too large and unwieldy, but a revitalised edition of “The Macmillan Birders’ Guide to European and Middle Eastern Birds” would be extremely useful in Spain covering as it does many of those 'missing' species.
So do you need this book, has it been supplanted by the ‘Collins Guide’ and how useful is it to a birder living in Spain? Hopefully, after reading this review, you should have the answer with the first question. This new guide fills many, if not all, of the gaps left unfilled by the original book and is well worth buying even if you have the original book particularly if you live in the UK. The answer to the second question is equally clear. Where this new guide scores over ‘Collins’ is that it has much more space for more detailed treatment and is better at comparing confusion species. The point-by-point treatment of many species is particularly good at highlighting key issues. The ‘where and when’ section also provides a handy review of UK status which isn’t easy to find elsewhere. Admittedly those based in Spain will find this guide frustrating at times since many of the tricky birds found in Iberia are not covered – for this you will still need “The Macmillan Birders’ Guide to European and Middle Eastern Birds” (unfortunately, secondhand copies of this guide sell for £50-£75). Yet for a number of groups – wildfowl, seabirds, gulls, waders and such like it - would still be an invaluable, if not wholly comprehensive, guide to the trickier species. Overall, his guide can be emphatically recommended to all keen birders whether or not they have the original guide on which it is based.
RSS Feed
