Collins Birds of Prey (1 Viewer)

[John Cantelo]

I always reckoned that Benny Gensbol's "Collins Birds of Prey" (1984) sadly overlooked and underrated so I was very interested to see the new edition today. It is about 40 pages longer and has a slightly larger format. The main text has clearly been up dated and there are many more new photos (though some old favourites from the first edition remain. A perfectionist might prefer Dick Forsman's opus, but I find Gensbol's book far more user friendly.

The ID section at the back has been greatly improved, enlarged and is now in full colour. From my quick glance this seems very well done and it also covers more species than rival guides (e.g. Oriental Honey Buzzard, Shikra & Ruppell's Vulture are covered amongst others). The illustrations themselves may not be as perfect as those in the Collins Guide (but which ones are?), but they are well done and cover a good range of plumages (including Black/Red Kite hybrids). I was less impressed by the maps that did not seem as up-to-date as I'd like and sometimes contradicted the text. Still, an interesting book.

In short a very nice book and well worth a place in any birders' bookshelf and a must buy for BoP enthusiasts,

John

 

[Bubbs]

I too thought Gensbol's book was excellent for the money and it was a constant companion on my trips to Israel. I look forward to seeing the new version.....thanks for posting.

PS. John, where did you see the new copy.

 

[John Cantelo]

Glad to know I'm not the only one who liked the original version of the book. Actually, re-reading my comments I don't think I made clear how much an improvement the ID section in this version is. Having now had time to browse through the original I realise how many more illustrations this one has and how much better coverage it has of various plumages. Colour is a big help too although, perversely, I think the artist (I assume it's the same one) is better at b&w sketches than he is with colour.

Both my local branches of Waterstones had a single copy. It's £30, but Amazon seem to have it for £18 ..... a big enough saving to make me buy it straight away rather than put it on my birthday/Christmas list! I'll definitely want a copy next time I go looking for Ruppell's Vulture in southern Spain,

John

 

[I4ani]

Sounds like a good book to get hold of, what is the isbn number please.
regards I4ani.

 

[A CHAPLIN]

Hi,

No ISBN No. but here is the link to the book John refers to.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collins-Bir...ef=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206694552&sr=1-

Ann :egghead:

 

[I4ani]

Many thanks Ann
regards I4ani.

Since found ISBN no = 9780007248148

 

[John Cantelo]

Yep, that's the one!

John

 

[StuartReeves]

There has been another raptor guide recently published in Danish and written by Klaus Malling Olsen. There must be a possibility that this will be published in English at some stage. Some details here: http://www.naturbutikken.dk/index.php?id=articles&a_id=1646 - for Danish speakers at least!

 

[John Cantelo]

Thanks for the info Stuart - having checked out the link and googled the artist - Carl Christian Tofte - this looks like a rather better illustrated book although I think it may not cover such a broad range of species. Gensbol's book casts its net pretty wide including BoPs from the south & east of the region. Let's hope some enterprising publisher produces an English version,

John

 

[Swissboy]

Glad to know I'm not the only one who liked the original version of the book. Actually, re-reading my comments I don't think I made clear how much an improvement the ID section in this version is. Having now had time to browse through the original I realise how many more illustrations this one has and how much better coverage it has of various plumages. Colour is a big help too although, perversely, I think the artist (I assume it's the same one) is better at b&w sketches than he is with colour.
....
John

I got the German edition of this book in January 2005. So I wonder whether any updating was done or whether it's a straight translation that simply took so long. It has the same number of pages, at least. At the time, I also felt the addition of colour was a good thing, and it also struck me that I considered the b&w versions of those sketches better done. But it's definitely a very fine book. But it keeps irritating me with the way species accounts are arranged, general biology and field ID being far apart. I presume, the English version has the same basic arrangement.

By the way, it's already the fourth edition in German, the second one, if I recall correctly with Thiede as co-author. But the original was not written in German. With Thiede as co-author, the new English edition may have been translated from German however.

 

[John Cantelo]

Personally I prefer the layout with the ID section at the back - it makes it easier to flip through. I suspect it's pretty much a straight translation. The maps don't seem to be unpdated.

Has anyone reading this actually seen or got the Danish guide? The artist looks like he knows what he's about. If the plates are really that good I'd be tempted to get a copy,

John

 

[I4ani]

Hi,
Thanks for the heads up on this book (post no 4) and the special price at Amazon.
Placed the order and book arrived today (£18 instead of £30).
First impressions, is that it is very informative and a good companion alongside Forsmans Raptors of E&ME.
In brief ,the first 10% is devoted to the intro ie breeding ,food, migration etc.
The next 45% is devoted to species descriptions, with some images to die for.
The remaining 45% is devoted to the detailed description of the species with drawings similar the collins bird guide for recognition purposes.
There is one very sad image in the book on page 41, which shows about 30+ raptors hung up on a line, we must do our upmost to ensure we do ot return to those days.
To end, a big thanks to John Cantelo for bringing book to my attention, and to anyone else reading this - get this book.
regards I4ani.

 

[John Cantelo]

To end, a big thanks to John Cantelo for bringing book to my attention, and to anyone else reading this - get this book.
regards I4ani.

Happy to oblige! It's always fun to share news about books.

I only wish I'd sent off for a copy asap as I'm off to Spain tomorrow where it'd come in handy. However, I thought it wouldn't arrive in time - I've had some hassle previously with books getting lost in the post etc - so decided to wait until I come back - a mistake! No matter, as I'll be back out in May and can bring one then!

John

 

[joannec]

Thanks for the book review John. :t: I had the old edition from the library a while ago....very tatty and the B&W pics weren't too good but I liked the text. Think I'll start saving for the new edition.

 

[On-Firecrest]

Hi all,
I orded this book earlier today off amazon with their free delivery deal, £12 is a significant bit cheaper then waterstones. I'm thinking that this will be an easier book to get to grips with then Forsman, i'll let you know how I get on.
cheers
steve

 

[macrourus]

I'll both it too thanks for the suggestion John...

once I'll get it...if you like I'll send comments on the plates and ID with may be corrections to the illustration (in the previous I spotted and corrected several mystakes, as I do with Collins BG)....

ciao

Andrea Corso

 

[John Cantelo]

There has been another raptor guide recently published in Danish and written by Klaus Malling Olsen. There must be a possibility that this will be published in English at some stage. Some details here: http://www.naturbutikken.dk/index.php?id=articles&a_id=1646 - for Danish speakers at least!

By chance I met a Danish colleague of Mr Olsen in Spain last week & he tells me that the plates are superb, the text brilliantly done and the the author hopes to persuade some publisher to bring out an English edition .....

John

 

[John Cantelo]

A quick review ....

This new edition has a slightly larger format than the original 1984 edition being roughly 20cm taller and broader. It also has more pages (414 vs 384) and of those pages more are devoted to field identification (167 vs 100). The species count has risen from 46 to 49 with the addition Oriental Honey Buzzard, Ruppell’s Vulture and the ‘upgrading’ of Spanish Imperial Eagle, but it’s a pity that Amur Falcon wasn’t squeezed in too.

Essentially the main text seems to be a new (and better) translation of the 2004 German edition. However, some additional information has been added since the notorious shooting of 50 Red-footed Falcons in autumn 2007 in Cyprus is noted. Understandably, however, for the most part the text appears not to contain information much later than 2002 or 2003. A relatively high proportion of information from the 60s and 70s remains and this, in some ways reflects, that much it deals with the catastrophic decline of raptors at this time. However, it’s hard not to feel at times that a little more newer material could have been used. That said, much of the useful information about breeding biology and food doesn’t date too badly. Very few of the original photos remain. The new photos are a great improvement (and they’re undoubtedly helped by better printing). This reflects the massive advance in the art of photography – particularly of birds in flight – since the 1984 edition. Some photos are absolutely stunning.

Less happily the population figures also seem be based on the 2004 revision; unlike textual changes, revising and up dating population tables should not have been too difficult. New, and readily available, data has appeared since 2004. A swift check in the latest Spanish atlas suggests, for example that the Black-winged Kite population is now reckoned to be substantially higher than that given and that the population is expanding, not stable.

Whilst not quite reaching the perfection that we now expect in a post-Lars Jonsson world, the new plates are very good. Better still, they are now in full colour. Unlike the first edition, all species are now illustrated at rest and the number of flight illustrations for each species has increased (by a factor of between 30 – 50 % if my rough estimate is correct). They are also a little more standardised than the old black-and-white plates which hugely improves functionality as it’s easier to compare different species. Another big improvement is the inclusion of several plates showing similar species together allowing direct comparison. (However, the omission of Ruppell’s Vulture from the vultures plate is annoying particularly considering that the Lappet-faced Vulture, now probably extinct in the region, is included). The identification text is written with clarity and is much better set out than in the old book.

I really like this book, particularly the chapter on ID. In fact I’d love to see this section published, with basic distribution notes, as a slim field guide to birds of prey in its own right. However, the book has one extremely disappointing fault; the maps. Too often these are downright misleading; neither Honey Buzzard nor Hobby are mapped as breeding in the UK at all whilst the ranges of Red Kite, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine & Buzzard in the UK are significantly understated. This makes one wonder how accurate the maps are for other areas (and I have reservations about details of the maps showing distribution in Spain – the only other area I know reasonably well). In fact, I feel that this fault is so serious that the book should be recalled and corrections put in hand for a reprinting.

John

 

[joannec]

Thanks for this review John. I bought this book on the strength of your review...I needed a good raptor ID book and I've had it about a month now. I really like the book too. The drawings are absolutely superb, showing all the age and morph variations. But like you I worry about the maps. The book contradicts itself. For example, hobby; the map shows they they are not in UK and yet where it list pairs by country it says there are '2200 pairs and increasing' for Britain. As you say it makes one question the other distribution maps.

I've heard other criticisms of this book about it being in two distinct parts; one section a detailed description of the species behaviour, habits and with excellent photographs, etc and the other section concerned with IDs. Some people haven't liked the way you then may need to flip back and forth between sections. Personally I don't think this is a problem....you either want one sort of information or the other....not a big deal.

Joanne

 

[John Cantelo]

Glad I didn't mislead you! As for the criticism of the book that others have raised (that is the seperation of ID texts) I think this is mistaken. For obvious practical reasons, an identification guide needs the plates & ID text grouped together,

John