Please recommend raptor book for UK and Europe (1 Viewer)

[grwilky]

Hello group,

Can you please recommend the best books to identify Raptors in the UK and Europe (mainly Spain/Gibraltar). Alternatively, can you direct me to any websites that review books in this category?

Best wishes

Gordon

 

[barontan2418]

Hello group,

Can you please recommend the best books to identify Raptors in the UK and Europe (mainly Spain/Gibraltar). Alternatively, can you direct me to any websites that review books in this category?

Best wishes

Gordon

Hi Gordon

Dick Forsman's Raptors of Europe and the Middle East is still probably the best reference and identification book available at approx £35. Just Google it for a supplier.
all the best.

Mick

 

[Markus Jais]

Forsman is great. See my review:

http://www.birdingnet.com/reviews/the_raptors_of_europe_and_the_middle_east.html

It's currently available as a paper back.


The other really good book is by Bill Clark:

http://www.birdingnet.com/reviews/a..._Europe_the_Middle_east_and_north_africa.html

If you can read German and are also interested in biology and conservation the following book is BY FAR the best currently available on European raptors:

http://www.birdingnet.de/rezensionen/greifvoegel_europas_nordafrikas_und_vorderasiens.html

Markus

 

[grwilky]

Hi Gordon

Dick Forsman's Raptors of Europe and the Middle East is still probably the best reference and identification book available at approx £35. Just Google it for a supplier.
all the best.

Mick

Thanks for the help, Mick. I have ordered this book.

Best wishes

Gordon

 

[grwilky]

Forsman is great. See my review:

http://www.birdingnet.com/reviews/the_raptors_of_europe_and_the_middle_east.html

It's currently available as a paper back.


The other really good book is by Bill Clark:

http://www.birdingnet.com/reviews/a..._Europe_the_Middle_east_and_north_africa.html

If you can read German and are also interested in biology and conservation the following book is BY FAR the best currently available on European raptors:

http://www.birdingnet.de/rezensionen/greifvoegel_europas_nordafrikas_und_vorderasiens.html

Markus

Thank you for your reply, Markus. I have ordered the Forsman book and I am saving up for the Clark book.

Best wishes

Gordon

 

[deborah4]

I agree Forsman is excellent but wouldn't recommend it for those fairly new to raptor identification! It's a heavy book for the field and gives plumages of all ages and moult etc .. Collins gives a good broad overview (as well as call identification which Forsman lacks for some reason) and is good enough for basic Id's of European raptors if it's just a holiday you are going on.

 

[grwilky]

I agree Forsman is excellent but wouldn't recommend it for those fairly new to raptor identification! It's a heavy book for the field and gives plumages of all ages and moult etc .. Collins gives a good broad overview (as well as call identification which Forsman lacks for some reason) and is good enough for basic Id's of European raptors if it's just a holiday you are going on.

Hello Deborah,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my query.

I have been an off and on birder for many years, but retaining even in my off periods an avid interest in birds of prey. Recognising that I only have limited time available for birding, I have decided to concentrate on one section of birding, raptors. My daughter lives close to Gibraltar and I visit her on a regular basis, which also helped to shape my decision.

I have the Collins book and I agree that it is a good book. However, I was looking for books specific to raptors.

I already own a good raptor book 'Birds of prey of Britain & Europe', by Ian Wallis, illustrated by Ian Willis, published in 1983 (The Birds of the Western Paleartic, which I also own, uses the exact same illustrations for it's section on raptors). I own other general bird books, but wanted to know if more modern books offered more.

Best wishes

Gordon

 

[Bubbs]

Forsman, then Gensbol's (supposedly new) book. Then get yourself into the field. That's the only way to do it..... Spain, Gib, Eilat.

 

[John Cantelo]

I agree Forsman is excellent but wouldn't recommend it for those fairly new to raptor identification! It's a heavy book for the field and gives plumages of all ages and moult etc .. Collins gives a good broad overview (as well as call identification which Forsman lacks for some reason) and is good enough for basic Id's of European raptors if it's just a holiday you are going on.

I'd tend to agree with Deborah here. I'd also commend the new Collins Birds of Prey by Benny Gensbol. I've only looked at it briefly, but it's on order and should arrive soon. The ID section looks very extensively revised now with all colour plates which, whilst not as well drawn as the Olympian standards of the Collins Bird Guide, are still very good indeed,

John

 

[rob stoff]

What John said

Rob

 

[Markus Jais]

I'd tend to agree with Deborah here. I'd also commend the new Collins Birds of Prey by Benny Gensbol. I've only looked at it briefly, but it's on order and should arrive soon. The ID section looks very extensively revised now with all colour plates which, whilst not as well drawn as the Olympian standards of the Collins Bird Guide, are still very good indeed,

John

I have the German version of the Gensbol book and I think it's really good. The ID section is very good and much better than in older versions of the book. But I don't think it can replace neither the Clark nor the Forsman book.
If you are as crazy about raptors as I am, you will want all three, of course.
The Gensbol book has good information on biology and populations.

In the German version the population data for the Golden Eagle has some errors.
For UK it says around 221 occupied territories in 2001 (correct is about 420). And for Germany it says 300-310 pairs. This is (unfortunately!) not true. We only have between 45 and 50 pairs.


Markus

 

[John Cantelo]

I have the German version of the Gensbol book and I think it's really good. The ID section is very good and much better than in older versions of the book. But I don't think it can replace neither the Clark nor the Forsman book.
Markus

I'm afraid that I really dislike the illustrations in Clark's book - so much so that I've not got a copy. Given Markus's championing of the book I suspect the fault is more my own than the artist's. Having had my copy of Gensbol's book .... for about an hour ..... I still really like the ID section. However, I have considerable reservations about the maps which seem littered with errors (one of the most obvious errors being the map for Hobby omits the UK range). I'm also a a bit disappointed that some population figures are somewhat dated and seem to have been lifted directly from the 2004 German edition (surely it couldn't have been too difficult to update them for the English edition),

John

 

[Bubbs]

I'm afraid that I really dislike the illustrations in Clark's book - so much so that I've not got a copy. Given Markus's championing of the book I suspect the fault is more my own than the artist's. Having had my copy of Gensbol's book .... for about an hour ..... I still really like the ID section. However, I have considerable reservations about the maps which seem littered with errors (one of the most obvious errors being the map for Hobby omits the UK range). I'm also a a bit disappointed that some population figures are somewhat dated and seem to have been lifted directly from the 2004 German edition (surely it couldn't have been too difficult to update them for the English edition),

John

I too dislike the 'wooden' illustrations in Clarks book and I stated so some time back and got slated, even though it was just my personal opinion. I too found lots of the population figures outdated but perhaps that is all to hand (I doubt it) I also think some of the illustrations in Gensbols book a little 'watery' and I also disliked the harriers heads illustration but at £18.00 I do think that Gensbol's book is a bargain.

 

[John Cantelo]

A good many years ago there was a rumour that Ian Lewington was doing a book on raptors, but, sadly, nothing seems to have come of it. Given the superb plate he did of Red-footed/Amur Falcon (in "British Birds" I think) such a book would have been a tremendous asset for BoP identification. On the thread devoted to the 'Collins Birds of Prey' book on BF someone mentioned a new Danish book on BoP ID. I gather that both the text and plates are very good indeed - if there's a market in Danish then surely there'd be a vastly bigger one in English. I'd also suggest getting hold of "The MacMillan Birder's Guide" which, although it covers a wide range of tough species, has very good coverage on raptors. Strangely it's long been out of print and, much less strangely, second hand copies are in high demand,

John

 

[John Cantelo]

For anyone who's interested I've just put a review of the Collins book on the thread on that book in the 'Books, magazines' section,

John