What Is The Best Bird Field Guide (1 Viewer)

[django]

In members opinion what do they think the best bird guide out in the field, I have R.S.B.P GUIDE ALSO COLLINS do you think there are better guides than this,it may be just my opinion but some guides are a little to lavish with their pictures of birds (Drawings paintings ect) they look great but the overdone colours can throw you a bit maybe it!s just me greatful for any thoughts on this subject.

 

[pduxon]

out of interest which RSPB guide?

As a rule the one I carry is the Pocket Guide to Birds of Britain & North West Europe. Large pictures fits in pocket!

others I like
Collins - natch
RSPB Handbook of British Birds
Mitchell Beazley New Pocket Guide
and the Macmillan one that concentrates on difficult species.

 

[django]

out of interest which RSPB guide?

As a rule the one I carry is the Pocket Guide to Birds of Britain & North West Europe. Large pictures fits in pocket!

others I like
Collins - natch
RSPB Handbook of British Birds
Mitchell Beazley New Pocket Guide
and the Macmillan one that concentrates on difficult species.

R.S.B.P POCKET BIRDS JONATHAN ELPHICK JOHN HOWARD APPROX £8 .99

 

[Keith Dickinson]

I carry the Birds of Northwestern Europe by Steve Madge et al, and the Collins is usually in the car. There is no absolutely definitive field guide imho, every guide can offer some help. You really need to have a look at any you see in bookshops and weigh up the advantages/disadvantages of that volume.
If you've got a strong back then the Concise BWP would be about the best field guide 3 (as no-one has the constitution to carry the 9 volume BWP )
With advent of the Collins e-guide then portability and bags of info start to come together if you have a PDA, rather an expensive option if you haven't.
Keith

In members opinion what do they think the best bird guide out in the field, I have R.S.B.P GUIDE ALSO COLLINS do you think there are better guides than this,it may be just my opinion but some guides are a little to lavish with their pictures of birds (Drawings paintings ect) they look great but the overdone colours can throw you a bit maybe it!s just me greatful for any thoughts on this subject.

 

[django]

Thanks for the follow up think a look round the secondhand bookshops a good idea got a copy of Readers Digest Book of British Birds for 25 pence at local charity shop real nice book great pictures 500 pages.

 

[Keith Dickinson]

You can occassionally get quite good field guides in the remaindered piles in bookshops, NOT those by people with more consonants than vowels to their nameas these are usually very old, ie out of copyright, and more often than not have a distinctly mid european slant to the species. Black woodpecker listed as common, that sort of thing.
Readers digest guide isn't bad, look out for the AA guide as that it quite reasonable, has some info on sites etc. I fyou can find it the Shell guide is a brilliant little book with lots of tips.
Keith

 

[Swissboy]

I carry the Birds of Northwestern Europe by Steve Madge et al, and the Collins is usually in the car. There is no absolutely definitive field guide imho, every guide can offer some help. You really need to have a look at any you see in bookshops and weigh up the advantages/disadvantages of that volume.
If you've got a strong back then the Concise BWP would be about the best field guide 3 (as no-one has the constitution to carry the 9 volume BWP )
With advent of the Collins e-guide then portability and bags of info start to come together if you have a PDA, rather an expensive option if you haven't.
Keith

I don't think BWP would serve well as a field guide, but it's definitely great to have available for consulting at home.
Personally, I think Collins is by far the best single book to take out. If the hard cover version is too bulky, why not get a paperback version. It's at least available from Princeton UP (just a somewhat different title: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...f=sr_1_1/103-7453802-8975809?v=glance&s=books

 

[Suffolk Steve]

The best book is the well thumbed one that you are happy with and would be lost without.

For me the RSPB Handbook of British Birds (Holden and Cleeves) is the book that always lives in my jacket pocket. The pictures are good, large and show a good range of male, female, juvenile etc. I especially like the well laid out text and maps. The info has often helped when I was not sure exactly which bird I had seen. Many times the distribution which is also by season and the estimated number helped stop me look silly by calling something obviously wrong.

I also have a Collins, but for general day to day use there are too many foreign birds that I am not likely to see and that only confuse the matter more.

Unlike a lot of birders I am happy to use it in the field as I openly admit there are plenty of birds I can not be sure of. It seems to be a sign of weakness to admit they do not know every birds leg colour from memory.

 

[senatore]

Has anyone any experience of the Collins field guide that is on a palm computer which fits into your pocket.The advert I saw was very impressive but the total cost is very high.

Max.

 

[Suffolk Steve]

Has anyone any experience of the Collins field guide that is on a palm computer which fits into your pocket.The advert I saw was very impressive but the total cost is very high.

Max.

The version I saw was on pocket PC and it got a good review, but I would not want co carry my Palm round on a wet day and risk damage. Also how well can you see it on a bright day
Had someone staying with me last week who had her phone/organiser in her rucksac and it got wet. £400 to replace and no up to date backup. To make matters worse she had just cancelled the insurance as she wanted to save money for her wedding. She left it in pieces in our drying room for 3 days and was hoping it would all work again, it didn't.
New paper field guide less than £15 - no contest

 

[the bird]

I found for every day birding the Mitchell Beazley was more than adequate - the book I was brought up with. However, the more you become aware of the rarer bird possibilities, the better the book you need - and theres only one - Collins.

 

[dbradnum]

I found for every day birding the Mitchell Beazley was more than adequate - the book I was brought up with. However, the more you become aware of the rarer bird possibilities, the better the book you need - and theres only one - Collins.

Afraid I disagree on both fronts - I found the original MB guide awful to use, and I think I threw it out! Many of the illustrations are simply inaccurate, and the species order is not intuitive (though, OK, nor is Voous if you're not used to it!). Not sure what the revised edition is like, though - I think it's quite different?

As for "there's only one", yes, Collins is superb if you could only have one book... but it's not the end of the story. I wouldn't be without numerous others:

• Macmillan guide (only deals with tricky species, and deals with them very well)
• Jonsson - for an alternative (somehow more artistic, jizz portraying view)
• Lewington and Alstrom rare birds guide - for extra detail on the megas
• BWP concise - for even more detail
• (not a book, but...) Roche 10CD set of bird songs and calls of Europe.

I don't have them, but some of the RSPB guides are now pretty good as well.

 

[the bird]

Afraid I disagree on both fronts

Ok my mate, there is possibly more choices out there at the moment than just the collins - but I'm in love what can I say.

However, the Mitchell Beazley really helped me when I was learning - agreed it can be a bit shoddy..... but for a beginner it just made it simple to learn.

i don't think there is much difference between the new and old versions. I looked at one the other year and it looked the same (I didn't buy one - cos like you say its a bit shoddy)

 

[dbradnum]

but I'm in love what can I say.

Awwww, how sweet

:flowers:

 

[the bird]

Awwww, how sweet

:flowers:

ahhh!!!!! shut it!!!!

:-C

 

[Bluetail]

I think David has quoted pretty much the perfect list there. The only thing I'd add is: consider getting both the Macmillan guides (if you can find them). The second one concentrates on confusion species in Europe and the Middle East, so in a British context it's dealing mostly with difficult rarities, but if rarities are your thing, then it's indispensible.

Hmm... think it might be worth reading the chapter on large falcons.

 

[Steve Jones]

I've got a fair number of these now and would say:

Collins - most birds, most accurate but not very portable (paperback in the car, large format at home = none in the field. Too many birds!

Lars Jonsson - brilliantly painted birds, a joy to look at - get a copy, one mans endeavour and worth its weight in gold, but again not very portable.

MacMillan (Harris/Tucker/Vinicombe) - for difficult british birds, out of print but full of useful info. Reasonably portable.

Mitchell/Beazley - surprisingly good and very portable, but missing some obvious 'autumn birds', such as YB Warbler, Pallas's.

Kingfisher Field Guide - Wife bought me this as a 'cheapie' in a book sale, and is actually quite good, although rather restrictive of plumage variations in some species, but still has some nice sections (e.g. raptors).

 

[django]

bird books

Just brought THE SHELL EASY BIRD GUIDE at local (Harlow) cheap bookshop outlet £4,99 real nice book RRP £12.9. THIS IS NEW published 2005.

 

[billy]

got the collins used ( as new ) from amazon £9.50. but also cost me £125 for specs to read the bl***y thing

 

[Keith Dickinson]

got the collins used ( as new ) from amazon £9.50. but also cost me £125 for specs to read the bl***y thing

altogether......


you should have gone to specsavers 3