[Richard Klim]

Paterson 2012. Pelagic Birds of the North Atlantic: an ID Guide. New Holland. [NHBS] [Amazon UK]

Looks useful - a concise, waterproof ID guide for use on pelagic trips.

[John Cantelo]

I had a brief chat with Andy Paterson the September before last and he showed me some drafts of the illustrations. It certainly looked like a very interesting approach although I suspect the artwork may be too 'diagramatic' for those who prefer the "microscopic detail" school of bird illustration, but for birds seen at sea such an approach may well be more useful. One worry, though, is that the book (to judge from the illustration of the cover) seems to be overly wide with a short spine - a format I find hard to handly comfortably,

[Richard Klim]

Originally Posted by John Cantelo

...to judge from the illustration of the cover...

Incidentally, NHBS depicts a Black-browed Albatross, while Amazon UK has a White-tailed Tropicbird. I wonder which was ultimately used...?

[Richard Klim]

Received my copy of this unusual booklet recently (Amazon UK, £6.99).

Despite glancing at the details before ordering, I wasn't really prepared for quite how small it is (~15x18cm), containing only 16 leaves of waterproof paper with monochrome drawings.

Nevertheless, it will surely be a handy companion on future pelagic trips.

PS. The cover depicts a Black-browed Albatross, not a White-tailed Tropicbird!

[Steve Lister]

Have you ever seen Cory's looking like those illustrated ?

To be fair the other illustrations are generally a fair bit better.

Steve

[John_WA]

I pre-ordered this book a while back as it seemed like an interesting concept (won't get a lot of field use!), and it arrived not too long ago. Have to say I wasn't overly impressed with the illustrations, but I do like the idea of the book. Better illustrations (preferably colour) or even briefly annontated photos would take it to the next level

[Richard Klim]

Review by John Martin.