Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Why would it have to be done in two parts? There's only about 800 species on the Russian list, and with them being largely Eurasian in origin, diversity is fairly low, and far less subspecies and cryptic diversity to deal with than compared to the tropics + historically well-covered so novel research is limited compared to other areas of the world.
I spent some time in Sakha last year, and though roads are sparse, there are certainly plenty of roads that can get you into most general areas of the remoter central and north-eastern areas of the country. We also found a handful of species breeding away from the mapped areas in HBW, so an up-to-date guide would also be useful for gaining a greater knowledge for the real distribution for a lot of species.
I think a field guide for Russia would be absolutely superb and much-needed. It would undoubtedly create more interest and hopefully bring an increase in foreign birders to the country. I found it to have some of the most enjoyable general birding I've had anywhere in Asia during my few weeks there.
James
Most people who set foot in Russia, do so in the East, very few visit the West so I see no point in combining the two. How far East have you got to go to find a species that's not in the Collins guide?
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