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Books you'd like to be published. (1 Viewer)

Steve Babbs

Steve Babbs

Well-known member
Anyone any thoughts on books you'd really like to be published? My obvious one is: Where to watch butterflies and dragonflies in Europe. Or, even better, detailed site guides to European countries.
 
A Field Guide to the Birds of the Former Soviet Union,
with good maps, and plates by Killian Mullarney & Dan Zetterström. ;)

It would be great to have up-to-date, quality coverage of Central Asia, Siberia etc in one volume.

Richard
 
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I thought the Sylvia Warblers book by Shirihai et al was a tour de force and although inevitably heavy going in parts is in the main quite readable. I think if someone had the skill, knowledge and time there could be a welcome plethora of similar style books on other birds. Of the top of my head how about Branta geese, calidris sandpipers, tringa sandpipers, phylloscopus warblers and especially wheatears.
 
I've been on at Helm for years to do a proper hummingbird family monograph along the lines of Sylvia warblers - would love to illustrate that! Think it would sell very well all over
 
birdboybowley said:
I've been on at Helm for years to do a proper hummingbird family monograph along the lines of Sylvia warblers - would love to illustrate that! Think it would sell very well all over
Click to expand...
Sounds good. That would certainly keep you busy - there's a lot more hummingbirds than Sylvias! If Hadoram & Co needed nearly 600 pages for about 20 warblers, how many pages do you reckon for 300+ hummers? :eek!:

Richard
 
Ok, maybe not as minute a detail as Sylvia (prob forget the moult pattern etc..!) and artistically-wise probably get away with less than about 12 images per species methinks and more than 1 or 2 species per page (!) so it would be a big book....but I still think it would be a cosmopolitan seller. For example, Stonechats sold very well in the States yet they don't even have any saxicolas...a good book will sell regardless, especially to birders! Come on all, contact Helm and demand said book!
 
Birds of China

In preparation:
A Field Guide to the Birds of China
Paul Leader, Geoff Carey and Phil Round
c. 600 pages, 120 col plates, maps.
Christopher Helm

Don't know whether it'll come out one day ...
 
Nick Elliston said:
Helm were going to do a family book on Cotingas and Manakins but it got shelved for some reason. Would have loved to get my hands on that.
Click to expand...
Nick, don't despair!

Neotropical Birding 5 (Autumn 2009):

"COTINGAS AND MANAKINS – A REQUEST FOR PHOTOGRAPHS
The long-awaited Cotingas and manakins by Graeme Green and (NBC's Cotinga editor) Guy Kirwan is nearing completion. Part of the renowned Helm Identification Guides series, the book covers 129 species in the Neotropical families Cotingidae, Oxyruncidae, Pipridae and Tityridae. The book will also include photographs to help illustrate the tremendous variety of plumages in these birds; the authors would like to invite submissions..."​

Richard
 
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As someone who has been out of birding for a while and returns to find a plethora of splits I would like to see a book that brings together all the information on critical identification of all those birds that until recently I had never heard of (at least as species). eg splits in the herring Gull complex, Scoters, Syke's Warber E & W Bonellies, E & E Orphean and loads more, those known and potentially occurring.

Hopefully someone is working on it.

following on from Sharrock 1980 perhaps it could be called

Frontiers of Bird Identification. after 30 years time for an update? (or has it been done?)
 
I suppose that this thread would be a suitable one for me to bang on my particular drum about a field guide to bird subspecies....[i know 'some' may yawn at the prospect]..;)

'Ficedula' sort of brought up the 'issue' regards 'splits' etc...

High time...[in my opinion]...that birdy folk got away from all this 'what constitutes a full species' stuff....and all the associated 'hang-ups' that go with it..!
'One' field guide would, obviously, not be enough to cover all 'recognizable' forms'...but a nice little series of books would do nicely....[and of course...a wacking great list for those who wish to 'tick off' all the identifiable forms/subs]...

ps...i suppose i'm 'blowing in the wind ' tho...[as usual]...;)

pps....Mr.Babbs....yes....i would like 'that' butter/dragonfly book you first mentioned....!
 
Nick Elliston said:
Helm were going to do a family book on Cotingas and Manakins but it got shelved for some reason. Would have loved to get my hands on that.
Click to expand...

Same here! Meanwhile, with HBW the need is just not that urgent. But with stunning illustrations I'd certainly be interested.
 
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