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Collins Bird Guide - errata and queries (1 Viewer)

P. 327 'saxual' in the plate should be 'saxaul'

On the dust jacket Dan Zetterström is described as "a honoured bird artist". Should be "an honoured..." (but even then the use of the word honoured sounds odd in this context to my ears).

In the vagrants section, the following published Icelandic records can be added:
Great Blue Heron - November 1983; April 1984
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - October 1998
Black-throated Blue Warbler - October 2003

p. 46 - stejnegeri has also been seen in Iceland (in 2003)

Steve rightly points out that Water Rail is localised in Iceland, in fact it's long disappeared as a breeder and is now a rare winter visitor - I've seen as many Yellow Warblers in the last 10 years as I have Water Rails! There are some other inaccuracies in the Icelandic maps (as well as some correct updates from the first edition) but as KM points out, these will take longer to rectify so I won't list them here (unless you want me to Steve?)

BTW my copy shows Bee-eater breeding in eastern Denmark (roughly Copenhagen). Sounds a bit improbable.

All these are minor quibbles over an otherwise outstanding book.

E
 
Edward said:
P. 327 'saxual' in the plate should be 'saxaul'

On the dust jacket Dan Zetterström is described as "a honoured bird artist". Should be "an honoured..." (but even then the use of the word honoured sounds odd in this context to my ears).

In the vagrants section, the following published Icelandic records can be added:
Great Blue Heron - November 1983; April 1984
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - October 1998
Black-throated Blue Warbler - October 2003

p. 46 - stejnegeri has also been seen in Iceland (in 2003)

Steve rightly points out that Water Rail is localised in Iceland, in fact it's long disappeared as a breeder and is now a rare winter visitor - I've seen as many Yellow Warblers in the last 10 years as I have Water Rails! There are some other inaccuracies in the Icelandic maps (as well as some correct updates from the first edition) but as KM points out, these will take longer to rectify so I won't list them here (unless you want me to Steve?)

BTW my copy shows Bee-eater breeding in eastern Denmark (roughly Copenhagen). Sounds a bit improbable.

All these are minor quibbles over an otherwise outstanding book.

E
Click to expand...

Edward, thanks for these. Please do list the other Icelandic maps errors here - although correcting these in the next printing could take a while, I'd like to include them in the errata list.

Can anyone else confirm or deny the presence of breeding Bee-eaters in Denmark?
 
A question for Killian: throughout the plates there are lots of unlabelled 'Peterson pointers'. I'm not sure whether the intention is that all pointers should have a label, or whether some of them are pointing to such obvious features that you felt they don't need one. I've checked the first edition and this is a feature there too, so I assume the latter is the case, but if it would be helpful to have a list of them, for checking, I'm already part way there.
 
StevePreddy said:
A question for Killian: throughout the plates there are lots of unlabelled 'Peterson pointers'. I'm not sure whether the intention is that all pointers should have a label, or whether some of them are pointing to such obvious features that you felt they don't need one. I've checked the first edition and this is a feature there too, so I assume the latter is the case, but if it would be helpful to have a list of them, for checking, I'm already part way there.
Click to expand...

I've never been bothered by uncaptioned pointers as they are generally of the "bleedin' obvious" variety and quite intelligible to those of us schooled in the 'Peterson tradition'. Similarly, I view the positioning of Whitethroat in the book as a mere detail and not a matter of concern.

If I wanted to quibble I'd express some small disappointment that the gorgeous, and often overlooked, form of Bluethroat found in Central Spain (a marginally white-spotted or more often "blue-spotted" variety with the bright orange chest band lacking intervening narrow black & buffy bands) is not illustrated,
 
The description of lesser scaup as being both smaller than tufted duck and approx the same size is a little ambiguous. And may confuse those unfamiliar with the species. Just a clarification as opposed to an error.

Owen
 
Steve, Edward, David, John and Owen,

Thank you all for further contributions. I have forwarded another list to the publishers and since the great majority of errors can be easily rectified I hope that there will be a willingness to introduce these corrections sooner rather than later.

Yes, there are quite a few 'pointers' on the plates where it was never intended to add a caption, all being of the 'bleedin' obvious' type, so aptly described by John!

I have already requested that 'Divers', Tundra and Taiga Bean Goose, Black Brant and a few other things be added to the index.

Please keep the corrections coming, the sooner they are pointed out the better the chance of them being corrected quickly. 'Quibbles' too, no matter how minor thay may seem, will also be welcome.

Thanks again,

Killian
 
i ordered my copy in paperback,from amazon,due to be dispatched on around march 10th,do you think my copy will have had errors corrected,by then,

Graham - I understand that the next printing, which is imminent, will be of the paperback edition, and perhaps the first few translated editions. I am certainly hoping that as many as possible of the errors will be eliminated before the presses roll...

Killian
 
One more from me:

p. 322 Thick-billed Warbler: “autumn vagrant” should read “vagrant (mostly in autumn)” as there's been a spring record now
 
KM1 said:
Steve, Edward, David, John and Owen,

Thank you all for further contributions. I have forwarded another list to the publishers and since the great majority of errors can be easily rectified I hope that there will be a willingness to introduce these corrections sooner rather than later.

Yes, there are quite a few 'pointers' on the plates where it was never intended to add a caption, all being of the 'bleedin' obvious' type, so aptly described by John!

I have already requested that 'Divers', Tundra and Taiga Bean Goose, Black Brant and a few other things be added to the index.

Please keep the corrections coming, the sooner they are pointed out the better the chance of them being corrected quickly. 'Quibbles' too, no matter how minor thay may seem, will also be welcome.

Thanks again,

Killian
Click to expand...

"Bleedin obvious" is a very relative concept.

It may be obvious to all birders in europe who have ever seen a robin, a christmas card or gone through pre-school that a robin has an obvious red breast...but does a birder from papua new guinea know that this is a near unmistakeable feature in a european context? Could he wonder what is supposed to be at the end of that "phantom" caption line?...could it be meant to say something else? or give vital superlatives or adjectives or combinative colorations that we birders feel the need to apply to features so often, e.g. orangey red? or matt red as opposed to deep red or glossy red.

Clarity of meaning is often better than assumption.

Remember, this is a field guide. A non birding alien from five galaxies away should be able to pick it up and start using it without any preformed notions and concepts in play.....assuming he speaks english that is....

Owen
 
Last edited:
Last two for now, both in the index

'Shrike, Bush' among the Ss should really be indexed as 'Bush-shrike' among the Bs, I think

and with this last one, I hereby trump all previous claims to the prize for finder of the most trivial correction.

Muscicapa dauurica and Threskiornis aethiopicus are in a different-sized font from the rest of the index
 
Errata...

Sterling work in this thread - I think that the effort expended in weeding out errata simply demonstrates how much people appreciate this book! I've had mine for a couple of weeks and it's already well-thumbed.

I think it was me who first mentioned the 'sommer/summer' thing - can't remember where it was now though - will keep looking...

A Canarian friend of mine pointed out that female Blue chaffinch never shows buff greater coverts - this is only on juvenile birds. Also, bill colour in Laurel pigeon is not quite right - tip never yellow, but pink...

Keep it up...
 
Hi there,
The maps show Little Egret as breeding in southern England, but not in Ireland: likewise, Common Buzzard seems to be confined to what looks like Donegal and westernmost Northern Ireland. Minor quibbles, agreed, and the most recent published breeding Atlas would not have any more up-to-date information than that (except that Buzzards would, even then, have been all over NI), but, if the UK map for Little Egret can be updated, then surely this oversight could also be? Both are the kinds of birds that non-birders tend to notice, from my conversations with people, and showing them as not present may confuse matters.
In the 'accidentals' section at the rear of the book, despite the inclusion of records as recent as the December 2008 British Glaucous-winged Gull, the sole WP record given for Canada Warbler is that from Iceland in 1973, with no mention of the 2006 Loop Head bird. I presume the Irish Northern Flicker record was left out due to being Category D? The Philadelphia Vireo from Loop Head in October 2008 also falls before the presumed cut-off date of December 2008.
Just as a personal question, which perhaps Killian or someone else can help me with, I am interested in finding out more about the quoted records of Relict Gull (from Russia in May 2000) and Northern Shrike (comprising of sibiricus and the North American taxa, seemingly, and quoted as being recorded in Norway in Nov 1881 and Finland in March 2000): does anyone know any more about these (links to pics, formal publication etc)?
Regards,
Harry
 
Harry Hussey said:
Just as a personal question, which perhaps Killian or someone else can help me with, I am interested in finding out more about the quoted records of Relict Gull (from Russia in May 2000) and Northern Shrike (comprising of sibiricus and the North American taxa, seemingly, and quoted as being recorded in Norway in Nov 1881 and Finland in March 2000): does anyone know any more about these (links to pics, formal publication etc)?
Regards,
Harry
Click to expand...

Hi harry, i believe there has been some discussion on surfbirds about a possible sibiricus in Finland and reference to a possible collected in Italy.

http://www.surfbirds.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6200&highlight=sibiricus

James
 
Pariah said:
"Bleedin obvious" is a very relative concept.

It may be obvious to all birders in europe who have ever seen a robin, a christmas card or gone through pre-school that a robin has an obvious red breast...but does a birder from papua new guinea know that this is a near unmistakeable feature in a european context? Could he wonder what is supposed to be at the end of that "phantom" caption line?...could it be meant to say something else? or give vital superlatives or adjectives or combinative colorations that we birders feel the need to apply to features so often, e.g. orangey red? or matt red as opposed to deep red or glossy red.

Clarity of meaning is often better than assumption.

Remember, this is a field guide. A non birding alien from five galaxies away should be able to pick it up and start using it without any preformed notions and concepts in play.....assuming he speaks english that is....

Owen
Click to expand...

I disagree with you here, Owen. When a pointer directs you to an obvious feature (in this case a great big red chest) on an otherwise relatively drab bird then the meaning is abundantly clear. Looking at various field guides (Japan, USA, etc.) that use this system to highlight features on species with which I'm unfamiliar, I found no problem in recognising the feature the pointer was directing me towards. Let's allow readers some gumption. Apart from anything else leaving pointers uncaptioned when not absolutely needed helps to limit the clutter on necessarily crowded pages.

One further point - and one for the nitpickers - Ruppell's Vulture is described as 'smaller than" Griffon, however measurements given (rightly) show a considerable overlap such that a large Ruppell's will be bigger than a small Griffon. Also no mention is made that Ruppell's habitually soars on flat, not raised wings (although Griffons may also do so).

One idle speculation - why is it that, a decade on, nobody has come close to matching the 'Collins Guide'? Is it the will by publishers? Is it the availability of necessary artists/writers of sufficient Olympian talents?
 
I suspect that the best way forward lies somewhere between John and Owen's viewpoints. I've done a quick flick through the ducks and asked myself "is it obvious what that pointer is pointing to?" and it's obvious in many cases, but not so obvious (to me at least) in some of the others. To confirm to anyone who still doubts that I'm a shoo-in for the award for Collins Bird Guide chief errata anorak, I'll post a list of the unlabelled pointers some time soon, and then we can all have a fun discussion about which ones need some text and which don't, and then Killian, if he's so inclined can wade through the responses (if there are any!) and decide if anyone has a, er, point. I won't include any in the errata list as they're a deliberate editorial decision.
 
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