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Handbook of Western Palearctic birds (1 Viewer)

If I wanted to check the plumage of an American vagrant, I'd check an American handbook?

The title of the book is

Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds

Are Red-eyed Vireo or Yellow-browed Warbler Western palearctic birds? Both species occur on a regular basis as vagrants but they are not WP birds? It's not a field guide so why include them, were they in BWP, I don't have it here to check?

Surely a book on the birds of an area - whether a handbook or field guide - should, as far as possible, include all of those species that have occurred there regardless of their ultimate origins. Given that portability is an issue for field guides then if any guide omits extreme rarities than it should be a field guide. Given that Yellow-browed Warbler is a species that many UK birders would expect to see in autumn then its inclusion seems obvious.
 
One of the most interesting parts are the vagrants. They include all vagrants from the New World (e.g. the Dark-eyed junco and the New World warblers) or from Central Asia (Yellow-breasted bunting, Large-billed reed warbler)

Yellow-breasted Bunting is a regular breeder in eastern Europe, but when has Large-billed Reed Warbler ever occurred in the WP?

Maffong
 
Yellow-breasted Bunting is a regular breeder in eastern Europe, but when has Large-billed Reed Warbler ever occurred in the WP?

Maffong

The Large-billed Reed Warbler has been included because of its similarity to the Blyth's reed warbler (a true WP species). The Large-billed Reed Warbler occurs in Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
 
Surely a book on the birds of an area - whether a handbook or field guide - should, as far as possible, include all of those species that have occurred there regardless of their ultimate origins. Given that portability is an issue for field guides then if any guide omits extreme rarities than it should be a field guide. Given that Yellow-browed Warbler is a species that many UK birders would expect to see in autumn then its inclusion seems obvious.

This would be my vision too.
 
In contrast to older books on the Western Palearctic they have also included the southern part of the Arabian peninsula (Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman etc)
 
Judging by the new OSME checklist booklet the authors have proposed/made quite a few splits eg Menetrie's Warbler becomes Eastern and Western and 'Basalt Wheatear' becomes a species.
Maybe that will sell a few more copies.

Steve

The Mourning Wheatear has been split into four species: Mourning Wheatear, Basalt Wheatear, Maghreb Wheatear, Arabian Wheatear.
 
They tried to deliver my copy yesterday when it was out but today left it with a neighbour. Unfortunately, I've had visitors today so have had little time to look at it. Initial impressions are very good and it's obvious that a vast amount of work & scholarship has gone into the work. My only caveats so far are that a number of established exotic species appear not to have been included and at least one map is misleading (distribution of Willow Tit in UK) but this is nitpicking ... You really need this book, Andy!
 
They tried to deliver my copy yesterday when it was out but today left it with a neighbour. Unfortunately, I've had visitors today so have had little time to look at it. Initial impressions are very good and it's obvious that a vast amount of work & scholarship has gone into the work. My only caveats so far are that a number of established exotic species appear not to have been included and at least one map is misleading (distribution of Willow Tit in UK) but this is nitpicking ... You really need this book, Andy!

Yeah, I gave in John....

Wildsounds aren't listing it as available yet or Antpittas?


A
 
Ordered this and Antpittas on Wednesday from NHBS, and they arrived yesterday. Antpittas is the only bird book I have seen to include a Monty Python film in the references!!!!!
 
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