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Collins Bird Guide: new edition (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter gmax
- Start date
John Cantelo
Well-known member
I somehow lost track of this thread and now that I’ve come back to it realise I need to offer a couple of apologies. Doubly so to Richard as, on reflection, my earlier comments may have been a little OTT and worse as I find I didn’t actually respond to his PM on the matter. I did write a response (off line in ‘Word’) and thought I’d sent it, but belatedly realise I hadn’t done so. That I was a somewhat under the weather at the time is a poor excuse. Apologies too to Killian for my over enthusiastic reaction which, I hope, hasn’t cause any embarrassment.
The irritation expressed by many at the non-appearance of the new edition only underscores what an invaluable resource this book has become. Ten years on it stands not merely head-and-shoulders above any other bird guide (European or non-European), but rather head-shoulders-and-torso! Personally, I'm surprised that no other region has risen to the challenge and produced something of the same calibre. Sibley, for example, is good, but simply not in the same class. It's also managed to change attitudes - prior to 1999 most self-respecting experienced birders rarely carried a field guide with them. Now most have the 'Collins' guide at hand not merely for species specific ID, but also to resolve issues of sub-specific & age/sex ID. So it's a pleasure to take this opportunity to thank publically one of the masterminds behind the project. The new edition may disappoint in its punctuality, but this will, I am sure, be the only scope for disappointment (rather than the petty nit-picking we birders love!)
The irritation expressed by many at the non-appearance of the new edition only underscores what an invaluable resource this book has become. Ten years on it stands not merely head-and-shoulders above any other bird guide (European or non-European), but rather head-shoulders-and-torso! Personally, I'm surprised that no other region has risen to the challenge and produced something of the same calibre. Sibley, for example, is good, but simply not in the same class. It's also managed to change attitudes - prior to 1999 most self-respecting experienced birders rarely carried a field guide with them. Now most have the 'Collins' guide at hand not merely for species specific ID, but also to resolve issues of sub-specific & age/sex ID. So it's a pleasure to take this opportunity to thank publically one of the masterminds behind the project. The new edition may disappoint in its punctuality, but this will, I am sure, be the only scope for disappointment (rather than the petty nit-picking we birders love!)
Fozzybear
Ich bin ein Vogelbeobachter
Sounds like it's certainly a worthwhile purchase for those seriously into birding. If I hadn't bought a cheap hardback copy of the first edition back in January I'd probably be waiting to buy it too.
The first edition is an amazing book, if rather wide in scope for a beginner like me who is watching regular UK birds, but then it's not really a book aimed at me I think! Used in conjunction with my RSPB handbook of British Birds it's really helped me with identification a number of times, I use the RSPB book to narrow down the options and compare those in the Collins. I have tried to use only the Collins but for an rank amateur the sheer number of birds included is rather overwhelming (a small version of the new book for the regular British birds would be something I'd snap up!). The illustrations are really excellent I must say and the coverage they have of different appearances is so helpful when I'm trying to sort out what on earth I'm looking at. :t:
Paul, looking at the large number of posts you have already made here on BF, you are definitely one who is "seriously into birding"! And I doubt you are the beginner you claim to be.
I remember when I got started, more than fifty years ago. It was just about when the German edition of the then revolutionary European Peterson FG came out. There was also this feeling of being overwhelmed. But there was also a lot of stimulation that came from that book. And that made birding all the more interesting. Needless to say that it had also stimulated the urge to visit other places. But I still recall the Bohemian Waxwings we had in our garden one winter that were easily identified thanks to the book that did not only show the regular local species.
Nevertheless, at this point you may not need the second edition, that I agree on. But keep enjoying the first one all the more.
John Cantelo
Well-known member
I've been banging on about the need for a 'British' (or 'European') only version of this book since it came out. More space for text and larger illustrations for the birds 95% are really likely to see (other than in oure dreams!). Essentially what I'd like to see is an updated version of the old 'Shell Guide to the Birds of Britain & Ireland'; all regular UK (or European) species covered in detail with good coverage of UK (ditto!) rarities in a generous appendix. Twenty-five years on The Shell Guide is still the one of the best books ever published on UK's birds - worth looking out for in second hand bookshops. With an updated text & larger illustrations from the Collins book it would be awesome,
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Fozzybear
Ich bin ein Vogelbeobachter
I take part in a lot of the ex-beeb stuff and when I get interested in something I do spend a lot of time on the subject (and I have time to spare since I'm not working at the moment) but what I really meant was people who are into 'advanced birds', if I can call them that. The not so common, the rarities and oddities, the ones you need to really be good to identify... or know the name! I started getting into birds a bit last year and know a bit, enough to recognise most of the birds in my local area if I get a decent view and can identify some of the songs and calls, but there is a vast amount I don't know. Considering that many people here have been watching birds for decades and have travelled all over the world, I think that even though I've gathered some know-how in my year and a bit of local bird-watching that does still make me a beginner... something I enjoy as there's still so much to find out and see.
I'm no longer a 'newbie', I know that for sure, and have made some trips to the honeypot places (Cley, Titchwell, Skomer Island) but I still feel confident calling myself a beginner at this hobby and when I've taken part in discussions here I've really had that feeling too! Not that people look down on me here (well, once or twice but mostly people here are great), it's just that I always get the feeling here and when I meet birders out and about that they know a great deal on the subject and have been there, done that - while I'm paddling in the shallows and occasionally shouting out, "Look... a seagull!!".
stonechat1
New member
Does anybody know if a german edition is planed??? And if yes when?
KR, Roman
KR, Roman
I wrote the publisher of the first edition (Kosmos Verlag) a week ago inquiring about this. So far, I have not received an answer.
stonechat1
New member
Collins in German?
Thanks Robert for your information!
Much appreciated!
Roman
Thanks Robert for your information!
Much appreciated!
Roman
I am a fan of the Collins bird guide...however...it does on occasion 'fall-down' with the illustrations of some species....[then i find myself reaching for the Lars Jonsson Birds of Europe]! Whilst folk might not like some of Lars more 'artistic' poses of species i have always found his illustrations 'bang-on'...and i haven't found a mistake yet..jizz or plumage-wise with his depictions...[have others]?
Have read with interest comments made on this thread and it struck me how confusing new bird guides must be to 'relative newcomers'.
'Running before you can walk' just sprang to my mind..[rightly or wrongly]
I suppose it's all very well for, perhaps me and others, wanting more full treatment of sub-species etc..but might it not be better to have a graded system of collins fieldguides? I know that when i started birding there was more than enuff info in the Peterson guide to keep me occupied for years...now it must seem like information overload...!
Having woffled all that...i am looking forward to new Collins guide...and no doubt i will purchase it..when it finally arrives!
Have read with interest comments made on this thread and it struck me how confusing new bird guides must be to 'relative newcomers'.
'Running before you can walk' just sprang to my mind..[rightly or wrongly]
I suppose it's all very well for, perhaps me and others, wanting more full treatment of sub-species etc..but might it not be better to have a graded system of collins fieldguides? I know that when i started birding there was more than enuff info in the Peterson guide to keep me occupied for years...now it must seem like information overload...!
Having woffled all that...i am looking forward to new Collins guide...and no doubt i will purchase it..when it finally arrives!
Fozzybear
Ich bin ein Vogelbeobachter
Indeed - give me a Collins featuring the regular birds you're likely to see in the uk with big illustrations and I'd be happy. It's why my first port of call is always my RSPB handbook, it has the regular species with large pictures of the bird - just what you need when you're confuzzled.
I imagine that there must be much 'confuzzlement' amongst new[ish] birders who purchase the collins guide...
Perhaps so many 'probables'..possibles' reported these days is partly down to all this 'information overload'...?
ps...if i had just passed my driving test then had immediate access to a Ferrari...i know what the 'consequences' might be.....:eek!:
pps...steady as we go.......n all that..!
John Hague
aka The Drunkbirder
I take part in a lot of the ex-beeb stuff and when I get interested in something I do spend a lot of time on the subject (and I have time to spare since I'm not working at the moment) but what I really meant was people who are into 'advanced birds', if I can call them that. The not so common, the rarities and oddities, the ones you need to really be good to identify... or know the name! I started getting into birds a bit last year and know a bit, enough to recognise most of the birds in my local area if I get a decent view and can identify some of the songs and calls, but there is a vast amount I don't know. Considering that many people here have been watching birds for decades and have travelled all over the world, I think that even though I've gathered some know-how in my year and a bit of local bird-watching that does still make me a beginner... something I enjoy as there's still so much to find out and see.
I'm no longer a 'newbie', I know that for sure, and have made some trips to the honeypot places (Cley, Titchwell, Skomer Island) but I still feel confident calling myself a beginner at this hobby and when I've taken part in discussions here I've really had that feeling too! Not that people look down on me here (well, once or twice but mostly people here are great), it's just that I always get the feeling here and when I meet birders out and about that they know a great deal on the subject and have been there, done that - while I'm paddling in the shallows and occasionally shouting out, "Look... a seagull!!".
Paul, I was reading some of the recent post and if you're looking for a few good field guides for British Birds with a few rarities I doubt you can still do better than this http://www.amazon.co.uk/RSPB-Guide-British-Birds-Hilary/dp/0333907515
also this guide is pretty useful and I wish it was out when I started out. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Handbook-British-Birds-Peter-Holden/dp/0713675608/ref=pd_sim_b_1
If I've got things a bit wrong or gotten the wrong end of the stick, please forgive me...
Ha, hybrid Mallard yuck-duck pics would cut down a load of the posts on here too!!
Fozzybear
Ich bin ein Vogelbeobachter
I got a copy of the second one, the RSPB handbook, when I joined the RSPB and it's a good guide - it's my first call for ID. :t: The Collins has some better illustrations in a broader range of plumages. I agree about the variants and part-domestics, just because they are not 'tickable' and not pure they seem to be ignored yet people starting out really need information on them.
Username: I would bet that many people starting out that buy the Collins will think they've seen a Swainson's Thrush in Reading or a Spotless Starling in Swindon?
Is the new guide gonna keep the same taxonomic order as the old I wonder??....bl**dy hope so, hate all this ducks first crap!
