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Collins Bird Guide: new edition (1 Viewer)

gmax

Sontium Dweller
Hello everybody,
will the the new edition of this great guide be worth upgrading from the old one? As it is stated: "The second edition will have expanded text and additional colour illustrations" - does anybody out there have further info?
This book (in hardcover format) is not yet published and is due March 2008.
 

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At last! I would imagine it will revise the taxonomic treatment of gulls at the very least. I'd also like it to cover Ruppell's Vulture fully - I might actually see one in Spain if it did! Personally I love the illustrations so much that it wouldn't take much to persuade me to buy another copy,

John
 
At last! I would imagine it will revise the taxonomic treatment of gulls at the very least. I'd also like it to cover Ruppell's Vulture fully - I might actually see one in Spain if it did! Personally I love the illustrations so much that it wouldn't take much to persuade me to buy another copy,

John

And Crested (Oriental) Honey Buzzard, American Black Tern, et al. I wonder what others would like to see illustrated?

John.
 
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Well... large gulls deserve at least 2-3 more plates - Caspian, American Herring, Armenian, Atlantic, Siberian. I would also wish more on HerringxGlaucous hybrids and first-summer Ring-billed.

Yellow Wagtail subspecies, Amur Falcon, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Ruppels Vulture, Lesser Kestrel female, Steppe and African Long-legged Buzzards, Ross Goose, Lesser Canada Goose, Balearic Shearwater, Ultramarine Tit, Lesser Redpoll, Western/Eastern Olly and Sykes Warbler, escaped flamingos, Elegant Tern & hybrids, Black Redstart hybrids, Cormorant subspecies...

Pelicans and cranes could get flight views like those of raptors.

More details could go on crakes, Blyth's Pipit or treecreepers.

Some Mr. Mullarney plates could do well with PhotoShop, moving pictures around the plate - his plates are sometimes overcrowded or clumped. Little Gull-Kittiwake page is an example.

Tawny Owl could get more different sounds, and calls of many species (e.g. warblers and chats) could be even more detaily described. Actually, for me call descriptions are one of greatest assets of this book.

I would like to see "Tips" section for some awkward species, like Hazel Grouse or crakes, as introduced in "Threatened birds of the world".

And, last but not least - feral Mallard x Domestic Duck and feral Muscovy could get full treatment. This is most common question which beginners ask; "I seen on a pond a duck which I can find in no book..."

I wouldn't actually mind a book growing slightly, maybe 5-10% more pages and 10% bigger format. This is not much but would greatly increase usefulness.
 
At last! I would imagine it will revise the taxonomic treatment of gulls at the very least.
John

LOL ... in the review to the forthcoming edition they say that "The nomenclature and taxonomy may not be to everybody's liking, " ... keep your finger crossed :smoke:
 
... in the review to the forthcoming edition...

Where is the review published?
If anyone knows any other reviews online or in print for the upcoming edition please post the references here. I would like to read them.

Thanks.
 
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Where is the review published?
If anyone knows any other reviews online or in print for the upcoming edition please post the references here. I would like to read them.

Thanks.

So would I!

As for all the suggestions mentioned: I doubt a much larger book would be to everybody's liking. It would call for two versions, a full one and a compact one, like Sibley in North America. But the large Sibley is no longer for the field. Thus a full version which includes all those suggestions would no longer be a practical book overall. It would be a nice addition, though.
 
The HarperCollins website tells me that it will have an 'expanded text and additional colour illustrations'. The blurb for the 2nd edition on the NHBS website says it will have 392 pages, 700 maps and 3500 illustrations .... which is exactly the same as the original! Either HarperCollins are fibbing or they haven't told NHBS the whole story!

I suspect that there won't be that many changes so I'm trying not to be too optimistic or excited,

John
 
LOL ... in the review to the forthcoming edition they say that "The nomenclature and taxonomy may not be to everybody's liking, " ... keep your finger crossed :smoke:

LOL! They originally wanted to "include every form recognizable in the field". I don't care if they call Isabelline Shrike forms subspecies or species, as long as they include good identification marks.

BTW, all recent splits are maybe 20-40 species. It is unlikely to enlarge book size (and cost) a lot. Maybe 20-30 more pages with 400 existing.
 
The HarperCollins website tells me that it will have an 'expanded text and additional colour illustrations'. The blurb for the 2nd edition on the NHBS website says it will have 392 pages, 700 maps and 3500 illustrations .... which is exactly the same as the original! Either HarperCollins are fibbing or they haven't told NHBS the whole story! John

Could you provide the link to the particular HarperCollins page, please. I have been unable to find the reference to the book. Thanks.
 
Given the general extremely high standard of illustration the very few slight weaknesses in the current edition stand out, although they are probably still much better than the best in most books. Phylloscopus, especially Radde's and Dusky look off. The large Acros are misleading dark, and the Accipiter colours are odd. The Blackstart doesn't 'feel' right, and the European Robin, of all things, is rubbish. No idea what happened there but I've seen much better on most Christmas cards!

Agree on the splits etc. mentioned but keeping it very close to current size has to be important - something will have to give?

Graham
 
Could you provide the link to the particular HarperCollins page, please. I have been unable to find the reference to the book. Thanks.

A most user unfriendly site - I think I ended up typing in the name of one of the authors into the site's 'search' box to find reference to the book,
John
 
P 292. Map of Zitting Cisticola is signed as Palla's Grasshopper Warbler.

I have one question about new cover. Why there is The most complete guide to the birds of Britain and Ireland? (not Europe)
 
P 292. Map of Zitting Cisticola is signed as Palla's Grasshopper Warbler.

I have one question about new cover. Why there is The most complete guide to the birds of Britain and Ireland? (not Europe)

No such error in my two copies (large & small format) which has the map correctly labelled!

John
 
In my version there is.

My friend said me that it was corrected in versions printed after 2005.
My bokk is from 2004.
 
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