John Cantelo
Well-known member
A bit of fun ... the 2nd edition of the Collins Guide had by my count 4 illustrations that included drawings of buildings (plus a couple showing chimney stacks alone). Of these only one is readily identifiable which is the sketch of the Giralda of Seville Cathedral with Lesser Kestrels buzzing around it (although the sketch of Great-grey Owl in 'taiga barn territory' feels like a drawing of a real place).
The 3rd edition retains these drawings (although one taiga barn has gone AWOL) but has four more generic drawings of assorted buildings (or small parts thereof) plus six more that may be identifiable - Montagu's Harrier has a windmill in the background, Common Swift is flying around a rather distinctive domed building (which looks vaguely familiar), Plain Swifts are shown with a clifftop village in the background (Madeira?), Little Swift is flying above a distinctly Moorish wall (Marrakech?), Chimney Swift is dashing around a distinctive institutional (educational?) looking building and Corn Bunting has a church (eastern Europe?) in the background that looks as if was drawn from life. Both editions show a variety of mountains/cliffs/etc that may represent an actual place but are probably not sufficiently distinctive to be identifiable. The 3rd edition has more 'habitat vignettes' than its predecessor which makes it both more attractive (and informative).
So as a bit of fun can anyone identify these buildings or, less likely, some of the locations?
The 3rd edition retains these drawings (although one taiga barn has gone AWOL) but has four more generic drawings of assorted buildings (or small parts thereof) plus six more that may be identifiable - Montagu's Harrier has a windmill in the background, Common Swift is flying around a rather distinctive domed building (which looks vaguely familiar), Plain Swifts are shown with a clifftop village in the background (Madeira?), Little Swift is flying above a distinctly Moorish wall (Marrakech?), Chimney Swift is dashing around a distinctive institutional (educational?) looking building and Corn Bunting has a church (eastern Europe?) in the background that looks as if was drawn from life. Both editions show a variety of mountains/cliffs/etc that may represent an actual place but are probably not sufficiently distinctive to be identifiable. The 3rd edition has more 'habitat vignettes' than its predecessor which makes it both more attractive (and informative).
So as a bit of fun can anyone identify these buildings or, less likely, some of the locations?