This book is the ultimate flight-identification guide for the raptors of the Western Palaearctic, covering Europe, North Africa, the Middle East (including Arabia) to Central Asia. Raptors are notoriously hard to identify, even if seen well, and represent perhaps the toughest of all ID challenges for birders. This guide provides identification information for all 60 species that regularly occur in the region, to subspecific level. The text covers every plumage and age in detail, with each species account accompanied by a range of photographs covering all the principal plumages. Based on this stunning photographic coverage, most of which has never been published before, this book represents a landmark in bird identification books and a major work for all raptor enthusiasts.

This book presents the most complete and up to date guide to therecognition of the diurnal raptors of Europe and the Middle East yetpublished. It is written by an acknowledged expert, the author of manydefinitive identification articles and veteran of countless tours andexpeditions. Over 700 high quality colour photographs have beenspecially chosen to show the plumages of each age and sex class ofevery species found in Europe and the Middle East, back up by adetailed text enabling birdwatchers to get to grips with even the mostdifficult species. The photographs are complemented by almost 100drawings focussing on particular identification details, and the wholeis fully referenced with a list of nearly 300 key papers and articles.This book sets a new standard for raptor watching and identification inEurope and further afield.

In this thorough new identification guide, author Bill Clark presents the latest information on tried-and-tested field marks for the diurnal raptors, both perched and in flight, making this book essential for all ornithologists or any bird watcher who wants to accurately identify these extraordinary birds.

Raptors are notoriously hard to identify, even if seen well. Contrary to expectation, it is actually easier to identify raptors in flight than perched, and it is fortunate that most raptors are usually seen in flight! This is the ultimate flight identification guide to Western Palearctic raptors. Covering over sixty species of raptors (over twenty more than the first edition) throughout Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, this deeply researched text reaches even further into the history of these amazing creatures. A stunning photographic guide of never-before-published images, this thorough text covers every plumage and age in breathtaking detail.

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A richly illustrated, state-of-the-art field guide for identifying European passerines in flight—the first of its kind Opening up new frontiers in birdwatching, this is the first field guide to focus specifically on the identification of European passerines and related landbirds in flight. Showcasing 850 stunning and remarkably lifelike colour illustrations from acclaimed bird artist Tomasz Cofta, produced using the latest digital technology, backed up with more than 2,400 photographs carefully selected to show typical flight profiles, it provides detailed and unsurpassed coverage of 205 European passerines and 32 near-passerines. This cutting-edge book brings a new dimension to birdwatching, the concise and authoritative species accounts presenting novel yet essential information on the flight manner of individual birds and the structure and behaviour of flocks—features that are key to identification. It also includes precise transliterations of flight calls, supported by sonograms, and links to a unique collection of hundreds of online audio recordings. Beautifully designed and written in an accessible style, this book will appeal to birdwatchers of all abilities. It presents the latest knowledge on flight identification of a group of birds that is poorly covered in the literature and is therefore a must-have for all professional ornithologists and scientists involved in migration studies. The first field guide to flight identification of European passerines and related landbirds Covers 205 European passerines and 32 near-passerines Features 850 stunning colour illustrations Includes more than 2,400 photos showing typical profiles of each species in flight Provides detailed information on flight calls, with links to online recordings

The most comprehensive guide to African raptors ever published. Due to its large land mass and impressive variety of habitats, Africa has the most diverse range of raptors of any continent – with almost a third of the world's species occurring in the region. These diurnal birds of prey are well known for their hooked bill and powerful talons, as well as their keen vision that enables them to accurately detect their prey during flight. This authoritative guide, part of the Helm Identification series, features all 106 species found in Africa, with particular emphasis on their field identification. Encompassing falcons, eagles, ospreys, kites, vultures and more, African Raptors discusses the identification of both perched and flying birds, bringing together the very latest research with accurate distribution maps, more than 300 colour photographs and 52 superb plates that illustrate a broad range of ages and racial plumage differences. This book is the ultimate reference on these remarkable birds, and will be indispensable for all birders and ornithologists with an interest in birds of prey.