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The Raptors of Europe and the Middle East: A Handbook of Field Identification (Poyser) | 
 enlarge | Author: D Forsman
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Category: Book
This item is no longer available
Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 730779
Format: Import
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 608
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.1
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 0856610984
Dewey Decimal Number: 598.9094
EAN: 9780856610981
ASIN: 0856610984
Publication Date: January 24, 2008
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| Customer Reviews:
Must have for every birder interested in raptor identification February 8, 2007
Markus Jais
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Raptors are among the most popular groups of birds. One reason is their majestic appearance. A Golden Eagle for example is simply one the most fascinating birds a birder can see. Many bird watchers also like the challenge of identifying those birds. Although some are very easy to identify (like Ospreys, adult White-tailed Eagles or Red Kites), many are a challenge even for experienced birders (for example the Lesser and Greater Spotted Eagles or the big falcons).
And because many raptors need several years to reach adult plumage, it can be very interesting (and fun) to find out how old a raptor is. A traditional field guide can not cover every raptor in such details because there are many other birds to describe.
If you want to be a real expert in identifying raptors, you need a specialized field guide devoted only to raptors. There are currently two such guide guide which I can highly recommend. One is the book described here by Dick Forsman, the other is by William Clark and John Schmitt (come back in one or two weeks for a review about this one). Dick Forsman's book is a huge one with many excellent color photographs of all raptors of Europe and the Middle East. The pictures are of high quality and they show every important plumage of the birds. Below every picture is a description of the important things to look at in the picture. Beside the wonderful pictures, every raptor is described by a very detailed (but easy to read) description of the field characteristics of each species.
The text gives information on length and wing-span, an identification summary for every bird and then describes in detail how to identify the bird in flight, when perched, different color morphs, bare parts like bill and feet, moult and how to age and identify the sex of the bird.
This book is the bible of European raptor identification and an absolute must have for every serious birder. If you are just about to begin bird watching, start with a "normal" field guide. But when you are able to distinguish a Common Buzzard from a White-tailed Sea Eagle, get this book. You will not regret it.
Informative and clear February 26, 2002
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
A very informative book with good descriptions of the various raptor species including many colour photographs for each species (16 colour photgraphs of a Hen Harrier for example)which is invaluable since many raptor species seem to exhibit very varied plumage colours and this level of species illustration aids definitive identification. Other bird guides just do not have enough pictures from enough angles and this book is excelllent in comparison. Identification is aided further by detailed text covering moult pattern, aging and sexing techniques and confusion species. I cannot really fault this book and have used it again and again. It is very detailed but the text is broken down into small bite sized pieces making it very accessible and easy to read.
If you want to get to know your raptors better and want to know exactly which kind of buzzard you're looking at then I recommend this book.
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