Customer Reviews:
 An excellent bird guide February 4, 2006
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is the book that I reach for before I go to sleep to review some of the birds that I have seen throughout the day - an amazing wealth of information is crammed into a page, and each page is dedicated to a bird. The drawings and artwork are OK, not up to Collins standards, and it would not be my first choice for a field guide, but for some interesting factual information about species that I have encountered. This is the one, and worth having just for that. I love it, and think that the RSPB have a very good and effective range of books out at them moment.
 Easy to Read And Use February 17, 2005
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
The RSPB Handbook of British Birds is an excellent all-round bird book with many topics not discussed in ordinary identification field guides. The main purpose of the book is to give you a better understanding of the birds in the book with sections on habits, movements and migrations and conservation which gives you an idea of what is causing decline and what can be done to prevent it. It also includes some rare birds frequently seen in Britain such as the Night Heron, Ruddy Shelduck and Scarlet Rosefinch. Wherever possible the book has tried to give as much detailed information as possible, for example instead of saying that a kingfisher eats fish, it gives a good description of the different species of fish taken. All round it is a very good book with some excellent illustrations and good up-to-date maps. An excellent addition for anyone with an interest in birds. Well worth the buy!
Extremely accessible and informative January 16, 2003
79 out of 80 found this review helpful
This is a very impressive all round birdguide. Most guides limit themselves to merely providing details about how to identify species, this book not only perfroms that function perfectly well but in addition offers notes on what makes birds fascinating - their ecology, habitats, conservation status and movements. So, for example, you are not only told how to differentiate between a male and female Grey Partridge but also that they have declined by 84% in the last 25 years and that this is linked to a reduction in suitable nesting cover on farmland and insecticide use. In this way the book gives more of a clear overall picture of British bird species than almost any other book I know. Do not buy this book if you intend to find the definitive identification guide. But for anyone looking for a book that will provide interesting general information about bird species then this is for you.
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