World Bird Field Guides
:: Eurasia
Åland Islands, Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Channel Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faeroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Holy See [Vatican City], Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jersey, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Occupied Palestinian Territory [Palestine], Poland, Portugal (including Madeira), Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (including the Canary Islands), Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Scoop
Lars Svensson, Killian Mullarney, Dan Zetterström, and Peter J. Grant have produced a brilliant guide to the birds of Europe, the western Middle East, and far northern Africa. The only trick is finding the right book amid a confusing array of similar titles, alternate covers, and different book sizes. Never fear — there’s a table at the bottom of this page to help you make the right choice.
The artwork is superb; it’s easy to forget that you’re looking at a field guide. But it’s not just beautiful, it’s very accurate and helpful when you’re in the field looking at an unfamiliar or confusing bird. Birds are shown from different angles and sometimes in flight, and small but evocative vignettes illustrate habitat and behavior.
There are range maps of course, and the text is detailed, informative, and at times amusing: Eurasian Nuthatches are described as visiting birdtables (feeders) “in worst Rambo style.” All regularly occurring species are treated, along with introduced species and dozens of vagrants. The very rarest vagrants, generally those that have been recorded once or twice, are simply listed in the back of the book without illustrations or descriptions.
Every birder visiting or residing in the region should have a copy of this guide.
There are several formats to choose from, but as far as I know the content is identical in all of them. Note that there is a large-format edition — don’t order it by mistake if you’re planning to take it into the field. Here’s a summary of the options:
  | Collins Bird Guide: The Most Complete Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe ISBN 978-0-00-219728-1 Compact hardback edition published in the UK. Note that there are other (inferior) guides also called “Collins,” so be sure you’re getting one of those listed on this page. |
  | Bird Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe ISBN 978-0-00-711332-3 Compact paperback edition published in the UK. |
  | The Complete Guide to the Birds of Europe ISBN 978-0-691-09516-5 Large (A4) hardback edition published in the UK. Its contents are the same as the smaller, more portable field guides. I’m sure it’s gorgeous, but don’t plan on carrying it around. |
  | Birds of Europe ISBN 978-0-691-05054-6 Compact paperback edition published in the United States. The cover is different, but the content is the same (measurements in metric, etc.). |
  | Birds of Europe (Princeton Field Guides) ISBN 978-0-691-05053-9 Compact hardback edition published in the United States. |
This article was updated on December 25, 2007.
David J. Ringer
on 15 Feb 2008 at 10:01 am 1.Barbara Jacobs said …
Please let me know what guide you recommend for Italy. My son will be visiting Italy this summer and I would like to purchase a bird guide book for him. Do you recommend the Peterson Birds of Britain and Europe?
Thank you for your assistance.
Barbara Jacobs
860-673-3706