Jim Flegg's Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe [antikvár]

INTRODUCTION The spectactular sight of starlings in roosting flight seen against the setting sun One major altraction of liirdwatching is that, no matter where you are, or when, tiiere will always be birds to watch. More than that, birdwatcliing can lie as casual or as detailed as you wish. There are plenty of sheer birti spectacles: wild geese in flight over the marshes, or starlings wheeling in the dusk sky over a city square. The enjoyment of such scenes can be increased by learning how to watch more closely and by being able to answer the challenge of identifying the birds correctly. This book aims to help you do that - and to increase the fascination of birds still further by providing a background knowledge of their habits and lifestyles. The book covers most of the species that you are likely to encounter in Britain and Europe - even in a lifetime of birdwatching. Included are more than 430 individual species - the majority of birds which breed in, or regularly visit, or pass through some part of Europe. Since birds do not observe political boondaries, by 'Europe' we mean an area north to the Arctic Circle and south to the Mediterranean Sea. Eastwards the area extends to 30° longitude (a line which joins Leningrad to Alexandria) and westwards ,to the Atlantic coast of Ireland. Iceland is also included. Omitted here are birds that visit Europe only extremely rarely. Some of these rarities have been seen only once or twice, others just a handful of times. Others that, while still very rare, do occur with some regularity are featured on pages 50-1, 114-15, 158-9 and 230-1. The main guide, which rims from page 42 to page 241, contains the photographs and descriptions of the birds. Each species is shown in its characteristic habitat and described - on the opposite page - in detail. Extra pliotographs of many species are also included; these depict plumage variations and birds in flight or at the nest. How to use the guide, and in particular how to interpret the maps, diagrams and symbols, is described in the .section which follows.