The ID Handbook of European Birds is divided into two volumes, covering non-passerines and passerines. The first thing apparent is the sleek design and the number of high-quality photographs. Every species covered has several photographs of birds at different ages. It's impressive how much space is given over for ageing birds, with pictures of birds in the hand showing ID features clearly for clear illustration. 

Some difficult species groups have well-illustrated comparison tables, but there are good numbers which don’t and maybe would benefit from them. The choices for which species deserve these more thorough approaches seem based on the advanced level of birder this book is aimed at. 

It is likely many birders will be tempted to buy these weighty tomes simply to have them sitting prettily on their shelves. This is, however, not an identification guide for beginners. Nor is it for the person who wishes to know more about the lifestyle or behaviour of a bird (unless it aids identification). Even song and call, useful identification features for many birds, get only the occasional mention. There are two likely intended audiences for these books. The first is for those who like to finish their birding sessions by spending several hours pouring over photographs, getting as much information from their photos as possible. In this regard the book is likely the finest of its kind out there. The second audience would be bird ringers who would appreciate the wide variety of species shown, with in-the-hand pictures and morphometric measurements of key ID features. 

Though a perennial problem for many identification guides, it is a shame that this book has come out at a time when the taxonomy has seen a few major changes, making some pages already feeling dated, however this cannot be blamed on the authors rather than poor luck. 

If you are simply trying to improve your knowledge of birds seen while out and about, there are certainly cheaper ways to do this. With that in mind, for their size and quality, these books are very reasonably priced. Before purchasing these books you may want to consider if they match your style of birding and will you benefit from owning them.

Reviewed by

Robert Jaques