Helm Identification Guides
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This authoritative handbook, part of the Helm Identification Guides series, looks in detail at the world's 170 species of robins and chats.
This large family of small passerines was formerly considered to be part of the thrush family (Turdidae), but is now usually treated as a separate family, Muscicapidae, together with the Old World flycatchers. The vast majority of species are Eurasian or African, with only a handful of species straying into the New World or Australasia. The Australian Robins, although superficially similar, have long been regarded as a separate family.
Robins and chats are a diverse family comprising both highly colourful and visible species, such as the robin-chats of Africa, as well as some of the most skulking and elusive birds, such as the shortwings of Asia. Many chats, such as the well-known Nightingale, are renowned songsters, and a good number are highly sought-after by world listers for their extreme rarity or simply because they are hard to see.
This book discusses the identification and habits of these birds on a species-by-species basis, bringing together the very latest research with accurate range maps, more than 600 stunning colour photographs that illustrate age and racial plumage differences, and 64 superb colour plates by the internationally renowned artist, Chris Rose.
This authoritative and sumptuous book will be an essential purchase for all chat enthusiasts, and will become the standard reference on the subject for many years to come.
Among the most familiar and colorful of birds, finches and sparrows occupy almost every type of habitat throughout the world--from the environs of the Dead Sea to agricultural lowlands to the tops of the Himalayas. However, no comprehensive single-volume treatment of these families has appeared until now. "Finches and Sparrows, " which combines nearly 950 color portraits with detailed descriptions of every species, is an easy-to-use identification guide for birdwatchers, conservationists, and ornithologists, who, along with cagebird enthusiasts, will find this book an invaluable reference.
For the first time all 290 species in the families Fringillidae, Estrildidae, and Passeridae are described and illustrated in color. The color plates feature every species, many races, and most sex and age variations, and the line drawings accompanying the text depict wing patterns, bill and head shapes, and other plumage details. Over 280 color maps show breeding and wintering ranges for all species. Sections on voice, status, behavior, distribution, movements, and measurements, together with information on species encountered in captivity, help make this the most comprehensive and up-to-date guide on these birds.