European Breeding Bird Atlas
The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds - Their Distribution and Abundance Edited by Ward JM Hagemeijer & Michael J Blair. T & A D Poyser ISBN 0856610917
Whilst this publication is not cheap it represents incredible value as it is a colossal work in every sense; as a scientific resource, in its depth and breath of coverage and in its presentation.
Whilst birders may dip into it to get a better idea of where one may see what in Europe in the breeding season – great for those whose family holiday might afford the opportunity to find a few elusive species - ornithologists will be using it as the basis upon which to underpin many species studies and trends.
Each species is covered (and often prettily illustrated) with breeding maps covering all the areas of Europe where breeding occurs (i.e. the maps vary with only those segments of the continent relevant to the distribution being shown) which makes for better detail. There are, too, useful graphs and charts to show relative densities in the countries where the birds breed.
The text is very informative with trends and hints on habitat, winter range etc. Whilst the majority of the text is in English there is an extensive introductory section in every European language and each page has a list of the names of the birds in more than a dozen languages.
In short this is an incredible
achievement and a landmark in presentation, as well as an incredible resource for any of us interested in trends and distribution
across Europe. I am very impressed.
Fatbirder
Created: 28th Dec 2001
