Flight Identification of European Passerines and Select Landbirds - by Tomasz Cofta (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A richly illustrated, state-of-the-art field guide for identifying European passerines in flight--the first of its kind

Opening up new frontiers in birdwatching, this is the first field guide to focus specifically on the identification of European passerines and related landbirds in flight. Showcasing 850 stunning and remarkably lifelike colour illustrations from acclaimed bird artist Tomasz Cofta, produced using the latest digital technology, backed up with more than 2,400 photographs carefully selected to show typical flight profiles, it provides detailed and unsurpassed coverage of 205 European passerines and 32 near-passerines. This cutting-edge book brings a new dimension to birdwatching, the concise and authoritative species accounts presenting novel yet essential information on the flight manner of individual birds and the structure and behaviour of flocks--features that are key to identification. It also includes precise transliterations of flight calls, supported by sonograms, and links to a unique collection of hundreds of online audio recordings. Beautifully designed and written in an accessible style, this book will appeal to birdwatchers of all abilities. It presents the latest knowledge on flight identification of a group of birds that is poorly covered in the literature and is therefore a must-have for all professional ornithologists and scientists involved in migration studies.

• The first field guide to flight identification of European passerines and related landbirds
• Covers 205 European passerines and 32 near-passerines
• Features 850 stunning colour illustrations
• Includes more than 2,400 photos showing typical profiles of each species in flight
• Provides detailed information on flight calls, with links to online recordings

Review Quotes

"

Must-have . . . extraordinary single-handed labour of love.

"---Stephen Moss, Stephen Moss's 2021 Round-up of Nature Books

"[An] impressive work. I think newcomers to visible migration in particular will gain the most benefit from it, but even experienced observers will surely learn something new."---Graham Sparshott, Scottish Birds

"[A] brilliantly conceived and executed book!"---Bo Beolens, Fat Birder

"A novel idea. . . . The author's knowledge shines through, and there can be few birders - even the most seasoned migration watchers - who wouldn't stand to learn at least something from this book."-- "British Birds/British Trust for Ornithology"

"A quite remarkable - and undoubtedly original - piece of work."---Josh Jones, Birdguides.com

"A real cutting-edge guide and should help with the difficult skill of identifying flying passerines. . . . I don't there is a single birder who could not learn something from this book. It is a terrific guide."---Mike King, Gloster Birder

"A truly sumptuous volume . . . . It is a remarkable achievement by Cofta to have assembled each bird as if a jigsaw from countless photographs. . . . It really is indispensable."---Stuart Winter, Sunday Express

"An impressive piece of work, providing insights into an aspect of bird identification which has been relatively little explored in print."---Andy Stoddart, Rare Bird Alert

"Anyone with an interest in visible migration or identification generally will want to own a copy of this guide and it's a remarkable achievement by a single author."---Chris Kehoe, British Birds

"Each of the species is illustrated by the most beautiful, original artwork by the author and accompanied by several photographs showing the features that are most encountered in flight. The artwork is sublime and shows each species in great detail from above, below and in profile. . . . It is a book I wouldn't want to be without."---Paul Stancliffe, British Trust for Ornithology

"I struggle to think of a birder I know or know of who will not wish to buy this book."---Phil Slade, Another Bird Blog

"Just when you think that WlLDGuides have covered pretty much every wildlife lD guide necessary, you suddenly find they've come out with yet another fabulous book that has to somehow be fitted into your bookcase. . . . You really haven't seen anything until you take a look at this!"---John Miles and Matt Merritt, Birdwatching Magazine

"Third Place for the 2021 BB/BTO Best Bird Book of the Year, British Birds and the British Trust for Ornithology"

"This book is designed to be of greatest help when watching and counting migration where calls help in the identification and a short, but extremely useful chapter helps the reader to key into this difficult skill. The book will appeal to the experienced birders who wish to improve their skills with a new aspect of birding."---Steven Rutherford, British Naturalist's Association

"This book represents an advance in developing a new and growing area of identification fieldcraft for birders."---Gehan De Silva Wijeyeratne, London Naturalist

"This is a really ground breaking book . . . . Written in a style that will appeal to all birders, it also contains new knowledge on flight identification, making it a must-have for professional ornithologists and scientists as well."---Alan Davies and Ruth Miller, Biggest Twitch

"This pioneering guide is a formidable reference tool for identifying passerines in flight. It will deepen the understanding of anyone interested in the subject, particularly vismig and nocmig enthusiasts, but also the garden patch birder straining to determine the identity of the smaller birds that fly over the house. A strong recommendation for anyone wanting to push their personal frontiers of bird identification."---Chris Sharpe, Curious Naturalist

"Tomasz Cofta's illustrations are the real draw - all 850 of them, showing the upperside, underside and side-on flight views. . . . A cutting-edge book, and it certainly is a first of its kind."---Keith Betton, Hampshire Ornithological Society newsletter

About the Author

Tomasz Cofta is one of the most experienced field ornithologists in Europe, having ringed almost one hundred thousand birds of more than two hundred species (mainly passerines) in Europe, Asia and Africa. Based in Gdańsk, Poland, he is a member of the Polish Avifaunistic Commission and an acclaimed bird illustrator and author. He has published more than a hundred papers on bird identification, featuring close to two thousand of his own artworks, and has prepared thousands of other meticulously detailed illustrations of birds and other wildlife that are featured in more than sixty books, including The World's Rarest Birds (Princeton WILDGuides).