The richest and the most comprehensive of the current guides. (
Times )
One of the world's greatest bird field guides, first published in 1999, has been expanded and fully revised. It includes new species names, field marks, illustrations, and range maps. Remaining unchanged is its sense of purpose--to present clear identification information for each of Europe's birds. (
Birder's World )
If you are birding in Europe, you must have this guide. It should be on the shelf of many North American bird watchers, especially those who live along the Atlantic coast, where many European birds are found. It should also be in the library of anyone who collects field guides, if for no reason other than you can occasionally take it down and be reminded of what is possible when art and design and purpose are treated as equal parts of a final product. (
Bird Watcher's Digest )
The best field guide to the birds of Europe and one of the best field guides worldwide! (Ian Paulsen
Birdbooker Report )
The guide has extensive information (plumage for juveniles, adult males and females, and seasonal variations) on 772 species of European birds. . . .
Birds of Europe is a hefty tome--1 and 3/4 lbs.--but choosing between it and, say, an extra pair of shoes when you pack is a nobrainer. Take the field guide; lose the shoes. (Fannie Peczenik
Pittsburgh Bird Watching Examiner )
Birds of Europe has some of the best illustrations I have seen in any field guide. . . . The identification notes are often quite detailed, especially for difficult species. . . .
Birds of Europe: Second Edition is the best field guide I have yet seen and surpasses even David Sibley's excellent work. . . . If you are birding in Europe, if you want to seek out European vagrants in North America, or if you just want to look at better illustrations of Europe's avifauna, this is the guide to get. (John Beetham
DC Birding Blog )
I give this guide a 4.5 out of 5 rating because of the quality of the information and presentation. I would wholeheartedly recommend picking up a copy of
Birds of Europe. (Jeff Jones
Birdoculars )
This excellent new edition meets all of my criteria for usefulness: highly-readable text, excellent layout, fine maps and beautiful, accurate illustrations that help the reader come to grips with the fine points of identification. . . . Highly recommended! (William P. Mueller
Bluebird's Laugh )
Given the wealth of descriptive identification cues in the text, and the truly wonderful illustruations,
Birds of Europe is truly a first-rate field guide. (Terry Sohl
Bird's Eye View )
The update is worth the wait and a great revision from the first edition. The amount of knowledge about birds of Europe has increased greatly and there have been drastic changes in taxonomy as well. . . . With over 3,500 color illustrations and a vault of information on a vast geographic area, Birds of Europe is a perfect addition to your birding library and a great upgrade from the first edition. (
Birdfreak.com )
This book gets two fists, way up. (
Two-Fisted Bird Watcher )
Looking at each page of this
Birds of Europe field guide was a blast. . . . My favorite features of this field guide--that I have never seen or noticed before in other field guides--are the at-a-distance views of each species portrayed in their typical habitat and posture. (
Idaho Birding Blog )
If you want to see what I consider to be one of the current best field guides, check out the second edition of what's called in Britain the 'Collins Field Guide' aka Svensson and Mullarney. (Phil Jeffrey
NYC Birding )
In many bird guides, the birds look to be cut outs strewn across the page. Mullarney and Zetterstrom's birds look as if they just landed on the page. They have captured the lives of birds and the essence of what draws many people to birding. Each species has a map showing where the bird is likely to be found in the different seasons. . . . A new standard has been set for authors of future bird guides and it is hard to imagine how Svensson's guide could be surpassed. (Rob Butler
Vancouver Sun )
[A] handsome book. . . . Its best feature is the length of the text offered with each species. For example, the new Peterson guide uses fewer than 100 words in discussing identification of Short-eared Owl. The Princeton book's ID text for this species is twice as long. This is its pattern throughout: much more detailed text in support of its illustrations. . . . Birding ID books in general could benefit from its fine idea of expanded text. (Jim Williams
Minneapolis Star Tribune )
Compact, beautifully illustrated, and crammed with information. (
The Eyrie )
As good as the first edition was, this one is better. To say the book is merely comprehensive would be like saying the Atlantic is wet. . . . There's really so much to like about
Birds of Europe that you quickly run out of superlatives. It's simply the best field guide for its region and makes a run at being one of the finest anywhere. (
Drinking Bird blog )
The first edition was widely considered to be the epitome of field guides, and the revisions found in this edition will cement its reputation as an archetype to which others will be compared. I'd say that any serious North American birder needs this guide. (Bill Schmoker
BRDPICS blog )
The best field guide ever. . . The purpose of a field guide is to help you identify birds.
Birds of Europe: 2nd Edition makes that easier than almost any other guide for almost any bird you may find in Europe. The illustrations and text are wedded and presented in a concise format that gives birders the most important information needed for bird identification. It is a gem by which all other gems are to be compared. (Rob Fergus
The Birdchaser )
This book is meant to be used to identify birds in the field with a high chance of being correct. It achieves this and more. If only other field guides were as good. Although meant for birdwatchers in Europe [in the broadest geographical sense] non-Europeans might want to spend the $30 [excellent value] just to be able to drool and dream. (Roy John
The Canadian Field-Naturalist )
