Customer Reviews

Birds of the World (Dorling Kindersley Handbooks)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book by the successful Eyewitness Books makes identifying birds on the backyard fence, those birds sitting on the wire over your recently-washed car, birds in the woods and jungles easy to identify. The highly graphical lay-out and the simply written text welcomes the reader to the world of the feathered flyers that live in every climate on earth. Even though this volume is not as comprehensive and inclusive as the books by the Audubon Society or the Peterson guides, it contains outstanding pictures of more than 800 species. The entire range of bird families is presented in an easy-to-read format with fabulous closeup pictures of each bird. Just enough information is presented. An especially cunning feature shows an outline of each bird next to an outline of the book to convey a sense of size. Sections in the front of the book introduce the reader to the anatomy of birds, techniques for watching birds in the garden or woods, identifying flight patterns, and much more. If you are a causal bird-watcher of any age or merely like to look at birds from your cozy arm chair in from of the fire, you must have this book in your personal library.

Birds are beautiful and the world of birds is fascinating. It's only fitting then that this is an Eyewitness Book, because that series of books is well known for beautiful illustrations and fascinating, innovative and educational presentations on the various topics that they publish. This book uses annotated photographs rather than drawings and it's size (like an oversized novel) allows between two to three birds per page, making the photos large enough for easy identification. The descriptions that accompany each bird speak to behavior, habitat, what it's nest looks like and sometimes a general remark on some unusual or an interesting trait. The geographic distribution of the bird is also shown by way of a small map. A reviewer below is right. The use of an illustration showing the size of the bird in relation to the book is brilliant! I can't think of a better way of getting a feel for the size of something you've never seen, than comparing it with something that you are holding in your hand.

The only quibble with the book is the method of organising the birds. The book is divided into Passerines and Non Passerines which doesn't mean much and doesn't help either, since both of those groups include a wide variety of bird types. Picture this: a bird catches your eye, "Hey that's an owl, I wonder what kind?" You can spend a bit of time going through the 3 step identification key before you find the owls. To be fair though, that really only means that this is not a field guide. It can't be, it's 'Birds of The World' afterall. Enjoy it for what it is - A beautifully illustrated, educational, introduction to the wonderful world of birds.

i havent read a whole book since graduate school but have never stopped learning about things. we have the entire collection and i now devour them cover to cover. i purchased almost all of them on Amazon for $5-$13 each (verses the $20 cover price). my kids and i LOVE to read these books and learn about the rocks, fossils and nature we find camping and fishing. honestly, i havent read this one yet but cant wait.

I bought this book as a gift for someone, and he loved it!
Great descriptions, pictures, and details.
Great buy!

These books are so helpful to use as references for painting.

Very clear photograhy. I would have liked a few close-up shots for some of the images perhaps, but otherwise a great book. Recommended.