"This is by far the best account of what is happening to the distribution and populations of our birds currently available."
--BIRD WATCHING
"This is a monumental work, based on enormous effort and international cooperation. The price is moderate for a book of this scale."
--John Law in SCOTTISH BIRD NEWS
"
The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds is the first atlas of the regions breeding birds base do genuine fieldwork, about a million hours of observation. Maps are provided for 495 species, and their incidence is recorded on 50-kilometer grid squares. An army of 450 authors from 38 countries produced the text, the illustrations are from an international team, and the extensive introduction is repeated in 14 languages. Skillful editing and translation has ensured that the essays will be easily understood. The result is a fascinating 900-page ornithological heavyweight, stoutly bound and well able to stand up to the years of hard work it is certain to get. For conservationists, this book will be an essential tool, while all serious birdwatchers will want it on their shelves, too. If I could take but a single book to my desert island, this is it."
--NEW SCIENTIST
"Anyone with an interest in bird distribution will find it fascinating just flicking through the pages from species to species. It provides a benchmark against which census work will be measured well into the next millenium. It is an invaluable tool for conservationists and a useful guide for the birder considering a foreign trip."
--BIRDWATCH
"This heavyweight tome - in both senses of the word - helps to show what's happening to every species currently breeding in Europe. Presentation of the atlas is excellent. The detail on the maps is phenomenal. The text is highly readable and you are likely to find yourself browsing for hours. I love maps and I love birds and this volume has brought out the best of both worlds. I offer my congratulations to all involved. A very strong contender for book of the year."
--BIRDWATCHING
"It is a colossal work, presenting both the distribution and abundance of all the breeding birds of Europe in detail far surpassing anything previously available. The maps repay careful study; they contain a wealth of population density information. An attractive line drawing illustrates each species, and this greatly enlivens the pages. As we have come to expect from the T. & AD. Poyser/Academic Press stable, this is a beautifully produced book, nicely bound and printed on good-quality paper. This book is a tremendous example of international cooperation. This book will become a vital tool for conservationists. It is an outstandingly important reference, yet attractive, readable and fascinating to browse through time and time again. For birders, it also provides a uniquely detailed record of where Europe's best birds can be found."
--BIRDING WORLD
"Although expensive, this volume is excellent value for the money and contains an enormous amount of information on European bird distribution. A must for the serious birder and a source of many papers for large-scale ecologists."
--JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
"...should excite and enthrall anyone with an interest in the distribution of bird populations. An incredible achievement, this stunning work attempts to assess the abundance of all breeding species throughout their European range. Almost 500 species are dealt with in this monumental work. The more one delves into this amazing book the more interest it solicits. I find it immensely difficult to put down."
--THE VISITOR
"A handsome, data-packed and massive book. The specie's accounts occupy most of the book, typically two pages per species. Good editing has ensured the success of this unusual approach. The maps are, of course, the outstanding feature ... this
Atlas is the one you need ... do not be put off from buying a copy now: it is as good as you can get, and will doubtless remain so for some years."
--BRITISH BIRDS
"Clear, well laid out and easy to understand, a very considerable feat of editing and publishing."
--IBIS
"...it is an important book. For the first time it puts whole bird populations, unconfined by arbitrary human boundaries, into focus."
--CANADIAN FIELD NATURALIST
"The editorial team's careful design and presentation of the vast amount of material, the Atlas' attractive layout and the superb quality of the printing reveal the continent-wide patterns and trends of European breeding birds.
The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds is an outstanding example of how much can be achieved by the international collaboration of dedicated and competent amateur and professional ornithologists. Such lengthy and widespread, unselfish and active cooperation throughout the whole of Europe is surely an ornithological benchmark. In a changing environment, the Atlas provides a Europe-wide framework for future conservation work and for scientific research on bird distribution and its dynamics."
--BTO NEWS
"There is endless interesting reading for both professionals and amateurs to be found here. For the 'armchair' traveller the Atlas is an excellent buy. There are also good hints on bird travel in Europe."
--Matti Kapanen in ALULA (April 1999)
This landmark volume presents, for the very first time, an integrated picture of the distribution and abundance of the breeding birds of Europe. It is a truly monumental work, the initiative for which dates back to as long ago as 1971. The national bird surveys initiated by the European Ornithological Atlas Committee (latterly working through the European Bird Census Council) were, in many cases, the first of their kind in the countries involved. Over 100 regional and national atlases have been produced as the census work progressed and several countries have gone so far as to carry out follow-up surveys subsequently.
Now the bigger picture can be assembled. The survey data from the projects, gathered by over 10,000 field ornithologists from every European country, have been combined and mapped to show the presence or absence of 495 species in over 4400 50 x 50 km squares. In many squares, data are also presented showing the size of the species' population present. The accompanying text, written by a team of 450 authors from 38 countries, elaborates on the mapped information and presents data on a further 62 species too localized to map effectively. An international team of artists has provided lively illustrations of the mapped species.
The survey area includes far flung but important regions such as Madeira, the Azores, Iceland, Svalbard, Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land and Transcaucasia (but not Turkey and Cyprus). The editors were able to include new and unique information from significant parts of Russia and the Ukraine. Collaboration between the EBCC and BirdLife International has enabled much of the data from
Birds in Europe - their conservation status to be incorporated in bar chart form to further enhance the species text.
The importance of birds, both in their own right and as indicators of environmental change, is as well known as many of the spectacular reductions in bird numbers during recent years. Now it is possible to have a picture of bird distribution on a scale never before realized in Europe, a scale that both describes the present and allows us to measure the success of future nature conservation initiatives and the failures of further habitat loss and degradation. This book will prove to be an essential tool for managers and conservationists, as well as a source of endless interest for all interested in the bird life of Europe.
