Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks (Handbooks of the Birds of the World) [Hardcover]

Andrew Elliott (Author), Josep del Hoyo (Editor), Jordi Sargatal (Editor), Christoph Imboden (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 8487334105 | ISBN-13: 978-8487334108 | Publication Date: October 1992 | Edition: 1

This is an account of the world of birds, and this volume is 1st of 12. The introductory chapter is illustrated with detailed plates to complement the text, and deals with such diverse aspects as evolutionary history, anatomy, physiology, migration, and systematics. Each chapter covers a different family, headed by a summary box. Photographs illustrate more unusual features, such as courtship behaviour, thermoregulation or feeding techniques. Each chapter is subdivided into sections: systematics; morphological aspects; habitat; general habits; voice; food and feeding; breeding; movements; relationship with man; status and conservation; and a general bibliography. The species account lists names in French, German and Spanish, in addition to scientific and English names. Each species features: its own distribution map indicating resident, breeding and non-breeding ranges; its official status, according to BirdLife International; and the threats facing each species.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, French, German, Spanish

About the Author

Anna Folch. Carles Carboneras. José Cabot. Josep del Hoyo: Vice-president, Sociedad Española de Ornitología, SEO-BirdLife, Spain. Christoph Imboden. Eduardo de Juana: Departamento de Biología Animal, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. Francesc Llimona. Eloïsa Matheu. Isabel Martínez: Grup Català d'Anellament, Museu de Zoologia, Barcelona, Spain. Albert Martínez-Vilalta: Anna Motis: Jaume Orta: Consultant, Servei de Protecció i Gestió de Fauna. Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain. Andrew Elliott: Grup Català d'Anellament, Museu de Zoologia, Barcelona, Spain.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 696 pages
• Publisher: Lynx Edicions; 1 edition (October 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8487334105
• ISBN-13: 978-8487334108
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.9 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,065,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A bird lover's bible, September 23, 2001

By 

Roberto Diaz Hernandez (Mexico, D.F. Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks (Handbooks of the Birds of the World) (Hardcover)

I own all six volumes published until now (ostriches to hornbills) of this series and I find it the most amazing source of information on birds. You find a very complete description of every bird family with beautiful pictures of birds in every family, followed by a thorough uptodate description of every single species of bird, including taxonomy, distribution, habitat, feeding, movements, conservation, bibliography... The text is adjacent to a distribution map for every species. You also find gorgeous plates with drawings of each species and important subspecies, male and female plumages.
This is a truly gigantic enterprise, testament to the love that birds inspire on mankind. You don't have to be an ornithologist to apreciate this magnificent work, you just have to enjoy the variety of birds in this world.
This handbook is a work in progress, with many volumes still to come (all passerines plus woodpeckers and allies). Each volume gets better! It is an embarrassment of riches. It is also a wake up call, for it is to be feared that many species described here will desapear before this handbook is completed. I have just received the sixth volume and cannot wait for the next one!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A handbook of exciting birds, October 5, 2008

By 

Ashtar Command "Seeker" (Stockholm, Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks (Handbooks of the Birds of the World) (Hardcover)

"Handbook of the Birds of the World" (HBW) is a 13-volume encyclopedia whose ultimate aim is to describe and illustrate *all* living species of birds. Three more volumes are projected. The series began in 1992, and the last volume won't be published until 2011.

This is the first volume, and it covers many exciting bird groups, including pelicans, tropicbirds, frigatebirds, penguins, flamingos, albatrosses, and the non-flying birds, such as the ostrich and the emu. It also covers a more boring bird group, namely the ducks! Each section begins with a general introduction, followed by species presentations. These include color plates and range maps. Unfortunately, the color plates are quite bad. The birds often look caricatured, even ugly, and some of the plates are poorly printed. Thankfully, the book also contain hundreds of photos, all in color, and these are much better. Despite its high price (265 dollars), the book is well-worth buying if you are seriously interested in these particular bird groups.

As already mentioned, this is just the first volume in a 13-volume series. Naturally, a work that takes almost 20 years to publish, will tend to change over time. I noticed this when I leafed through the other HBW volumes at my local university library. The first volume looks like a regular encyclopedia. Anyone with a general interest in birds can read it. The later volumes are superbly illustrated, with much better color plates, but the text feels heavy and technical. These later HBW volumes also suffer from total information over-load. Essentially, the HBW has been transformed from a regular encyclopedia to a scientific reference work for ornithologists.

Be that as it may, I give this first volume of the HBW four stars, for the text and the photos. Had the color plates been better, I would have given it five stars. The entire series also deserve five stars, despite becoming progressively more difficult to digest for ordinary mortals, since it's extremely well-produced.