Helm Identification Guides: Crows and Jays Hb [Paperback]

Steve Madge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999 | Series: Helm Identification Guides

There are 120 species in the Corvid family, of which some are colourful and exotic and others are highly endangered. All species are illustrated and each plate is accompanied by an informative caption page summarizing the most important identification criteria, alongside colour distribution maps. The text provides a thorough review of all aspects of Corvid behaviour, distribution, population and taxonomy as well as the standard rigorous discussion of all matters relating to identification.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This guide provides an excellent source of reference . . . and consequently deserves acclaim. -- Cotinga

All serious birders have already made a habit of purchasing the identification guides in this series, and Crows and Jays will not change their minds. All birders who live in or travel to corvid-rich areas and all those who hold a fascination for corvids will want to own this excellent guide. -- Birding --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Steve Madge has gained first-hand knowledge of most species of corvid during his extensive travels throughout the world and has published widely in journals. His previous book with Hilary Burn, Wildfowl, was voted ''Best Bird Book of the Year'' in 1988 by the journal British Birds. He helped form the company Birdquest and is a former member of the British Birds Rarities Committee. Hilary Burn is recognized as one of the leading bird artists in the world. Her work has appeared in many books, including The Birds of the Western Palearctic, the RSPB Book of British Birds, Wildfowl, and The Handbook of Bird Identification for Europe and the Western Palearctic. She is a member of the Society of Wildlife Artists. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Christopher Helm (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0713652071
• ISBN-13: 978-0713652079
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,906,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worthy of four stars, but I give it five..., February 24, 2008

By 

C. P. Brest Kempen (Holladay, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crows and Jays. (Paperback)

...just to raise its overall average from a single unfair, poor review. This book was intended not as entertainment, but as a reference source, and as such it serves its purpose very well.

Part of the excellent bird family series from Princeton University Press, this book covers the Corvids, with a complete entry for each of the 122 species of crows, ravens, jays, choughs and magpies that were recognized in 1999 when this edition was released. Unlike most of the other Princeton books, there is little in the way of general corvid biology included, but the individual entries contain complete details of each species, and the book must be considered a thorough source. Hilary Burn's illustrations are excellent, and show the important plumages and variations of each species.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All and Everything about corvids, September 28, 2008

By 

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

This review is from: Crows and Jays. (Paperback)

"Crows and Jays" by Steve Madge and Hilary Burn is a serious and succinct scientific reference work covering the entire crow family. All 122 species of crows, magpies and jays are included. There are 30 colour plates, showing all species and many subspecies. The colour plates also include range maps. The plate section is followed by text pages with species presentations. For obvious reasons, the presentations are rather short, but they nevertheless give a good overview of the habits, habitat and geographic variation of the various species. Provided, of course, that such information is at all available. Many tropical corvids are still little known, the most extreme being the Banggai Crow from the tiny island of Banggai in Indonesia, which is known only from two stuffed specimens in New York! Incidentally, I have an earlier, British edition of this book, published in 1999. I haven't seen this new American edition, but judging by the other customer reviews, it's essentially the same book. And no, it's not intended for light bedtime reading, unless you have a strange obsession with corvids. If you do, they are all in there, LOL.

Another scientific reference work about corvids is Derek Goodwin's "Crows of the World". Goodwin's book has very few illustrations, but it contains more information about the habits of the European corvids. Thus, Goodwin's book nicely complements "Crows and Jays". Both books are worth buying, if you have a serious, scientific interest in these birds.

Hopefully, both books will be superseded next year, when Lynx Editions will finally publish a volume of their "Handbook of the Birds of the World" scheduled to include the crow family. I'm sure both Madge, Burn and Goodwin are already involved in that project...

;-)

5 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Exhaustive list, little else, August 29, 2006

By 

T.K. Perry (Mt. Hood, OR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crows and Jays. (Paperback)

Though this book does seem to list every conceivable type of crow and jay and give you some basic information about each, it is so very unreadable. The lovely pictures are at the front, separated from the information on each species. The information section is barely written in sentences, and is more of a badly-printed list of fragmentary facts than anything else. Save your money; this book is not worth it.