Book Review

Raptors of the World: A Field Guide. James Ferguson-Lees and David A. Christie, 2005. Illustrated by Kim Franklin, David Mead and Philip Burton. London, UK: Christopher Helm. 320 pp, 118 colour plates and numerous black-and-white drawings and maps. ISBN 0-7136-6957-8.

from ABC Bulletin 13.2 August 2006 pages 238 - 239.

Raptors are pretty well covered by identification guides, provided you are interested in Nearctic, Palearctic, Australian or southern African raptors. Worldwide overviews are scarce and bulky, like Eagles, Hawks and Falcons by Brown & Amadon (1968), Volume 2 of the Handbook of the Birds of the World (1994), and Raptors of the World by Ferguson-Lees & Christie (2001). The latter book is
now trimmed into a field guide covering all 338 (or so) raptor species, and at a quarter of the original weight (2.5 kg) should be within the range of birders travelling light. The extensive species texts, some introductory chapters and the majority of the references were eliminated. Six
new plates comprising 65 images were painted by Alan Harris, and maps were substantially corrected and updated. The opportunity was lost to replace or redo less satisfactory plates that were obviously skin-based, such as Honey Buzzards (strange-headed, big-eyed), Chanting Goshawks, Accipiters (big-eyed, round-headed birds in strong colours) and falcons (big-headed and sturdy-clawed, lacking the elegance of live birds, as for example in African Hobby Falco cuvierii). But overall, the plates, being the main body of the present guide, are of high quality, showing birds perched and in flight, and of various subspecies, ages, sexes and morphs, where appropriate. Even the smallest insets, showing typical behaviour, work well. My favourites are the vultures (the African species having a wider array of plumages than shown in regional field guides, but for Hooded Necrosyrtes monachus and Ruppell's Gyps rueppellii only juvenile and adult are shown), harriers, buzzards and (hawk) eagles. Main identification features are described in succinct texts opposite each plate. Given the restrictions posed by space (over 2,000 illustrations, crammed onto 118 plates), artists and authors did a miraculous job. Inevitably, there is always room for improvement. For example, the Yellow-billed Kite (here renamed Milvus aegyptiacus parasitus) is illustrated with six-fingered wings (instead of five), and the text is not helpful in separating juveniles of migrans and parasitus (a standard problem for those visiting Africa in the Eurasian winter). Also, recently snake eagle identification made a leap forward with the publications of Clark (Bull. Br. Ornithol. Club 122: 156-157; Bull. ABC 7: 13-17; Bull. ABC 12: 150-152) and Campora & Cattaneo (Br. Birds 98: 369-376). And I guess that (sub)specific identity
in the Peregrine Falco peregrinus and Hierofalco groups will (forever?) remain difficult, further aggravated by the widespread production of hybrids for falconry purposes. In the Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus, African subspecies are more likely to be identified on the basis of geography than plumage characteristics, and separating juvenile Lanners from ditto Sakers F. cherrug is - also when using the present guide - far from easy where the two co-occur (as in East Africa). Juvenile and immature plumages in many other species are still not adequately described, and there is much to be discovered by local birders who can follow individual birds for years (either in captivity
or in the wild).

This guide is an essential tool for raptorphiles. Reliably identifying species, ages and sexes is crucial to fruitfully endeavour into the real thing: the study of the life and times of this fascinating group of birds. For Africa aficionados, this guide presents a perfect alternative to the Sasol Birds
of Prey of Africa and its Islands (by Kemp & Kemp) and A Photographic Guide to Birds of Prey of Southern, Central and East Africa (by Allan).

Rob G. Bijlsma

References

Allan, D. 1996. A Photographic Guide to Birds of Prey of Southern, Central and East Africa. Cape Town: New Holland.

Brown, L. H. & Amadon, D. 1968. Eagles, Hawks and Falcons of the World. Feltham: Country Life
Books.

Ferguson-Lees, J. & Christie, D. A. 2001. Raptors of the World. London, UK: Christopher Helm.

del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (eds.) 1994. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 2. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.

Kemp, A. & Kemp, M. 1998. Sasol Birds of Prey of Africa and its Islands. Cape Town: New Holland.

Raptors of the World
James Ferguson-Lees and David A. Christie, illustrated by Kim Franklin, David Mead and Philip Burton, 2001. 992pp, 112 colour plates, 312 colour distribution maps (equal number in black and white) and 60 line drawings. London, UK: A. & C. Black. UK£49

from ABC Bulletin 9.2 August 2002 p 160

This must be the most long-awaited book in the bird families series. The first author freely admits that it has taken 18 years to write, and it must have possessed more rumoured 'due dates' than most works. It is a big book in every sense of the word, it has 992 pages and 112 colour plates
and is definitely not one to take into the field with you. The sheer size must go some way to explaining why it took so long to produce.

Despite the time it has taken to appear, or perhaps because of it, Raptors has commendably managed to keep up with current thinking on a number of issues—particularly taxonomy (not always the case with books that have taken a long time to reach fruition). Although the
taxonomic decisions taken by the authors will doubtless leave some people cold, there is evidence that they have not just maintained the status quo with regards to species limits. Indeed, recognition that some taxa treated here as subspecies might actually be species is made very clear in the 'List of Species' section. The authors consider there to be 313 species of raptor and include within that definition the New World Vultures, now considered to be more closely allied to storks.

As well as the species accounts and other expected sections, there are chapters on moult and ageing, vision, hearing and smell, plumages and external structure by Carl Edelstam. Other sections cover topography, migration, sex and age differences, size and shape in raptors, and
how to approach identifying a raptor in the field.

Three generic plates show typical examples from each genus. Helpfully they are divided geographically into Old World, New World and those found in both. They are also divided roughly by size, and each plate has two scale silhouettes to permit size comparison between each of these plates.

The 109 remaining plates are used to illustrate all of the species in detail. On average there are three species per plate with a minimum of one (several of the falcons, with Peregrine Falco peregrinus requiring two plates), and a maximum of nine (Indo-Malayan serpent-eagles Spilornis spp, for which there are no flight illustrations for most of the species). Some of the plates are too crowded and have images that overlap - which I personally find irritating - though it doesn't prevent them being useful. That three different artists are responsible is immediately obvious. In my opinion the plates by Kim Franklin are the best and more realistic, given the slightly dishevelled appearance of the birds so typical of the larger raptors that you see in real life. They appear more true to life than the immaculate birds painted by David Mead and to a lesser extent those by Philip Burton. Unfortunately the shapes of some of birds, which can be so important to the identification process with raptors, do not help at all. Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni and Common Kestrel F. tinnunculus in flight are disappointing and both have the wrong wing formula on some of their flight illustrations. This comment also applies to some other figures. None of the
plates is useless but some definitely fall short on some of the fine detail.

Previous books in the series have seen the maps placed opposite the plates or within the main text. Here we have both, a small colour map opposite the plate and a larger greyscale map with the main text. This is a good idea and makes the book more user-friendly than some of the
previous books in the series have been.

The species accounts typically concentrate on aspects useful for identification. They also cover distribution, habitat, movements, breeding, population and socio-sexual behaviour. The well laid out text is easy to read and follow, permitting swift reference to the relevant section. The field characters section, which covers the plumages in detail, starts with a general identification synopsis and then detailed information covering identification when perched and identification
in flight. Each of the detailed sub-sections is then further broken down into distinct plumages by age and sex. This treatment makes perfect sense for raptors and could probably be usefully
employed for other bird groups. Most species have an extensive list of references, which are fully documented in a huge 55-page bibliography - presumably testament to the huge amount of research needed for this book. Obviously a work like this cannot hope to present the same
level of detail per species as a more specialist book, such as Dick Forsman's The Raptors of Europe and The Middle East, and indeed it doesn't. However, the authors have included more than
sufficient detail to adequately identify most raptors. Some species remain too challenging to be reliably identified, except under exceptional conditions, and thankfully the authors have acknowledged this fact and not been tempted to offer speculative solutions to possibly
insurmountable problems. Serious raptorphiles and the more scientifically minded may find this work does not meet all their needs but its extensive bibliography will be an invaluable springboard to more specialist works.

Doubtless it is possible to find the occasional mistake in the text but this would only slightly diminish a truly monumental work. Though some of the illustrations are disappointing and not as
useful as they could be, this book is still a must have for anyone interested in raptors and in establishing which species they are looking at, wherever they are in the world.

Roy Hargreaves

Last page update 14th May 2012