The Dictionary of Birds in Color

Yes, this is another out-of-date book which has attracted my attention but, if I can come across a copy for very little money and be impressed by the content, layout, information and photographs, then so can anyone else. I often find books which are well out of print are either very cheap or ridiculously expensive. Thankfully, this one appears to fall into the former category. Add to that the simple fact that the subject matter (i.e. Birds!) has remained largely unchanged since publication and the product represents excellent value for money. This is a large "coffee table" book which really ought to find a place in the home or on the bookshelf of anyone with an interest in the subject. In order to find a specific bird, the reader must consult the index which occupies the final 128 of the book's 352 pages. All birds are listed alphabetically under common and Latin names with the relevant information specific to each bird appearing under the Latin name only. For me, the presence of common names was not immediately obvious - but it was Monday morning and clearly going to be a slow week! With a remarkably small "Contents" right at the beginning, this book is so easy to use it needs no explanation. Beginning with some very technical data - Faunal Regions, Origins of Species, Anatomy and Classification which occupy only 25 pages, the book then deals with "Abbreviations and Notes" and Acknowledgements before getting down to detail and hard facts. There now follows 192 pages of glossy colour photographs covering over 1,000 different species of bird. The standard of photography is very good throughout and often quite excellent. People know what to expect from a Dictionary - i.e. a list of words in alphabetical order with an explanation of each word. One of my pet hates is books which profess to be either a Dictionary or Encyclopaedia when they are no such thing. This book is described as a Dictionary in the title and is exactly that. As such it will make bird identification much easier for the majority of those with an interest in the subject. Altogether an invaluable tool. NM