Collins Bird Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe

Product Information

Although open to debate in many cases, I was personally a little surprised to see the black-eared wheatears retained as a single species, especially given that close attention had been paid to revising the illustrations for these two taxa. They have been chosen carefully to show not only important identification features but also to give clues to the usual habitat favoured by the bird, and its typical posture. Now, in August 2014, cometh the hour for the release and introduction of the Collins Bird Guide app.

There are relatively few species-level taxonomic changes compared to the 2nd edition: African Royal Tern Thalasseus albididorsalis(split from American Royal T. buteoin the Collins Bird Guide, while Scottish Crossbill Loxia scoticaloses its species status in the 3rd edition and is treated as a subspecies of Common Crossbill L. Many of the changes in this new edition amount to fine-tunings, and playing spot-the-difference with the 2nd edition is an education in itself.

The previous editions eventually appeared in addition as softbacks, so we can expect that to arrive in a few years, and I am told that the app will be updated sometime in the first half of 2023. There are fewer headline changes than in the 2nd edition, which saw a significant increase in the thickness of the book, major updates to several popular families – including a revamp of gull plates –and a host of taxonomic changes. With In-App Purchase, you can download a further three volumes covering an additional 731 species – that's every illustrated species in the app! It has been a fundamental part of the Apple birder's artillery ever since, but the developer's nightmare that is cross-platform coding has left Android users empty-handed. With more than 1 million copies sold and the book translated into 23 languages, its success as a field guide to the birds of Europe is in no doubt.

I found changes to illustrations and/or text for the grouse, divers, several groups of raptors, terns, owls, swifts, woodpeckers, swallows, redstarts, flycatchers, tits, finches and buntings. The book has been written and illustrated as much with the beginner in mind as the experienced birdwatcher. An eagerly awaited, revised and enlarged second edition, adopting many contemporary taxonomic and status changes, cemented its reputation as a birding tome in 2010, and it remains as popular as ever, omnipresent on birders’ bookshelves across Europe.

As well as being an invaluable tool in the field and as a go-to reference, the harmony struck by the smooth interface and long-celebrated content makes the Collins Bird Guide app a continuing marvel in this eagerly anticipated Android release. It is now possible to hide species that do not occur in a particular region, which might help narrow down the identification of a bird for some users. I was quick on the uptake of the app version of the book's second edition when it was released in 2014. Plenty of work has gone into updating the text for many species, although I did notice some examples where entries hadn’t received as much attention as they should have.

With expanded text and additional colour illustrations, the second edition of the hugely successful Collins Bird Guide is a must for every birdwatcher. With a chill to the morning air, bushes laden with fruit, and the rich colours of autumn leaves, October is a feast for the senses – and as the autumnal equinox recedes, migration takes on a distinctly wintery feel.striata); ‘Eastern Black Redstart’ Phoenicurus ochruros phoenicuroides; ‘Caspian Penduline Tit’ Remiz pendulinus caspius; and ‘Greenland Redpoll’ Acanthis flammea rostrataand ‘Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll’ A. Haven't been able to trust the fickle app with lists ever since the repeat incident, something that should be dealt with on a paid app. Additions can easily be made while viewing a species profile or editing a list, enabling date, time, location and further notes to be added to each record.