P. J. Grant

This is a review of the hardcover version of the third edition of this.

I'm a little puzzled by the glowing reviews I've seen online.

On the inside, yes, it's great. It's certainly the most inclusive I've seen, including birds I've never seen in any of my other guides. The maps and illustration are pretty good, too, bearing a great similarity to those in the Philip's Guide to Birds of Britain and Europe which is my current field guide.

It's the outside that's the problem: it's too big to fit in the pocket of any jacket I have here or in the outside pockets of either of my rucksacks—it's the sheer thickness that's the problem, as much as anything. It's also a little over twice the weight of my Philip's—if I could fit it in a pocket I'd probably be walking with one shoulder lower than the other.

It will make an useful desk reference, but I'm not taking this outdoors with me. Not what I look for in a field guide.… (meer)