Flight Identification of Raptors of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East

Dick Forsman has long been renowned as Europe’s foremost expert on the (often vexing) identification of raptors, so it was no surprise that his first book on the subject (covering Europe and the Middle East, published in 1999) immediately became the standard work. I was expecting this new book to be a second edition; it isn’t quite that but rather a new and improved incarnation with added species (listed below).Despite the new book being roughly the same size (it is marginally taller and deeper), the coverage is more comprehensive thanks to a tighter layout; it seems to me more user-friendly.The following raptors have been added, so that all species recorded in the Western Palearctic are now covered: Crested Honey-buzzard, Black-eared Kite, Yellow-billed Kite, Swallow-tailed Kite, Pallas’s Fish Eagle, Bald Eagle, African Fish Eagle, Hooded Vulture, Rüppell’s Vulture, African White-backed Vulture, Himalayan Griffon Vulture, Bateleur, Northern Harrier, Shikra, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Gabar Goshawk, Verreaux’s Eagle, Wahlberg’s Eagle, American Kestrel and Amur Falcon. In addition, the Long-legged Buzzard is now dealt with in two separate accounts (Eastern Long-legged and Atlas Long-legged), and there is extensive discussion of the difficulties of hybrids/intergrades (such as those between Western Black Kite and Black-eared Kite).As befits the start of the new book’s title and aim (Flight identification of...), the paragraph in the original work on perched birds has been dropped, as too have certain parts of the original’s introduction; on the other hand, there are new chapters on raptor hot-spots (by Keith Bildstein and Anna Sandor) and migration ecology (by Ian Newton). (Although you could now live without it, owners of the 1999 work may still find parts of it useful.) As in the 1999 book, the accounts are illuminated by well-chosen colour photos, now revolutionised by the advent of digital photography.To sum up: if you have any interest in the identification of Western Palearctic raptors, you really need this book; the content is the most up-to-date available on the subject. It is a worthy offspring of the 1999 work.

Photos seem a bit jumbled.The best chance of recognising the different raptors in flight after forming the best opinion from the many photographs in this book

Superb illustrations and text. A birders must have

Extensive, detailed pictures - a really good quality book for enthusiasts.

Beautiful photographs and comprehensive information.