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1.0 out of 5 starsThis book is awful and not recommended
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 March 2020
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This is without doubt the worst book on the market that has the aim of helping new birdwatchers. It is not only what it misses out , several common species that need to be there for comparison with others, it is also that it includes Black Woodpecker, never recorded in the UK, Crested Lark, with just a handful of records and Black-winged Stilt, with just a few records a year. Many species that have males and females looking very different, but these in the main are not shown or mentioned. Too many horrendous deficiencies to mention, as someone who has taught bird watching for beginners at evening classes I would NOT recommend this book and I am very disappointed that the RSPB has it's name on it.
1.0 out of 5 starsWhy is there no listing for Avocet?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 June 2019
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The RSPB's emblem is the Avocet, a distinctive black and white wading bird. This book was a gift to my wife who has just taken up birdwatching and asked for something light to carry and easy to use. On our trip today to our local wetlands reserve, she spotted a group of about 10, including chicks. We attempted to read up on the species and discovered that there is no listing for 'avocet' in this book. This is apparently a DK/RSPB joint publication. How many other bird species have been omitted from mention? Disgraceful.
4.0 out of 5 starsFor a quick reference when you photograph a bird
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2018
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Ideal little pocket book with great illustrations of the birds and information about them. I bought this to help with my identity of the most common UK birds that I would come into contact with and hopefully photograph when out and about. Rather than trawl the internet this book is ideal to find and get I’d of the birds with little hassle from the keyboard experts online. For the price it’s a great little addition to my camera bag.
1.0 out of 5 starsSome pages and birds missing!!! Waste of Money
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 February 2020
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Update to my initial review; Upon more careful examination of this book I have discovered that pages 97 to 104 are missing from this book and have been since I bought it. Absolute waste of money. The birds I referred to as missing in my initial review (see below) do not feature in the index so they are not in the missing section. Disappointed in myself that it took nearly a year to spot the missing pages. Probably too late for a refund now.
Initial Review Initially I thought this was an deal book for me as a novice at birdwatching and I like the format where groups of birds are shown on the same page to enable comparisons, but I was disappointed when it was put to its first test. Sat in a local pub and noticed they had 2 stuffed birds mounted in boxes. Thought i'd try and confirm their ID with the book. Neither the Black Grouse, nor the Woodcock is in the book. How many more are missing? I realise that a pocket guide cannot be encyclopaedic, but I would have expected it to contain those two, which are both in my earlier RSPB Pocket Birds of Britain and Europe