Basics: 1989, hardcover, 208 pages, 224 color photos of 67 species, 52 b&w photos, no range maps

This small, compact identification guide offers good (but not great) color photos of the 67 species of shorebirds/waders found on either side of the North Atlantic (i.e., western Europe and eastern North America). The title should be kept in mind, since shorebirds found only on the Pacific side of the US and Canada are not included.

The 224 color photos show all birds in a decent size, which display most of the detail necessary for identification. The number of photos for each bird ranges from 1-6 with most birds having 2-3 photos. Many of the birds are shown with a photo of the breeding adult, wintering adult, and juvenile plumages. Nearly every photo shows the bird at a standing profile. This is a drawback and prevents you from seeing the complete pattern across the breast or back and, of the tail, rump, or open-wing. These limitations may prevent you from examining all the field marks needed for a confident identification. The author did include 52 black-and-white photographs of some of the birds in flight. Not all birds are shown in these and many photos are a bit grainy, blurry, or small.

Text for each bird averages one page each. Most of the information revolves around identification and the descriptions of the various age and seasonal plumages. These descriptions are thorough and will certainly help to identify the birds. Their extended length means this book is not a typical field guide. It can be used as such, but it might require you to have lengthy looks at the bird – or to have a photograph – that allows you to read through the various accounts of the several simliar species being considered.

Two good tables are included to help compare groups of similar species. One table (pp 100-101) outlines the key characteristics of 7 Calidris sandpipers. A second table (pp 76-77) focuses on the golden-plover complex.

This book seems to be a bridge between beginner and experienced shore-birders, which might be both a strength and a weakness. The photos are too limited for the avid birder while the text might be to wordy, long, or detailed for the beginner. This book is certainly worth owning and will be a useful supplement to other books you already own. If you want a really good book that specializes on photographs, you might do better to choose another, such as “The Shorebird Guide” by Crossley or “Shorebirds of North America: The Photographic Guide” by Paulson.

Just as a side note, both the British and American names are supplied for the birds. Also, the Black-necked Stilt of the Americas is considered as the same species as the Black-winged Stilt of the Old World.

I’ve listed several related books below…
1) Guide to the Identification and Ageing of Holarctic Waders by Prater
2) Shorebirds: An Identification Guide to the Waders of the World by Prater
3) Photographic Guide to the Shorebirds of the World by Rosair
4) The Shorebird Guide by Crossley
5) Shorebirds of North America: The Photographic Guide by Paulson
6) Shorebirds of North America, Europe, and Asia: A Guide to Field Identification by Taylor
7) Handbook for Shorebirds in Japan – Japanese only (ISBN 4829921854)
8) A Field Guide to the Waders of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East by Colston ( )