The Morcombe guide has arrived in Darwin ($30!!), and I bought two
(one for me, one for a forthcoming birthday present). Herewith my
first impressions. Note, it's not a 'how many errors can I find?'
exercise this time).
The overpowering blue in many of the plates is a problem. I
checked some of the illustrations done for 'Birdfinder' and found
that while a lot of the darker colours had a tendency to be a bit
washed out, at least they didn't have that blue problem. I assume
therefore that it's in the printing. Maybe that's why the first run is
being discounted??
Some of the illustrations fall short of the mark with regards to
accuracy and some appear to be rather 'dry and scratchy' but
overall, they're not bad, and some are very good. Considering some
of the revolting illustrations that have been thrust on the bird-book-
buying-public locally and overseas I'd say the illustrations (in
general) are at least of a standard to warrant publishing. A big plus
is Morcombe's attempt to vary the pose of the birds by drawing on
his extensive photographic resources. While some poses may look
unnatural, it may well be that they represent the photographic
sources (and therefore the birds??) quite well. A page at the
beginning showing photos, and drawings from them, indicates that
the likenesses are pretty good.
Given that some of the illustrations could have been easily
improved though, I wonder to what extent criticism was sought and
used prior to sending the plates to the printers. Clearly there could
have been some advice offered, and if it was, it could have been
taken! I often wonder what lies behind the choice of referees or
critics; are demanding people avoided or are they just not known?
I like the labelling around the illustrations and the way that the
birds are placed so that similar species can be easily compared
(with a few exceptions: e.g., Welcome & Pacific Swallows). The
design could take a little getting used to, but then that shows how
new it is on the scene.
I'm not convinced that the egg / nest section is worth the space it
takes up.
The coloured maps provide quite a lot of detail. With the exception
of a few (such as Sarus Crane) I presume they're reasonably
accurate though I haven't checked them closely yet.
The birds of the island territories are a welcome addition, though
some of the illustrations in that section are amongst the worst in
the book.
Overall I give it the thumbs up, recommend it (especially at $30)
and expect that it should come in very handy. The main problem I
have with it is a reflection of a problem inherent in the industry and
that is that writers and illustrators seem to be shy of proper
criticism of their pre-published work, which means that too many
avoidable errors, inaccuracies and second rate illustrations get
through. Unfortunately the writers and illustrators then cop more
negative criticism in the end. In my view, I'd prefer harsh private
criticism to harsh public criticism, which is what it boils down to.
Happy reading, I'm off to the sewer, hopefully to find a new bird so I
can test the field guide. Perhaps those gulls have turned up!
Niven
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message
"unsubscribe birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line)
to
|
