G'day all,
Peter Cooper wrote 28/02/2007 " ... I think we need a new web site called
'Australian Birds From Below and Behind'..."
that prompted me to post a few words about the design of Field Guides.
Novice Birdos rely 100% on Field Guides (FGs) & thus their ease of use is
essential.
Australia is very fortunate to have a number of very good Field Guides to Bird
Identification
.. although texts over 1Kg such as Pizzey & Knight, and Morcombe barely qualify
as Field Guides
My latest versions include >
- Morcombe, FG to Australian Birds
- Morcombe, FG to Australian Birds, Complete Compact Edition, 2006, lightweight
edition
- Pizzey & Doyle, FG to Birds of Australia, revised edition 1991
- Pizzey & Knight, FG to Birds of Australia,1st ed'n, Reprinted 1997 with
corrections
- Simpson & Day, FG to Birds of Australia, 2004, 7th Ed'n
- The Slater FG to Australian Birds, (Revised & Updated) 2003
Each has their strengths and consequently their followers.
... and probably many birdos will have their unique priorities on this subject.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are a few thoughts that come to my mind >
STATEMENT
Field guides 1st priority is to enable the user to ID the bird ! !
Once the bird has been identified the user can then refer to one of umpteen
texts to read that author's version of the birds' sequence in a Taxonomic
listing.
SEQUENCE
- Look alike birds should be placed together. Slater does a good job
but Morcombe has Brown Quail & Little Button-quail 84 pages apart)
- Waders/Shorebirds should be in size sequence (or as close as practicable)
ILLUSTRATIONS
- Illustrations for a particular species, should be placed opposite the
appropriate text
(except where grouped with the text, e.g. Morcombe Compact Edition)
Slater has a number of annoying exceptions to an otherwise good layout
S&D placement of illustrations defies logic.
- Birds that are frequently seen on the wing, should also be illustrated as such
e.g. Quail, Waterfowl, Raptors, Nightjars
- Birds that are frequently seen from their rear (or below) should also be
illustrated as such
e.g. Crakes, Rails, Gallinules (i.e. Swamphen, Moorhen)
DIAGNOSTIC FEATURES
- Diagnostic features should be highlighted on the illustration, not hidden in
the text.
.. as they say "a picture is worth a 1000 words"
INDEXES
- The most frequently read pages, the Indexes, should be printed in easily read
font.
(and road tested by someone with failing eyesight .. in the dusk !)
- Scientific Names and Common Names should be listed separately,
- Common Names listing should be printed nearest the cover,
and highlight the start of each letter of the alphabet (e.g. Morcombe
Compact FG)
- Quick Indexes (see S & D 7th ed'n & Morcombe Compact Edition) are a welcome
addition to FGs
(e.g. S & D 7th Ed'n, Morcombe Compact Ed'n) and should be located on an
inside cover
PAGE NUMBERS
- Page numbers should be in large bold print, and printed on the outer edges of
the page
IDENTIFICATION TABLES
- These are a feature of some International texts such as >
- Shorebirds, An Identification Guide, Hayman, Marchant, Prater (p391-399)
- Crows and Jays, Madge and Burn (see p166 for Australian Crows)
- 5 others are listed on Birds Qld Web Page www.birdsqueensland.org.au
COLOUR CHART
- I have yet to see any Field Guide include a colour chart ! Why not ?
How else do you define Rufous, Cinnamon, Scarlet, Olive ?
GLOSSARY & BIRD BODY PARTS
All FGs should include >
- Glossaries (example S&D 7th ED'n p346-349)
- Illustrations (example S&D 7th ED'n p1)
WEB PAGE
All should have their own web page listing any errors or extra information and
a facility to allow feedback of errors to the author.
The internet is here .. let us use it !
BOOK CONSTRUCTION
- Covers should be rugged. I find S&D vinyl cover perhaps the best... but easy
to get dog-eared.
- Glossy paper must be kept dry. Nor ideal for a book used in all weathers !
earlier Slater editions could be dried out in a microwave (I have yet to
test out the 2003 edition)
- The latest version of Slater has a clear slip cover which appeared to be a
good idea, but mine disintegrated after a bit of use
- Rounded corners seem to prevent dog-ears (latest edition of Slater)
OTHER IDENTIFICATION BIRD MONOGRAPHS
- A Quick Guide to some Waders of Moreton Bay, Litz-Tyne & Venables,1996,
QOSI/BQ
- Field Guide to the Waders, Condon & McGill. 6th Ed'n, 1974, BOCA
Both these publications provided relative sizes and silhouetes .. a great
idea.
I look forward to obtain Andrew Geering's forthcoming wader book.
- What Bird of Prey is that ? Beruldsen, 1995
Contains useful information but requires editing and reformating.
-The Birds of Prey of Australia, Debus, 1998
Contains useful information but the illogical placement and lack of an index
to the illustration disqualifies the book as a Field Guide
- Birds of Queensland's Wet Tropics and Great Barrier Reef, Nielsen, 1996
Introduces a unique method of listing birds within a unique identification
feature e.g.
Red or orange beak, yellow breast, white rump, etc. Thus a bird can be
listed under multiple headings. I found the book useful for this region.
Well, I'll now wait for some useful feedback.
Regards from
Bob Forsyth
Mount Isa, NW Qld.
==============================www.birding-aus.org
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