A Photo Guide to The Birds of Europe

ID Handbook of European Birds, by Nils Van Duivendijk and Marc Guyt

Princeton University Press, 2024

1048 pages, hardcover

ABA Sales–Buteo Books 15362

The arrival of not one but two tomes from Princeton University Press, dedicated to the identification of European passerines and non-Passerines, was highly awaited. These weighty handbooks are the brainchild of Dutch identification-meister, Nils Van Duivendijk and AGAMI photo-agency principal, Marc Guyt.

Volume 1 deals with non-passerines and Volume 2 with passerines. Together, the 1056 pages of the two volumes cover 720 species, including regular vagrants recorded in Europe, rather than the larger geographical area of the Western Palearctic. The identification guides use photos (instead of paintings used in more traditional field guides), and take advantage of advancements in the quality of digital imagery, similar to other well-executed photo guides. Together, they are simply spectacular and have raised the bar of identification guides through the roof. To be clear, these are not “field guides” in the traditional sense; these hardcover books at eight by six inches won’t fit in any of your pockets, even if you wanted to take them out for a spin.

As the title implies, they are handbooks, intended for reference use, before and after birding sojourns. Unlike all modern guides, they do not cover vocalizations, general impression, or behavior, all of which are often key components to identification. So, you’ll have to figure out for yourself that the hovering buteo is a European Buzzard and not a Honey Buzzard, or that that tail-dipping Phylloscopus is a Chiffchaff and not a Willow Warbler. The focus here is a visual one, which distinguishes these guides as reference tools.

It is clear that Van Duivendijk and Guyt have carefully curated the images for readers to compare and contrast similar species. Most images are annotated with callouts to draw the reader’s attention to key features and characteristics. The quality of the images is consistently high, a tribute to all the amazing photographers involved, and compared to other guides, many more species’ plumages are included.

One of my “go-to” guides in my early years of birding was the Identification Guide to European Passerines by Lars Svensson—the ringer’s “Bible.” It is an amazing work of research and information and one of the most important weapons in my bird ID arsenal—even the little pen-and-ink illustrations are exquisite! This little treasure trove holds some gems that can be mapped from “in-the-hand” criteria to “in-the-field” criteria.  For example, the long first primary extending beyond the primary coverts on Common Nightingale versus Thrush Nightingale, something that perhaps not too many birders would know to look for on a skulking Luscinia. This was also covered, not surprisingly, in the Collins Bird Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe by Lars Svensson, Dan Zetterström and Killian Mullarney. That the authors have chosen to include wing and tail formulas in this latest publication is a further nod to the benefits of digital imagery analysis, helping break the idiom that—if your camera is good enough—a bird in the bush is now worth the same as one in the hand!

It is also nice to see the incorporation of some field marks I personally began using a decade ago that have been more widely embraced by newer generations of birders; for example, the under primary “notch” in first year Long-tailed Skuas/Jaegers. Another example is that when faced with “problem stints” in the field or online, one fairly consistent feature of juvenile Red-necked Stints (other than short legs) that I have tried to champion is their long central tail feathers that, when seen in profile, stick out beyond their already long wings. Peter Hayman, John Marchant, and Tony Prater did mention this and illustrate it in their groundbreaking Shorebirds: An Identification Guide to the Waders of the World, but it seems to have been overlooked as a useful feature in the field, overshadowed by subjective discussions of plumage tones. This new publication will bring this information to a new generation of readers.

Other amazing details included in ID Handbook of European Birds are the pages devoted to a comparison of the head and tail patterns of certain families, such as warblers and buntings, as well as wing formations of the leaf-type warblers. This is head-spinning stuff on top of an already plentiful buffet of information!

So, faced with a brick of material to review, I decided to focus on some random species with which I feel I have both familiarity and ID conundrums I’ve spent time trying to solve:

• The aging and identification of second-year and second winter-males of Northern Harrier, a species I have studied in-depth, was spot on.
• Snowy Owls are notoriously difficult to age and sex, and the criteria in the field are very individual-feather focused. Here, the wording and cautionary text is helpfully descriptive.
• The callout of Semipalmated Sandpipers’ fine rear and lateral flank streaking compared to the unmarked areas in Little Stint is included and often helpful in “problem” birds.
• Even the American wood-warblers, which I know well since moving to the U.S., are given admirable treatment.

The result is a satisfyingly thorough treatment of species with the inclusion of up-to-date material. It’s simply impressive. I felt confident that the guide would offer up the same carefully curated info for the other species I was not familiar with.

I want to discuss the layout and esthetics of these handbooks. As a birder and designer who had grandiose plans for doing a photographic field guide myself, I know firsthand that it’s a lot of work. Designers often don't get the love they deserve, so I want to give some to Sam Gobin, who clearly worked tirelessly on these pages. Design is a huge component of usability and readability. The choice of typography is key here. The use of sans serif fonts was no doubt premeditated to not only convey a sense of modern style but also to maintain readability. I also appreciate the use of negative space: Despite the amount of text callouts included with most figures, there is no feeling that the pages are crowded, as is the case in some other photo guides (such as the Crossley guides, which I find too overstimulating for learning purposes). None of these design elements was accidental; they were chosen on purpose, and credit goes to Sam for his carefully crafted work here. It should not be overlooked as you flip through the pages.

Last, and certainly not least, if not for the work of James Lidster and Vincent van der Speck it would be “all Dutch” for the rest of us! They have both done an admirable job translating the original Dutch versions into English that is clear, concise, and easy to digest.

Overall, I cannot give these handbooks anything but glowing reviews. Anyone with an interest in identification needs a copy of the ID Handbook of European Birds. These volumes provide a wealth of information that will be new to every bird ID guru and will be an invaluable investment in your birding future.

Originally from the U.K., Julian Hough spent most of his childhood years chasing rarities, and he worked briefly as a journalist on Britain’s top-selling magazine, Birdwatching. A keen interest in migration and identification led to extensive global travel. Julian now lives in New Haven, CT with his son Alex.