Highly acclaimed by both the general public and the scientific community, HBW is the first work ever to detail and illustrate all the species of birds in the world. Volume 1 was published in 1992, and the series was completed 20 years later. A Special Volume covers and illustrates all the species discovered since the project started, 57 in total with texts, plates and distribution maps in typical HBW format. This project also continues online.
Complementing the series, Lynx has published two checklists in association with BirdLife: HBW and Birdlife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. These include the original artwork of the HBW series and essential information in two volumes.