First review of the family for nearly a hundred years. The fine plates are by Chris Rose, which depict each of the species in exquisite detail. Each plate is accompanied by a brief caption text plus a two-colour distribution and breeding map. The second main section comprises chapters on the family's characteristics, classification, distribution, ecology, behaviour, breeding biology and population status, as well as a short account of each species. Each of these accounts describes the field characteristics, habitat, voice, distribution, movements, behaviour, plumage, races and measurements of the species.
`I feel sure that even the most casual `bird-person' will be as captivated as I am by this gem of a book.' Don Smith, British Birds