This first volume covers the following families: ostrich; rheas; cassowaries; emu; kiwis; tinamous; penguins; divers; grebes; albatrosses; petrels & shearwaters; storm- and diving-petrels; tropicbirds; pelicans; gannets & boobies; cormorants; darters; frigatebirds; herons; hamerkop; storks; shoebill; ibises and spoonbills; flamingos; screamers; ducks, geese & swans.
"There are many titles currently available that claim to cover all the birds of the globe: treat these as nothing more than inferior effigies and go out and buy the real thing."
- Hugh Harrop, Birding World
"If perfection does not exist upon Earth, this volume comes very close to it."
- Paul Geroudet, Nos Oiseaux