Wildfowl

Book excerpt: A summary of information on 154 species of duck, geese and swans of the world intended as an identification manual for the wildfowl enthusiast that goes beyond a regional basis and is light enough to be used as a handy reference book in the field. Wildfowl is a unique combination of scientifically accurate information compressed into an easy-to-use format which has been planned to give anyone a greater understanding of the lives of this fascinating group of birds. The 47 superb colour plates form the backbone of the book, each plate being accompanied by an informative caption page summarising the criteria required to identify, and in many cases, to age and sex each species, along with an easy-to-use cross reference system to the main body of text. The text not only clarifies identification techniques but fully discusses problematic plumages in detail as well as providing a summary on world distribution and status complemented by clear distribution maps.