>The ABA lists the following and I would appreciate comments, criticisms,
>suggestions, etc.
>
>Christopher Perrins, New Generation Guide: Birds of Britain and Europe
>
>Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Britain and Europe
>
>Paul Ehrlich et al., The Birdwatcher's Handbook: A Guide to the Natural
>History of the Birds of Britain and Europe
>
Dale,

You didn't mention the Birds of Europe by Lars Jonsson which is an
outstanding book. It does a great job with the real identification
nightmares (jaegers, stints, Phylloscopus etc.). Its a beautiful book and I
would recommend it except I have not been back to Europe since it came out,
so I have not field tested it. Otherwise, Europeans I have met like the New
Generation guide far more than the Peterson.

>Is there significant overlap between this Ehrlich guide and the one for
>North America?

I would imagine that there is little to no overlap. If the book is done
well, egg dates, clutch size data etc. for birds found on both continents
(i.e Winter Wren) should be taken from the area of interest not assummed to
be the same in both places. In general, the Europeans are an order of
magnitude ahead of us in understanding the natural history of their birds so
it must be based on their datasets.


Alvaro Jaramillo
Half Moon Bay, CA

alvaro at quake.net
http://www.quake.net/~alvaro/index.html