By Dick Forsman
Christopher Helm, 2016
Hbk, 544pp; many colour photographs; ISBN 978-1-4729-1361-6; £45.00
Dick Forsman has become a legend in the field of raptor identification. Renowned for his amazing eyesight and an encyclopedic knowledge of identification features, including moult, he has become the ‘go to’ man if help is needed on photographs of tricky raptors in this digital age.
Dick Forsman has published previously in magazines and a number of books, but confesses that this latest offering has come about because of the advent of modern digital photography. This has truly been a ‘game-changer’: more images can be taken in rapid succession at high resolution and with amazing autofocus technology, allowing the lens to lock onto a subject at great speed no matter where it may be in the image. High-resolution sensors allow faster shutter speeds, the ability to manipulate (in a positive way) the lighting – notably in shadows when the subject is against a bright sky. As he says: ‘Suddenly there was a need to capture all the raptors again with the latest digital equipment. Since 2003, my goal has been to find and to document all the raptor species found within the Western Palearctic, capturing their different plumages for this book.’
And the result is this simply monumental book, which adds greatly to his earlier volume, The Raptors of Europe and the Middle East (Poyser, 1999). Naturally, comparisons will be made between the two, but in reality they complement each other: the earlier book contains more substantive and detailed text, a few illustrations as well as many photographs – of birds perched and in flight though of variable quality; the later volume has less text, but vastly improved images of raptors in flight – all superb and reproduced larger; and of course these photos are underpinned by another 15–20 years of experience and knowledge.
The introductory text covers issues such as plumage variation and moult, but also two sections by other authors that particularly caught my eye: ‘Hawkwatching in and around Europe’, by Keith L. Bildstein and Anna Sandor; and ‘Migration Ecology’, by Ian Newton, which looks at mode of flight, how weather affects migration and the new(ish) science of satellite tracking that is increasing our knowledge of raptor migration immensely. These are but the hors d’ouevres before the main course, however; the bulk of the book (nearly 500 pages) is a wealth of very high-quality flight photographs, almost all taken within the designated area of the title of the book, and virtually all taken by the author.
Taxonomically, the order of the species roughly follows that established by Raptors of Europe and the Middle East, but was a little alien to me, as a user of the IOC Checklist. There is no mention of the recent placement of falcons near to parrots in the systematic order, and it would be fascinating to know Forsman’s thoughts about that. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus and Barbary Falcon F. pelegrinoides are treated as one species, though it is noted that ‘the entire Peregrine complex is still in need of further taxonomic research’. In the course of the 33 images of the two it may be hard to argue against the logic of such a decision, given the variability and extensive ‘hybridisation’ between them. In general, though, a little more discussion of the reasons for the decisions made on taxonomy and nomenclature might have been helpful in promoting our understanding.
There is an increase of 18 species from the first book, mostly a result of the wider geographic scope, but sometimes taxonomic revision, as in the case of Northern Harrier Circus hudsonius, and recent occurrences within the Western Palearctic – Amur Falcon F. amurensis and African White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus. Also new is the discussion of certain hybrids or intergrades that affect positive identification of some extralimital species. A good example is the expanded Black Kite Milvus migrans account. Over 18 pages and 42 clear annotated photos, we are taken through ageing and identification features of ‘Western Black Kite’ M. m. migrans and ‘Black-eared Kite’ M. m. lineatus, highlighting the problems that may be encountered in identifying and assessing putative claims outside the normal range, especially of some lineatus-like intergrades, termed ‘Eastern Black Kite’.
Account length varies according to the level of complexity of the topic: there are two pages and three photographs on Swallow-tailed Kite Elanoides forficatus – included on the basis of two records from Iceland – and some 30 photos of Common Buzzard Buteo b. buteo plus 36 of Steppe Buzzard B. b. vulpinus, 23 of Long-legged Buzzard B. r. rufinus and 20 of ‘Atlas’ Long-legged Buzzards B. r. cirtensis and ‘Gibraltar Buzzard’ intermediates. The text of each species follows a standard format of ‘Variation’ (actually largely taxonomy), ‘Distribution’, ‘Behaviour’, ‘Species Identification’ and ‘Plumages’ (both highly variable in length depending on the difficulty of the subject), ‘Moult’ and ‘Confusion Risks’.
For all species it is the photographs, plus Forsman’s brief but focused captions, that will inspire and educate the most. The reproduction is very good and photographic quality veers between very good to excellent. The images are printed larger than in the previous book, allowing for closer examination of the details described. Sometimes they are almost too good, showing a level of detail that may not actually be visible in the field: species such as (European) Honey-buzzard Pernis apivorus and Peregrine are often identified before much plumage detail is noted, but Forsman deals with both the simple identification (shape and structure) and the greater detail required for ageing, sexing and separation of difficult and similar species. I suspect this is a book aimed at those that want to take their raptor identification skills to another level.
This is an outstanding book and I know that it will take the place of my well-worn ‘first Forsman’ as the first port of call for all of my raptor ID concerns – of which there can be many at times… The sections on ‘pyg-mac’ harriers – Montagu’s Circus pygmaeus and Pallid Harrier C. macrourus – may well be the ones I consult the most. I have few quibbles, but there is no mention of eastern Lesser Kestrels F. naumanni, sometimes treated as a separate subspecies ‘pekinensis’, or the increase in grey on the wings and general darker overall appearance of eastern birds; some of the ‘Behaviour’ sections are a bit ‘dry’, giving little away of the excitement of watching raptors or the dynamic nature of some of the species – Merlin F. columbarius for example; and the taxonomic issues mentioned earlier. Yet these are not really negatives, and perhaps I just wanted even more from the maestro himself!
This book is the result of Dick Forsman spending a lifetime watching raptors. You feel that there is little he doesn’t know. Even if you already own the ‘first Forsman’ – or any other book on the flight identification of Western Palearctic raptors – you should not hesitate to buy this one too!
Brian Small
Volume:
Issue 10