Identifying birds by behaviour

This beautifully illustrated guide will help you identify birds not only by their physical characteristics but also by how they fly, forage, and hunt for food, or how they gather in flocks. Considering the various behavioural traits of birds often makes it easier to identify even those species that look similar.
• Includes birds of Europe.
• Organised by family for easier navigation.

• Contains more than 1,000 original colour illustrations
that show birds as you will actually see them in nature.

• For each family, the distribution of its members
and an overview of the habitats they occupy are provided.


This book will help you identify birds living in the UK and across Europe. But there are many such books on the market – so why another one? Identifying Birds by Behaviour differs from other “field guides” (identification books intended for use outdoors, in the field) in one very important respect. It does not focus on the problems of different plumages and feather patterns but concentrates on body shape, behaviour, and ecology. This approach leaves plenty of room to highlight lifestyle details that may be missing from other books, yet are useful in identifying and getting to know birds. Because it omits much of what other identification guides are cluttered with (and what is endlessly copied from one book to another), it can focus solely on those aspects of body shape and behaviour that might otherwise be overlooked.
You will also surely notice that the style of this book is somewhat different. Identifying Birds by Behaviour is much more visual than other field guides – illustrations fill every page and are accompanied by only brief captions. You will not find any continuous text or distribution maps here. We also do not mention the sounds that birds make. We have truly limited the information to focus on what we believe is rarely described elsewhere.