A dedicated field guide to the world's raptors

Raptors - predatory birds that include the falcons, eagles, hawks, harriers, buzzards, kites and the Osprey - have been watched, admired, studied and painted from ancient times. Our understanding of the biology, ecology and taxonomy of these birds was condensed into one of the finest monographs of the century to date, Raptors of the World, by James Ferguson-Lees and David Christie.

This field guide represents the next step on from that magnificent work. It features plates by some of the world's leading bird artists, with a concise text and a colour distribution map on facing pages, creating a lightweight field reference that covers all 340 raptor species, from the sparrow-sized Black-thighed Falconet to the mighty Steller's Sea-eagle, and everything in between.

Armed with this guide, birders will be able to identify any bird of prey they encounter anywhere in the world with confidence.

James Ferguson-Lees was a a giant of 20th-century ornithology in Britain. An editor of British Birds magazine, he served as President of the British Trust for Ornithology, Deputy Director of the RSPB, and Records Committee Chairman of the British Ornithologists' Union. Ferguson-Lees also helped establish both the British Birds Rarities Committee and the Rare Breeding Birds Panel. Ferguson-Lees was the author of several books, including the magnificent monograph Raptors of the World, on which this book is based.

David A. Christie is an ornithologist, editor and translator. He is co-author of a number of books, including Raptors of the World and the award-winning Woodpeckers.