This guide to a difficult group of birds is an excellent addition
to any serious birder's library and an excellent tool for
birders when attempting to identify pipit species and wagtail
subspecies, especially when the potential for uncommon or
new species/races is high during migration and winter.
Pipits and Wagtails is a small enough book that it can be
taken into the field in a small rucksack but at the same time
it contains an enormous amount of information on distribution,
identification, plumage variations, moult, wing formulas,
calls and taxonomic status. The book is split into four main
parts; a short introduction discussing general aspects of
classification, identification, ageing and sexing of pipits
and wagtails; 30 colour plates; 332 pages of information specific
to each species; a photographic section. Each section is useful
and the species accounts are particularly informative to birders
in Asia when trying to identify various races of species,
particularly Yellow Wagtail.
When this book was published in 2003 it was the most up-to-date
account of pipits and wagtails based on the most recent research.
One of the things I like about this book is that at times
the authors simply admit to not really knowing the taxonomic
status of some subspecies and give an explanation of their
current grouping/splitting whilst indicating that further
research may reveal changes; there is no such thing as a closed
book when it comes to ornithology.
While I have spent many hours enjoying poring over the pages
of this book, one of the small complaints I would have is
that the plates, species accounts and photographs are in three
different sections, making for rather a lot of flicking back
and forwards when researching a species. I guess the authors
wanted to have the species illustrated next to each other,
something that is important with hard to identify species,
but why the photos can't be with the plates I don't know.
One omission I noticed, and was rather disappointed with,
is the lack of winter plumage illustrations for the various
subspecies of Yellow Wagtail, something which is a serious
problem for usage of this book on the bird's wintering grounds,
although once the various subspecies come into summer plumage
it is quite enlightening and it should be noted that the classification
of Yellow Wagtail subspecies is at variance with that used
in some of the older field guides.
This is one of the best Helm guides I have seen and birders
throughout the world would do well to add it to their collection.
Certainly birders in Thailand can learn a lot about pipit
and wagtail identification from this.
Score: 9/10
More Top Books on Pipits & Wagtails
British
Larks, Pipits and Wagtails - Authored by two of
the most familar names in British ornithology this book
attempts to pull together all that was known at the time
of publication about the larks, pipits and wagtails of Britain
including chapters on the rarer migrants that sometimes
occur.
The
Skylark- This in depth study of European, Oriental
and Japanese Skylarks is an enthralling read for anyone
who loves these amazing musical birds. Covering the ecology,
migration, breeding behaviour and its role in folklore
this is one of the most readable books of its kind.
Download
a full 
