Book excerpt: The second volume in this incredible series on western palearctic birds. This unique and spectacular handbook is the most complete and comprehensive photographic guide to the passerines of the Western Palearctic. Written by two of the world's most respected ornithologists, Hadoram Shirihai and Lars Svensson, it contains the most up-to-date information available on bird identification covering all aspects of plumage, moult, ageing and sexing, with sections on voice and other identification criteria, and detailed taxonomic notes. This second volume covers flycatchers, reedlings, tits, nuthatches, orioles and sunbirds, shrikes, corvids, finches and buntings, along with vagrants. The exceptional text is backed up by a remarkable collection of more than 2,500 photographs in this volume alone, featuring a comprehensive range of plumages that illustrate every race and morph of each species in the region. This stunning handbook will be the definitive reference for the region for years to come - no birder's shelf will be complete without it.