Quick: take a look at your bookshelf. I bet a more than substantial number or the guides bending the boards were written by WINGS leaders.

Killian Mullarney fills us in on the publication schedule for the second edition of Birds of Britain and Europe, widely praised as the best field guide for any region anywhere:

“So far as I am aware, just about everything is ready now. Printing will commence very soon, and publication is currently scheduled for March 2010.

“The number of pages has increased by about 10% in the revised edition. Twenty-four new spreads have been used, both to alleviate some of the more crowded plates in the first edition and to treat around 40 additional species, the majority of which are the result of taxonomic changes. Treatment of wildfowl, shearwaters, grebes, birds of prey, cranes, large gulls, pigeons, doves, owls, pipits, chats, thrushes, warblers, flycatchers, shrikes, and North American passerines have all been extensively revised, with the addition of numerous new and improved images. Distribution maps have been updated where necessary.”

Something else to look forward to in the New Year 2010!