HANDBOOK OF THE BIRDS OF THE WORLD (HBW)

Loading image... 

HBW is the most remarkable publishing project on birds ever conceived and executed, It is the first work ever to illustrate all the species of birds in the world, in addition to providing access to all the essential information about each one of them. In fact, it will be the first work ever to deal with each member of an entire Class of the Animal Kingdom. HBW volume 1 was published in 1992, and the 16th and final volume is due for publication in 2011.

NHBS has been involved with the HBW project from the beginning. We hold all volumes of HBW in stock, and also run a standing order service for customers who want either to automatically receive each volume when published, or receive notification.

More information on HBW from the Lynx website:

An international project
The first volume was greeted with great enthusiasm by the ornithological world and received excellent reviews in almost all of the world's specialized journals. The prestige gained permitted the incorporation of renowned experts from all over the world as authors. These experts are specialists in the families they write about and have helped HBW to become a truly international project, a feature which has been highlighted in many of the excellent reviews which have also been written on the subsequent volumes. A large number of them designate this series as an indispensable standard reference work.

Production
The production of complex volumes, compiling an enormous amount of information and a large number of original illustrations, requires time. Thus, series with several volumes generally have quite lengthy publication schedules. Nevertheless, we at Lynx believe that, for a series to be of greater use, it is important that the gap between the publication of each volume be kept as short as possible. The only way to achieve this is to work on several volumes simultaneously. Volume 2 of HBW appeared practically two years after the first one. With the publication of the following volumes we reached our target of publishing one volume every 18 months. Since volume 7 we have managed to reduce the interval between volumes even further to the point where we are now producing a new volume every year. Thus, we believe that HBW is the quickest means of obtaining thorough and fully illustrated information on absolutely every one of the families in the Class Aves (no matter how small), at an unbeatable price. With the publication of Volume 9, the first 121 of the total of 197 families have already been covered by the Handbook.

Forthcoming volumes

Volume 14 (due in October 2009)
Bushshrikes; Helmetshrikes; Vangas; Drongos; Wattlebirds; Mud-builders; White-winged Chough and Apostlebird; Woodswallows; Bornean Bristlehead; Butcherbirds; Birds-of-paradise; Bowerbirds; Crows; Starlings; Old World Sparrows

Volume 15 (due in 2010)
Weavers; Waxbills; Indigobirds; Vireos; Finches; Hawaiian Honeycreepers; New World Warblers

Volume 16 (due in 2011)
Cardinals and allies; Tanagers; Buntings and allies; New World Blackbirds