Superb Bird Guides
The Helm series of Field Guides and Identification Guides are a superb set of resources for birders, birdwatchers and ornithologists alike.
I have been birdwatching for more than 30 years and as I have become a more serious ornithologist I have become more and more aware of how good the books in the Helm series are, but there is no point in waiting to become an experienced birdwatcher before getting these books; start with the best.
I have written lenses on How to be a Good Birdwatcher and Where to Watch Birds in Thailand, now it is time for me to share this lens which lists all the bird books in the Helm Identification Guide series that I know of.
Helm Identification Guide Vote
My Favourite Helm Bird Guide
Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America
Gulls of Europe, Asia and North America (Helm Identification Guides)
Amazon Price: (as of 12/11/2009)![]()
This is one of those authoratitive books without peer. Gulls are a really difficult group of birds to deal with and this book details them all with great plates, many pictures of different moult phases and informative text.
If you want to identify gulls, get this book; it's as simple as that.
Helm Identification Guides - Bird Family Accounts
The Helm Identification Guides are ornithological masterpieces, focusing on specific bird families and containing an unbelievable amount of information on their subjects. No serious ornithologist should be without at least some of these books.
I personally use "Pipits and Wagtails", "Raptors of the World" and "Shorebirds" regularly and they frequently help me sort out difficult identification problems.
Raptors of the World (Helm Identification Guides) by James Ferguson-Lees, David A. Christie
The newest addition to the highly regarded Helm Id more...1 point
Warblers of Europe, Asia and North Africa (Helm Identification Guides)
Warblers are the archetypal "little brown bir more...1 point
Shrikes and Bush-shrikes (Helm Identification Guides) by Tony Harris
Shrikes are a group of spectacular predators, many more...0 points
Starlings and Mynas (Helm Identification Guides) by C.J. Feare, Adrian Craig
The starling family contains some of the most comm more...0 points
Finches and Sparrows (Helm Identification Guides) by Peter Clement
Among the most familiar and colorful of birds, fin more...0 points
New World Blackbirds. The Icterids. Helm Identification Guides. by Alvaro and Peter Burke Jaramillo
New World Blackbirds is a comprehensive guide to t more...0 points
Sunbirds (Helm Identification Guides) by Robert A. Cheke, Clive Mann
The dazzling insect- and nectar-eating sunbirds in more...0 points
Terns of Europe and North America (Helm Identification Guides) by Klaus Malling Olsen
Terns are elegant sea and marshland birds that liv more...0 points
Seabirds (Helm Identification Guides)
This is the definitive book on the seabirds of the more...0 points
Sylvia Warblers (Helm Identification Guides) by Hadoram Shirihai, Gabriel Gargallo, Andreas Helbig
The culmination of more than a decade of work, thi more...0 points
Tanagers (Helm Identification Guides) by Morton L. Isler, Phyllis R. Isler
The tanagers of the Western Hemisphere, write orni more...0 points
Thrushes (Helm Identification Guides) by Peter Clement, Ren Hathaway
This is the first book in nearly one hundred years more...0 points
Crows and Jays (Helm Identification Guides) by Steve Madge
In no other group of perching birds has evolution more...0 points
Parrots (Helm Identification Guides) by Mike Parr, Tony Juniper
This superbly illustrated book is the first create more...0 points
Helm Field Guides
The term "In the field" refers to being outside in any wildlife habitat be it forest, beach, open sea or wetlands.
Field Guides usually contain a large number of high quality plates depicting the birds along with a little text and often accompanied by a distribution map for each species.
The Field Guides published by Helm are particularly good and I own and regularly use a number of them. Whilst I have not looked at all the field guides listed here, I have used enough of them to know that they are of consistently high quality and would be confident in recommending any of them.
Helm Field Guides - Asia
Birds of Northern India (Helm Field Guides) by Richard Grimmett, Tim Inskipp
From the wet evergreen forests and alpine peaks of more...0 points
Birds of the Middle East (Helm Field Guides) by R.F. Porter, S. Christensen, P Schiermacker-Hansen
Birds of the Middle East is the first comprehensiv more...0 points
Helm Field Guides - Africa
Birds of Kenya and Northern Tanzania (Helm Identification Guides) by Dale A. Zimmerman, Don Turner, David Pearson, Ian Willis, Doug Pratt
Here is the definitive guide to the birds of Kenya more...0 points
Helm Field Guides - South & Central America
Birds of Cuba (Helm Field Guides) by Orlando H. Garrido, Arturo Kirkconnell
The richness and diversity of Cuban birdlife featu more...0 points
A Guide to the Birds of the Galapagos Islands (Helm Field Guides) by Isabel C. Castro
Made famous by Charles Darwin's work on evolution more...0 points
Birds of Venezuela (Helm Field Guides) by Steven L. Hilty
Venezuela has an immensely rich bird fauna, with 1 more...0 points
Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica (Helm Field Guides) by F.Gary Stiles, Alexander F. Skutch
Costa Rica, a country of no larger than West Virgi more...0 points
Birds of Chile (Helm Field Guides) by Alvaro Jaramillo
This is the essential new field guide to the birds more...0 points
Birds of Belize (Helm Field Guides) by H. Lee Jones
"This is a first-class book that will enable more...0 points
A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago (Helm Field Guides) by Richard Ffrench
A visit to Trinidad and Tobago has introduced coun more...0 points
Helm Field Guides - North America
Field Guide to the Birds of Western North America (Helm Field Guides) by David Sibley
The Sibley Guide to Birds has quickly become the n more...0 points
Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America by David Sibley
The Sibley Guide to Birds has quickly become the n more...0 points
Helm Field Guides - Europe
Birds of the Mediterranean (Helm Field Guides) by Paul Sterry
The Mediterranean is remarkably rich with birds, n more...0 points
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Leave a Comment Please
If you have ever used a Helm Identification Guide please leave a comment about it here. Any comments about the lens are welcome too.
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Reply
- Apaihai Apaihai Sep 19, 2009 @ 5:59 pm
- Very helpful lens.
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- qlcoach qlcoach May 31, 2009 @ 11:07 am
- Great information and excellent lens. I rated it 5 stars. I also voted for you on Squidom. Hope you will do the same and visit my lens about emotional healing. Gary Eby, author and therapist.
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- ElizabethJeanAllen ElizabethJeanAllen Jul 26, 2008 @ 5:38 pm
- Great lens!
5* and lensroll
Lizzy
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- K_Linda K_Linda Jul 21, 2008 @ 8:14 am
- Nice lens. These look like great birding books. 5*'s.
About The Lens Author
Lensmaster nickupton has been a member since June 23 2007, has rated 150 lenses, favorited 74, and has created 63 lenses from scratch. This member's top-ranked page is "The Sneetches by Dr Seuss". See all my lenses
by nickupton

I have been birdwatching since I was seven and have used more field guides than I can remember, some good, some bad.
The Helm series of bird gu... (more)














































































































































