▁av ifa una .” ▁” Of ▁the ▁ 7 4 5 ▁species , ▁ 4 6 7 ▁are ▁illustrated . ▁ ▁Two ▁hundred ▁and ▁forty - e ight ▁of ▁these ▁are ▁in ▁colour ▁and ▁the ▁rest ▁in ▁black ▁and ▁white , ▁often ▁of ▁part ▁of ▁the ▁bird ▁only . ▁ ▁For ▁many ▁orn ith olog ists ▁the ▁lack ▁of ▁illustr ations ▁of ▁many ▁species ▁is ▁likely ▁to ▁be ▁a ▁real ▁draw back , ▁in ▁spite ▁of ▁ 1 1 7 ▁keys ▁in ▁the ▁text ▁for ▁the ▁identification ▁of ▁species ▁within ▁families ▁or ▁gener a . ▁ ▁The ▁field ▁characters ▁used ▁in ▁the ▁keys ▁thus ▁become ▁very ▁important .” ▁” Peter ▁Sl ater ’ s ▁black ▁and ▁white ▁illustr ations ▁are ▁accurate , ▁lif eli ke ▁and ▁delight ful . ▁ ▁His ▁colour ▁pl ates ▁are ▁also ▁successful ▁though ▁the ▁colours ▁of ▁some ▁species ▁are ▁slightly ▁too ▁pale ▁( e . g . ▁P ink ▁Robin ), ▁but ▁this ▁is ▁not ▁serious .” ▁” This ▁book ▁has ▁a ▁lot ▁of ▁useful ▁information , ▁the ▁production ▁of ▁which ▁has ▁clearly ▁involved ▁pain st aking , ▁and ▁no ▁doubt ▁length y , ▁labour ▁by ▁the ▁author . ▁ ▁However , ▁it ▁can ▁be ▁seen ▁from ▁what ▁has ▁been ▁said ▁that ▁there ▁are ▁in acc ura cies ▁and ▁g aps . ▁ ▁Even ▁if ▁some ▁of ▁these ▁details ▁appear ▁minor , ▁it ▁must ▁be ▁remembered ▁that ▁expensive ▁reference ▁books ▁stand ▁or ▁fall ▁on ▁detail . ▁ ▁The ▁author ▁appe als , ▁in ▁the ▁introduction , ▁for ▁readers