The following critiques express the opinions of the individual evaluators regarding the strengths, weaknesses, and value of the books they review. As such, the appraisals are subjective assessments and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or any official policy of the American Ornithologists' Union.
Rob G. Bijlsma, Fred Hustings, and Kees (C. J.) Camphuysen. 2001. Avifauna van Nederland, vol. 2. GMB Uitgeverij, Haarlem-Stichting Uitgeverij van der KNNV, The Netherlands. 496 pp., 200+ pictures, 350+ text figures. ISBN 978-90-74345-21-7. Hardcover, \?\49,95.—Common and Scarce Birds of The Netherlands provides, together with volume one, Rare Birds of The Netherlands (van den Bergh and Bosman 2001), the most complete overview of the Dutch avifauna. The two volumes are the long-awaited extension of the Atlas van de Nederlandse Vogels (SOVON 1987). Both volumes are richly illustrated with pictures (though I question the use of nest images), distribution maps, and graphics detailing seasonal distributions and trends in populations. The books are a cooperative effort of the major ornithological organizations of The Netherlands, including the Netherlands Ornithologists' Union (NOU), the Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology (SOVON), the Dutch Birding Association (DBA), and the Nederlandse Zeevogelgroup (NZG, Dutch Seabird Group), which guarantees the best possible quality. Both books are written in Dutch, with short English summaries, and are fully referenced. The Netherlands is important for many species, for overwintering or as a stepping-stone during migration, and all entries provide a complete overview of the literature, including the many articles published in local Dutch journals that are rarely available outside The Netherlands. Each species entry describes the origins and migrations of the species, and then details the occurrence in the breeding season and outside of it, before it finishes with a detailed discussion on the numbers and trends within the Dutch population in the 20th century. In some entries, the data are explicitly interpreted, but often the authors refrain from that or discuss the interpretations from the literature. The authors also refrain from interpreting the combined data at large, but digging through the many individual entries gives a grim view of the losses many species endured over the past decades. Overall, the books contain a wealth of information and are indispensable for anyone studying a species for which The Netherlands is important.
