You can´t miss a moose

"Collins Field Guide to Mammals of Britain and Europe" covers 200 mammal species found in Europe. The colour plates are quite good. The plates and the text are not on facing pages, however. Distribution maps are included.

My main objection to this field guide is that it claims to cover "Western Europe" without defining what Western Europe means. Some of the species covered can only be found in Italy, the Balkans or Greenland!

Many of the mammals covered are well known European species: wolf, brown bear, reindeer, moose or beaver. More surprising, perhaps, are the golden jackal and the Barbary ape. Even more surprising is the inclusion of the red-necked wallaby, an Australian marsupial found at two locations in Britain. Apparently, they escaped from captivity (who wouldn't?) and found the British heaths to their liking.

Most large land mammals are common knowledge (you can't miss a moose!) but if you absolutely must identify shrews, mice or bats, this field guide is probably a must. Interestingly, it has a companion volume, called "European Mammals: Inside their lives", but I haven't seen it. It's apparently more of a natural history than a field guide, and could perhaps be of some interest as well.