Vorstman’s Guides
free field guides to the natural world
Guides for anyone who wants to go beyond a first identification: field marks set beside the species with which confusion actually occurs, the sound alongside them, and for every species where and when to expect it. Everything is free to read, and every photograph and recording carries a free licence and the name of its maker.
The guides
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Vorstman’s Guide to the Birds of Europe
Europe
Seven hundred and thirty-one species, from the guillemot on the cliff to the sparrow in the yard. For each: field marks, the species it is genuinely confused with, a recording, a distribution map and the habitats where it belongs.
Open Available in:EnglishNederlandsDeutschFrançaisEspañolעברית -
Vorstman’s Guide to the Birds of North America
Canada, the United States and Greenland
Nine hundred and four species, from the snow goose on the tundra to the hummingbird in the desert. For each: field marks, the species it is genuinely confused with, a recording, a distribution map and the habitats where it belongs, classified with the USNVC and CMECS.
Open Available in:EnglishNederlandsEspañol -
Vorstman’s Guide to the Birds of Australia and New Zealand
Australia, New Zealand and the surrounding islands
Eight hundred and fifty-seven species, from the honeyeater in the eucalypt forest to the kea on the snow-covered mountaintop. For each: field marks, the species it is genuinely confused with, a recording, a distribution map and the habitats where it belongs, classified with NVIS and LCDB.
Open Available in:EnglishNederlandsEspañol -
Vorstman’s Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa
Angola, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini
One thousand two hundred and twenty-nine species, from the ostrich on the savanna to the penguin on the Cape coast. For each: field marks, the species it is genuinely confused with, a recording, a distribution map and the habitats where it belongs, classified with the macrogroups of the International Vegetation Classification (IVC).
Open Available in:EnglishNederlandsEspañol -
Vorstman’s Guide to the Birds of the Caribbean
the Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, the southern Caribbean islands, and Trinidad and Tobago
Seven hundred and ninety-four species, from the Cuban tody to the Grenada dove. For each: field marks, the species it is genuinely confused with, a recording, a distribution map and the habitats where it belongs, classified with a separate classification for the Caribbean.
Open Available in:EnglishNederlandsEspañol -
Vorstman’s Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Central America
Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama
One thousand four hundred and eighty-one species, from the quetzal in the cloud forest to the seabirds of the Pacific coast. For each: field marks, the species it is genuinely confused with, a recording, a distribution map and the habitats where it belongs, classified with a separate classification for Mexico and Central America.
Open Available in:EnglishNederlandsEspañol -
Vorstman’s Guide to the Birds of North Africa and the Middle East
Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait
Seven hundred and thirty-nine species, from the Atlas Flycatcher in the cedar forest to the Crab-plover on the shores of the Persian Gulf. For each: field marks, the species it is genuinely confused with, a recording, a distribution map and the habitats where it belongs, classified with a separate classification for North Africa and the Middle East.
Open Available in:EnglishNederlandsEspañol -
Vorstman’s guide to the mammals of Europe
Europe
Three hundred and thirty-six species, from the pygmy shrew to the wisent. For each: field marks, the species it is genuinely confused with, a block of tracks and signs — the footprint, the droppings, the feeding traces — a distribution map and the habitats where it belongs, classified with EUNIS.
Open Available in:EnglishNederlandsEspañol -
Vorstman’s Guide to the Carnivorous Plants
worldwide
Five hundred and fifty-five species in ten genera, from the Venus flytrap to the pitcher plants of Borneo. For each: the trap and how it works, identification, flower, habitat, a distribution map and the wild forms — no cultivars.
Open Available in:EnglishNederlandsEspañol
About these guides
The guides are made by Werner Vorstman. They are built as static pages: no trackers, no cookies, no advertising. Taxonomy follows AviList for the birds and the Mammal Diversity Database for the mammals; the distribution maps are computed from records held by GBIF. Images come from Wikimedia Commons and sound from xeno-canto, under CC0, public domain, CC BY or CC BY-SA only — never under a licence that forbids reuse.