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The moult strategies of birds not only exert an important influence on a species' ecology, behaviour and energetics, but also provide the basis for valuable tools for the study of bird species population dynamics and ecology. A proper understanding of how feathers are replaced and the precise differences in the appearance of the various feather generations can allow ringers, scientists and keen birdwatchers to age individual birds and to distinguish between first-year and adult birds. Understanding the moult strategy of a species also provides insights into its general and migration ecology, and allows detailed studies of many aspects of its population dynamics. Lukas Jenni and Raffael Winkler have long studied moult in a wide range of bird species and in this book bring their observations together to produce a valuable reference for both the professional ornithologist and bird ringer. This second edition has been thoroughly updated and revised and had added 16 new species accounts, bringing the total covered to 74. The first part of the book provides an up-to-date summary of the moult strategies and moult sequences of European passerines and discusses the ecological consequences of moult. Throughout the book, the authors draw on the enormous amount of data on moult that they have collected over 40 years of study and which, combined with data from the literature, allow them to present a thorough synthesis of the subject.
The second part is of particular value to ringers. Following a general introduction to ageing, detailed moult profiles are given for 74 European passerine  species illustrating all of the major moult strategies, including useful summary statistics, schematic diagrams of the extent of moult and indications of the variation within each species. The main moult strategies are illustrated with schematic graphs and the moult strategies and extent of moult of every European passerine species are summarised in tabular form.
The crowning feature of this book is its collection of over 600 full colour photographs of extended wings which show the entire range of moult patterns and plumage ageing criteria. An appendix gives supplementary information on ageing birds by the degree of pneumatization of the skull.