Birds of China Including Hong Kong [Paperback]

John MacKinnon (Author), Nigel Hicks (Author)

Book Description

Series: Photographic Guide | Publication Date: March 1998

This photographic guide deals with the basics of bird identification in China by presenting those species that are most likely to be seen in accessible habitats throughout the region. The book is aimed directly at field identification. For those species that are sexually dimorphic, have both breeding and non-breeding plumages, or in which the juvenile plumage differs markedly from that of the adult, more than one photograph has been included. Thumbnail silhouettes aid the reader in quickly locating the correct group of birds, and for each species account a map shows the bird's distribution.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Mackinnon lived in China and Hong Kong for eight years, and has extensive experience of watching and writing about Chinese birds. He has been working in ecology and conservation in Asia for over 30 years and has written and co-authored many books on the natural history of the continent. Nigel Hicks is a freelance writer and photographer. He has travelled extensively in Asia and is the coauthor of New Holland's A Photographic Guide to Birds of the Philippines. He lives in Teignmouth, Devon. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Ralph Curtis Pub (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853687642
• ISBN-13: 978-1853687648
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 3.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,399,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #95 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Animals > Birds & Birdwatching > Excursion Guides

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars almost perfect, January 31, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Birds of China Including Hong Kong (Paperback)

This book was very helpful when identifying birds of Hong Kong. The color photographs of each bird were clear and extremely helpful, and the descriptions helped me distinguish similar species if I was still in doubt after seeing the picture. The range maps seem accurate, and the book's small size makes it very portable and convenient to carry. The only drawback was that several species I saw, some fairly commonly, were not listed or pictured, so I was unable to identify them at the time. Overall, I would recommend this book for someone wanting to identify Hong Kong birds.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent photographs but for only 20% of China's birds, November 1, 2008

By 

Soleglad (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Birds of China Including Hong Kong (Paperback)

Basics: 1996, softcover, 144 pages, color photographs of 252 species, simple range maps

This compact guide offers decent color photos for 252 (20%) of China's 1,300+ birds. The large size of China with diverse habitats combined with the relatively low percentage of birds covered in this book means this photo guide should only be considered as a practice tool before visiting China. It's certainly small enough to carry around, but it's too limited to be of consistent help.

Nearly all the birds are shown with only a single photo. These photos are clear and well lit. The photos are smaller, which is necessary to make a compact book. However, the photo usually zooms in on the the bird to maximize its size. These pictures will be good enough to identify the bird - if you see that specific plumage of the bird.

Each bird receives a single paragraph of text with the photo. Most of this is dedicated to describing the bird. These descriptions are average and, while offering some details, are generally not in-depth enough to identify all the birds. A few additional lines are given for voice and habitat.

The same range map template is used for all birds. This is small (2.5 x 1.5cm) and uses only one color to denote the distribution. However, it is not apparent what the mapped distribution specifically shows. Breeding? Winter? Year round? At some point during the year? The book only states the maps can be used to "check whether the species can be expected at the given locality."

I liked this book to practice learning the birds, but a true field guide is necessary with this it. This book is really just a sampling of China's birds. Three books I recommend for China are "The Birds of Hong Kong and South China" (8th edition) by Viney, "A Field Guide to the Birds of China" by MacKinnon, and "A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Hong Kong" by the Hong Kong Birdwatching Society. Each has its strengths and limitations.

I've listed several related books below...
1) The Birds of Hong Kong and South China by Viney/Phillips
2) A Field Guide to the Birds of China by MacKinnon/Phillipps
3) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Hong Kong by HKBS (ISBN 9621428947)
4) The Birds of China by de Schauensee
5) Atlas of birds of China by Qian (ISBN 7534915643)
6) Atlas of the Beijing Birds by Zhao (ISBN 7503822570)
7) The Avifauna of Hong Kong by Carey (ISBN 9627508020)
8) Birds of China by Zhang
9) Les oiseaux de Chine, de Mongolie et de Coree non passereaux by Etchecopar
10) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North-East Asia by Shimba
(written by Soleglad at Avian Review or Avian Books, October 2008)

5.0 out of 5 stars Compact, clear and user friendly, May 27, 2011

By 

Barbara Hill (Treats) (Northfield, MN, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Photographic Guide to Birds of China Including Hong Kong (Paperback)

I love this book. I didn't want/need a huge compendium of Birds in China to carry around, and this is light, will fit in my hiking pocket, and the photographs are clear and helpful. I got it from Crzybulldogs, in perfect condition, and they sent it very quickly. Nuff said!