Customer Reviews

Birds of Jamaica: A Photographic Field Guide

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Basics: hardcover, 1990; 45 species shown in 74 color photographs, total of 200 (68%) of the islands birds are addressed in the text, no range maps

The primary focus of this small photo guide is to focus on Jamaica's endemic species and subspecies (about 46) along with some of the other Caribbean specialties. Nearly 200 species ar covered in this book, which represents about 68% of the islands complete list. Of the 200 in this book, only 45 are illustrated. The remainder of the birds are addressed with a brief amout of text that denotes only their status and range.

All the photos are in color and of good quality with their sizes range from a 2-inch square to a full page. Additional photos display those species that have notable male-female differences.

For the birds that are photographed, a greater amount of text covers identification, status, voice, range, habitat, and habits. The identification notes are reasonably descriptive but typically do not compare similar species. Since their are not too many similar species, this will allow this book to be reasonably effective for identification.

This book will be a handy guide for your birding trip to Jamaica, if your focus is on just the specialties and you've seen the other Caribbean and US species that are found on the island. If you're not familiar with the other 150+ species typically found in the US, you might want to include a standard US field guide on your trip. -- (written by Jack at Avian Review / Avian Books, August 2008)

I've listed several related books below...

1) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica by Downer/Sutton/ Rey-Millet

2) Photographic Guide to Birds of the West Indies by Flieg/Sander

3) A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies by Raffaele et al.

4) Birds of the West Indies by Raffaele et al.

5) Birds of the West Indies by Bond

6) Oiseaux des Petites Antilles -- Birds of the West Indies by Benito-Espinal (ISBN 2950228453)

7) Birds of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands (Caribbean Pocket Natural History) by Hallett

8) Birds of the Cayman Islands by Bradley

I haven't used this book in the field yet, but it seems to be a well written book with good introductory material about the island and birding locations. The bird photos and descriptions seem well written. This seems to be a good book to review before going to the island because it cuts the clutter by only showing photos of the endemic species.

BIRDS OF JAMAICA
A PHOTOGRAPHIC FIELD GUIDE

Authors: Audrey Downer and Robert Sutton
Photographs: Yves-Jacques Rey-Millet

First Edition
Format: Hardcover, 152 pages
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1990
Condition: New, Out of print

Maps, color photos, glossary, bibliography,
index, Printed on coated stock.

All birds are photographed in the wild.

"In Jamaica there are 25 species and 21
subspecies of birds which are found nowhere else
on Earth. More endemic bird species occur in
Jamaica than on any other Caribbean island or most
other oceanic islands around the world. Birding in
Jamaica is enhanced by the outstanding beauty of
many of the birds, the unique richness and variety of
landscape, and the pleasant tropical climate."
--Birds of Jamaica.