Review
"The species accounts are succinct and jam-packed with details, excellently summarising information gathered over the last 24 years by both professional and amateur observers. The accounts are, as a result, very authoritative."
-Phil Benstead, Wetlands Project Officer, RSPB, in BTO NEWS (April 2000)
"...in the heavyweight class and it will surely offer very interesting reading..."
—ALULA (February 2000)
"This is a beautifully produced book, with an extremely thorough text, which every enthusiast of southeast Asian birds will want to own."
--Nick Dymond in BRITISH BIRDS (December 1999)
"This is a scholarly work and a great advance on anything so far produced for this important area. The book is an invaluable reference and should be an essential addition to any serious ornithological library."
--David Clugston in SCOTTISH BIRD NEWS (December 1999)
"The text is superbly done, and the book will become the standard reference for years to come."
--S. W. Harris in CHOICE (November 1999)
"Comprehensive and highly detailed volume bringing together the latest information gathered from recent research on birds in this area."
--BBC WILDLIFE (June 1999)
"...is an essential addition to the libraries of all ornithologists with a keen interest in the region. ...it justifiably reflects the colossal amount of work that has obviously gone into this high-class production."
--Pete Davidson in BIRDING WORLD (1999)
"The book represents a major contribution to the ornithological literature of Southeast Asia, and David Wells must be congratulated."
--David Blakesley in IBIS (1999)
"...this is an absolutely essential piece of scholarship for every enthusiast of the Oriental avifauna."
--Simon Harrap in OBC BULLETIN
"...a world-class handbook."
-WINGING IT
From the Back Cover
This volume covers the avifauna of the Republic of Singapore, peninsular Malaysia, southern Thailand and the tip of Tenasserim (Burma), with their associated island archipelagos to latitude 11
oN. This classic region of high biodiversity is home to a rich and special resident avifauna that is joined in season by a host of migrants from north Asia to create a fascinating faunal mix. Most of its bird species, and nearly all of those endemic to the region, reside in tropical forest habitats. Until surprisingly recently, these forests clothed most of the area. Now, one of the tropical world's fastest rates of agricultural conversion has swept them from all but a fraction of their former range, opening space to newcomers with quite different ecological requirements - a truly dramatic conservation problem under constant watch by ornithologists in all places accessible to field workers.
Twenty-two years after the last synoptic publication on the region, this volume, and its companion on passerine species (currently in preparation), bring together the most complete modern summary of field survey work and other research on all the birds found in the Peninsula.
During 30 years of residence in the region, David Wells has acquired an unrivalled understanding of its birds, which he brings in full measure to this superb first volume. Over 380 species are described in contemporary handbook format. Historically complete accounts draw on a full range of recent field and museum research, together with much previously unpublished and little-circulated data from local compilers and the diaries and personal records of many enthusiasts. Each species account comprises 16 standard sections dealing with topics such as systematics, distribution, plumage, biometrics, status, haitat, food and foraging, voice, behaviour, breeding biology, moult and conservation - all fully referenced to a bibliography of over 800 sources.
General introductory material will be divided between the two volumes. Here are included an explanatory guide to the species treatments, a full account of the biogeographical, including palaeo-environmental, background of the avifauna, and of its relevance to current conservation issues, plus a gazetteer of all sites mentioned in the text, keyed to essential maps. Volume 2 will cover ecological analyses, including of migration, built on data from the full set of species accounts, and feature a short history of ornithology in the area.
Sixty-none full-page colour plates show almost all the species covered and provide a unique collection of portraits by a team of internationally respected artists.
