Customer Reviews

Birds of Turkey (Helm Field Guides)

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Basics: 2008, hardcover, 512 pages, color photo of 57 species, accounts of all 463 species, distribution maps

This is a solid ornithological reference to the status, distribution, and breeding of all the birds found in Turkey. Enhancing the book are 78 good color photographs and a good introduction to the ecoregions and the ornithological history of the country.

Predominantly a reference that documents the presence and status of the 463 species known from Turkey, this book offers a good account for each bird. The section on status and distribution does a good job at consolidating historical records to provide detailed dates of occurrence in various regions of the country. This information is typically 1-2 paragraphs in length. The other section on breeding, which can be as long as half of a page, also makes good use of the many references researched by the authors. This breeding information describes the nesting and the types of nesting sites. A comprehensive summary of nesting dates are given for separate regions of the country.

Another short account is provided for any subspecies that may be present in Turkey. This information offers brief notes on the historical records of these birds.

The 78 color photographs are of very good quality. These photos display 57 species along with 21 different habitat types across Turkey. The photos of the Moustached Warbler, Finsch's Wheatear, and Cretzschmar's Bunting are especially good.

The range maps zoom in on just Turkey, barely showing the bordering countries. The ranges of the birds do not extend beyond the country's borders. Four different shadings are used to denote year-round residency, breeding visitor, non-breeding (winter) visitor, and migrant. For vagrant species, small gray or black dots are used to indicate individual records. These dots do not always stand out and can blend into the geographic features of the map. In comparison, the maps of Roselaar's book "Songbirds of Turkey" are much better for displaying detail.

The author's provide a good 35-page introduction of the ornithological history in Turkey as well as a thorough description of the country's 13 distinct ecoregions. Reading through the few pages that discuss the strategy of making the species accounts gave me a better appreciation of the material presented in the book. Lastly, a very comprehensive 31-page bibliography is provided.

I think it would be fair to say this book is a more thorough extension of the earlier book "Songbirds of Turkey" by Roselaar, which is also a very good reference on the distribution and status of Turkey's breeding passerines.

I've listed several related books below...
1) Songbirds of Turkey by Roselaar
2) The Birds of Azerbaijan (Faunistica) by Patrikeev
3) Raptors and Owls of Georgia by Galvez
4) A Field Guide to Birds of Armenia by Adamian/Klem
5) Handbook of the Birds of Armenia by Adamian/Klem
6) Birds of Europe with North Africa and the Middle East by Jonsson
7) Birds of Europe by Mullarney et al.
8) Field Guide to the Birds of the Middle East by Porter et.al.
9) Birds of the Middle East and North Africa: A Companion Guide by Hollom et.al.
(written by Soleglad at Avian Review or Avian Books, November 2008)

I was think this book is a book with low quality and not photographs, but when I buy this book, I see it's a beatiful reference for Turkey. 463 species that admitted into Turkish list are listed, with usually three paragraphs, first paragraph is about subspecies and taxonomy, second is about distribution and third is (only found in breeding birds) about breeding of species. There are two paragraphs about vagrants, one with subspecies and other with records. Most of the vagrants recorded ten or less times. There are distribution maps for all species (including vagrants). Pale gray=winter, dark gray=breeding, almost black=resident,barred marks=passage, black dots=vagrancy reports (also means breeding sites and overwintering sites for some uncommon birds). There are photographs of more than 50 species, also photograph of important bird areas in Turkey too. Species that not accepted to Turkish list is listed in main section of book with orders, there is a [ mark before their common names and after latin names. There are two paragraphs for probable species, one about subspecies and other about why it is not accepted onto Turkish list. There arte Turkish names of all species are writed below the common name. There is a very long introduction about fauna and flora in Turkey, bird species and accounts and how to use this book (near 40 pages!). So, it's a very good guide. Superb!