From Belize to Brazil, the forests of the American neotropics are home to an astonishing array of birds--over 3,700 different species, or nearly 40 percent of all the birds on earth. Because of this overwhelming abundance, birders come from all over the world to try to catch glimpses of species that can be found nowhere else, such as toucans and antbirds, motmots and manakins, bellbirds and cocks-of-the-rock, and practically all of the planet's hummingbirds. Two such birding enthusiasts are Vera and Bob Thornton, who have spent fifteen years photographing these special and exotic birds in the rainforests of eleven different countries of Central and South America. In this book, you'll find more than a hundred spectacular color photographs they took during their travels, along with a highly entertaining account of their adventures--and misadventures--in chasing these exotic neotropicals. The birds pictured here are among the Thorntons' personal favorites--birds that, in their words, "either dazzled us with their beauty, or charmed us by their behavior, or, in a few cases, simply challenged us by the mystique of their rarity." This latter category includes such elusive and sought-after birds as the Black-crowned Antpitta, the Zigzag Heron, the Rufous -vented Ground-Cuckoo, the Bare-necked Umbrellabird, and the monkey-eating Harpy Eagle. In the accompanying text, Bob Thornton engagingly describes the challenges as well as the magic of negotiating the neotropical rainforests in search of colorful birds to photograph. For those who would like to follow in the Thorntons' footsteps, there are also helpful tips about photographic gear and techniques, preferred places to see the birds, lodging, and guides. For everyone who enjoys excellent nature photography, Chasing Neotropical Birds is a must-have volume on the coffee table or in the library. (2006)
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This book is for anyone who loves nature photography or birding, and it is a fine introduction to the beauty and diversity of this region for anyone who plans on traveling there. (Southeastern Naturalist )
About the Author
VERA AND BOB THORNTON, of Dallas, Texas, are longtime conservationists and enthusiastic wildlife photographers who also coauthored Chasing Warblers in 1999.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
For Birders Only,
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This review is from: Chasing Neotropical Birds (Corrie Herring Hooks Series) (Hardcover)
Great pictures and what I like are the ones of unusual species such as Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo and Spotted Antbird rather than the typical easily photographed Egrets and Herons.
The text is interesting also with travel tales from Honduras to Brazil and many of the best birding lodges, parks and locations in between. The authors include a general map of all the locations mentioned. Most of the book repeats the tales of the authors as they chase individual birds and the ordeals they encounter as they try to obtain quality photographs of some of the most elusive and sought out birds of the tropical Americas. Their pursuit requires hours of situating themselves in the birds habitat and provides a different perspective and experience than what many naturalists experience as they explore these same forests with less time to linger. I had hoped that there would have been more images of places visited but the photos are all bird portraits, which feels somewhat limited. For example in one chapter there is a scene where they encounter a live Bushmaster, one of the most venomous snakes in the world, crossing the road. The snake is spectacular, 7 feet long and stops traffic. The terrified people make for an interesting scene but as it is not a bird there is no picture, sorry herpetologists! I was surprised in one instance when the authors made light of evolution and seemed to support creationism when they discussed the improbability of the brilliantly colored bill of the Keel-billed Toucan as a product of "the ponderous steps of evolution rather than the hand of the creator". A fine book of bird images and the travel accounts to find them, enough for me but perhaps not for anyone that does not find enjoyment in this subject.
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