A Field Guide to the Birds of West Malaysia and Singapore [Paperback]

Allen Jeyarajasingam (Author), Alan Pearson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 1999

Singapore and West Malaysia are home to a stunning variety of birds. This book, written both for ornithologists and bird watchers at all levels, describes each of the 640 species of birds known to occur there and includes newly commissioned full-color illustrations for each species and its major plumage variations. Written and illustrated by researchers with extensive first-hand experience, it is the most up-to-date and authoritative guide available. The comprehensive text includes data on calls and song, range, distribution, habitat, status, and behavior, and the introductory chapters provide useful information on migration, breeding, and conservation. It also includes a section on birdwatching in the region with specific information for many of the most exciting sites.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[E]ssential luggage for casual as well as serious birdwatchers ... the first modern field guide to this region with colour plates illustrating all of the species covered, 648 in all ... The plates on Pittas, Kingfishers and Trogons will leave anyone vowing to make a field trip to the region."--Loris

About the Author

Allen Jeyarajasingam is a teacher and well- known ornithologist based in Kuala Lumpur. He has previously published a photographic guide to the birds of Malaysia and Singapore, as well as being the author of many numerous articles for other bird magazines and books. A keen birdwatcher for some 30 years, he has extensive first-hand experience of birds and birdwatching throughout the region. Alan Pearson is an ornithological artist with a keen interest in the avifauna of Malaysia, of which he has considerable first-hand experience. He has illustrated six field guides, and contributes regularly to bird magazines.

Product Details

• Paperback: 630 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (July 29, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198549628
• ISBN-13: 978-0198549628
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,903,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, complete guide with great plates, February 2, 2010

By 

Soleglad (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Field Guide to the Birds of West Malaysia and Singapore (Paperback)

Basics: 1999, 630 pages, softcover; 72 color plates of all 640+ of the region's birds, brief identification text adjacent to the plate, most birds with multiple illustrations; 1/2 page of additional text covers description, voice, range, status, and habitat; no range maps

Focusing on just the southern half of the Thai-Malay peninsula of Southeast Asia, this book nicely illustrates in color all the birds of Singapore and the peninsular or western half of Malaysia. The eastern half, found on the island of Borneo, is not included. This is a great field guide due to its fine color plates, the text, and because it is the only book to concentrate on all the birds of this region. Other books either cover the entire southeast Asia region or, focus on the birds of neighboring Thailand. While a field guide to Thailand is very useful, it contains many birds not found in Malaysia and, misses the three endemics found in west Malaysia.

The 72 color plates, which illustrate all birds known from the region, are done very well. With multiple illustrations for a majority of the birds, the key gender and seasonal plumages are depicted. Enough detail, when combined with the text, helps to distinguish the more similar species such as the myriad of flycatchers and babblers. The colors are also very rich, standing out nicely with the pittas, broadbills, and kingfishers. I think that of all the field guides for Southeast Asia or the East Indies, this book has the better artistry (by Alan Pearson), which is a compliment considering the very good works by Karen Phillipps in her books for the region.

Across from each plate is the bird's name along with the briefest of identification notes in one or two lines. These notes point out the more distinctive features of the bird. The remainder of the text makes up the last 2/3 of the book. This is where you'll find 1/3 to 1/2 of a page dedicated to each species. This material presents the same template of these categories: Description, voice, range, status & distribution, habitat, and habits. The descriptive information does a good job at pointing out features to help identify the birds. It also provides specific points to discern the bird from similar species.

Going a bit further than most field guides, this book is introduced by 71 pages of non-field guide material. This is useful, but does add to the bulk of the book which is notably thicker (~40%) than most field guides covering the same number of birds. At total of 630+ pages are in this book when counting in the plates and glossary. Regardless, the information is well worth reading. It gives a great overview of the geography and habitats, conservation and avifauna, migration, and birdwatching in the area. Fourteen maps are provided that show recommended birding spots, habitat distribution, and migration paths. Five other maps are dedicated to showing the ranges of five birds. These are the three endemics (Malaysian Hill-Partridge, Mountain Peacock-Pheasant, Malayan Whistling-Thrush) and the two oddly isolated birds (Hill Prinia and Crested Argus) that are typically found elsewhere in SE Asia. These are the only birds to receive a range map.

To point out one oddity in this very good book, the index does not use page numbers. Instead, for each bird, it provides the plate number - which is standard - and the "bird number". This means when you look up Crested Jay in the back, you're referred to "437". You must thumb through the book scanning the edge of the page to find bird number 437 - which is on page 320.

Overall, this is the best field guide for peninsular Malaysia or Singapore and should be the primary book used when birding this area. Unfortunately, this book is out of print and can be very difficult to find. And, when it is found, the price can be high. -- (Written by Jack at Avian Review / Avian Books, February 2010)

I've listed several related books below...
1) Birds of Perak: Peninsular Malaysia and Where to See Them by MNS Perak Bird Group
2) A Photographic Guide to Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore by Davison/Fook
3) Winged Wonders in Malaysia by MNS
4) The Birds of the Malay Peninsula, Singapore and Penang. by Glenister
5) The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: Vol. 1-2 by Wells
6) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia by Strange
7) Birds of Malaysia by Delacour
8) Birds of Singapore by Hails
9) Birds: An Illustrated Field Guide to the Birds of Singapore by Seng
10) The Avifauna of Singapore by Seng