A Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia [Hardcover]

Craig Robson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 10, 2000

Famous for its vast diversity of birdlife, Southeast Asia is an increasingly popular destination for birders and ecotourists. Travelers, however, have long been without an up-to-date, comprehensive bird guide to this fascinating region. A Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia fills this need, illustrating and describing all 1,250 species found in Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. The book also covers a wide range of species found in the Indian subcontinent, China, Taiwan, Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo, and the Philippines.

The introduction presents an overview of the entire region, encompassing information on climate, habitats, and conservation, as well as birdwatching hints and explanations on how to use the book most effectively. One hundred and four color plates, painted by a group of leading artists, depict all species and the majority of distinctive subspecies of the region in every major plumage variation, including variations by age and sex. The text provides unrivaled detail on identification (including comparisons of similar species) and covers voice, habitat, behavior, range, status, and breeding--all vital aids for identification in the field.

A Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia is a milestone in ornithological publishing and an indispensable field and reference tool.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Southeast Asia's stunning diversity of avian life is no surprise to jet-setting birders. More than a thousand species--from hornbills to hoopoes--can be found in Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. What may surprise some, however, is that a single identification guide covers the entire region, with no less than 104 color plates depicting every species. Illustrations are clear, including variations in sex, age, and subspecies. Textual information describes habitat, behavior, breeding, voice, and distribution (range maps are not included). Like most international guides, the text is separated from the plates, which can make for a lot of thumbing back and forth; on the positive side, such a format allows for more detailed descriptions per species. Also, this is not a pocket guide to be carried about by hand while in the field; most birders will prefer to keep it stowed and ready in a backpack when trekking through the jungle in search of an evasive pitta.

Review

Clearly the book that bird watchers interested in the region need to have . . . This book is indispensable.
(Erik A.T. Blom Birdwatchers Digest )

This is the best field guide to the entire Southeast Asian region, and arguably one of the most informative field guides around. . . . It is sure to be the definitive field-guide to the region for years to come.
(Alison R. Strying The Auk )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 504 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; 1ST edition (January 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691050120
• ISBN-13: 978-0691050126
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,630,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, November 2, 2000

By 

Mike R. (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia (Hardcover)

For a long time there was only one bird guide for the region, King and Dickinson's Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia. This well written book did not illustrate all the species, and many of the illustrations were in black and white. Also in the version I own at least, the plates are scattered throughout the text, making things a little hard to find at times.

In 1991 Lekagul and Round's Birds of Thailand came out, and more recently Jeyarajasingam and Pearson's Birds of West Malaysia and Singapore appeared. These last two cover only Thailand and the Malaysian part of the Malay peninsula, respectively. They are both good books and certainly a traveler to these areas will find them useful.

Now we have this new book by Robson. Here is proof that an "international" guide, one that covers over 1200 species, doesn't need to be a doorstop. This volume is slim and weighs less than some guides that cover fewer species. But it doesn't skimp on information. The well written species entries all are numbered sequentially, that same number appears along with a brief description opposite the bird's image on the plate. For me at least, this makes the book easy to use.

The text includes voice descriptions, detailed habitat information (generally more than the region's other guides), descriptions of all distinctive plumages, and nesting information, etc. For the more serious student, there is some mention of subspecies and their ranges. There are no range maps, a defect for some people, but the succinct range descriptions are coupled to a map at the front of the book, and are easy to comprehend.

Finally the plates. These are generally excellent, and fairly even in quality, in spite of having been produced by 14 artists! They are clumped together near the front of the book and are crowded as one would expect with over 1200 species to cover. That said, these are in general, easily the best illustrations for birds of this region to date. There may be a species here or there that is better represented in one of the other guides, but here the artists more reliably capture the look of the birds.

In my copy the printing is sharp, and the images are clear. To close, this book picks up where King and Dickinson's left off. We have an expanded species list and more information generally, than that work. And a set of really nice color plates. If packing light means taking only one guide with you, then this is the one to get.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Long Over Due, April 12, 2000

By 

Michele-Marie von Bergen - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia (Hardcover)

This is a very well done book on birds of SE ASIA .Long over due,considering the high intrest in the area,among Birders,Ornithologists,and ecotravelers.Most books of this Type sell out fast.It is very easy to use.The plates are very well done.It would be better if it had a Country list along with range maps ,and bird sizes in inches.A high quality book well worth the money.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, May 23, 2000

By 

Richard Laven (Dumfries Scotland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia (Hardcover)

This guide has been raved about in the birding press, but to me a feild guide needs to be easier to use. No range maps, no sizes and pictures away from the text results in a guide that is not as good as Kings. The best book for this area is still Lekagul and Round's Birds of Thailand.