Customer Reviews

A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

After reading this guide almost cover to cover, and field testing it in several locations in the guide area, I believe that this may very well be the best bird guide that has ever been written for a geographical area. The book is quite large (23.3 x 14.3 x 4.4 cm) and heavy (about 3 lbs), with 71 color plates sandwiched between over 850 pages of text. In spite of it being a bit cumbersome in the field, it is an essential resource that should always be close at hand when studying birds of this region.

The introduction is a lengthy 90 pages that includes a wealth of information such as geography, climate, ornithological history, conservation efforts per country, taxonomy, and an excellent outline of the species accounts which includes a bird topography page and a glossary for looking up words like heterodactyl or vermiculations. It can not be overstated that all of this is worth reading for a greater understanding of the species' descriptions.

The species accounts are packed with information and written in a easily accessed style. The accounts are taxonomically organized and preceding every taxonomic order, family and large genus is an introduction concerning their identification and habits. Every species is named by its American name, latin name, and its Spanish name. I have found the Spanish names to be almost worthless since they are so regional, but I am glad to see that Howell has made an attempt at standardizing them. All the species identification pieces are well written with sexual and age differences given lots of space. I particularly like the voice sections where he writes out in letters how he hears the songs and calls. There are some songs and calls of resident birds that he has omitted, but it would take up too much space to include all the calls. And, of course, there are many calls that he has written that I hear differently which is to be expected when dealing with sounds. The habitat and habits section informs as to where one is likely to find a certain species and to what it might be doing. Nidification is also covered in this section. The similar species section is excellent for differentiating between look-alikes. And the status and distribution section tells you how rare or common a species is in the geographical areas it inhabits. Elevational limits are also given here. This section is aided greatly by the superb range maps which accompany most species. They delimit summer and winter ranges as well as showing migratory pathways. Vagrants and isolated breeding colony locations are shown with an asterisk or dot respectively. The notes section at the end gives overall ranges and may inform of a name or taxonomic change that Howell made that was not recognized by the AOU at the time of printing.

The 71 plates were all expertly drawn by Sophie Webb illustrating mainly the species that occur in the guide region, but not in the U.S. There are several North American species included, however, for the sake of comparison. I particularly like the plates for showing age, sex and regional differences within a species. I also find it very helpful having species such as raptors and parrots depicted perched and in flight. Facing the plates are the bird names and short descriptions that should be sufficent for most identifications.

With nearly 26 pages of bibliography and 74 months of field work by the author and artist, this is an extremely well researched field guide. Even so, during my 6 mos. of travelling in this region, I have discovered many birds in places where they have never been seen before or seen only once or twice prior. Without the rangemaps in this field guide though I probably would not have realized that a Sandwich Tern is unheard of on a land-locked lake in the middle of Guatemala. And thus, I would not have known to document it. This field guide is not meant to be the final chapter in Middle American ornithology. In fact, it shows what gaps still exist in our knowledge of the birds in this region and allows us to start filling them in.

I will be brief - I find this to be the best field guide to the birds of any neotropical region currently available, and I pretty much have studied them all on depth! The only guides that come close to this level of usefulness are Hilty's Columbia field guide and the new Ridgely/Greenfield Ecuador 2 volume set. This book has excellent, seasonally specific range maps, and illustrates many plumage variations. I am astonished to read other reviews in which this book is considered cumbersome, because all too often smaller, lighter books sacrifice completness of information and thoroughness, which compromises their usefulness. True, it's a hefty volume, but it treats a complex avifauna without sacrificing necessary information. The other criticism I was surprised by was that the pictures were too "cartoonlike"; I have found these plates to be some of the most useful in the field, for they emphasize key characteristics with clarity. In the field, simplicity is far more practical than overly-detailed artwork which may be more lifelike, but blurs the differences between species. Anyway, praise for Howell! May this volume set an example for future field guides throughout Latin America!

When I first received this book, I was overwhelmed by its size and weight - it is bigger than the typical field guide. However, after using it for one week in Mexico I was won over. It contains a wealth of useful well-organized info, about each species, plus plates and drawings which are both beautiful and carefully accurate. I found myself reading in it extensively nearly every evening, just for pleasure. Helpful tip: supplement it with a standard North American field guide. Common NA species which occur in Mexico and Central America are not always pictured in plates or drawings, though they are clearly described.

From the moment I bought this book, I became captivated with simply looking at it's pictures. It's amazing! The diversity and beauty of Mexican birds is unbelievable, and Steve Howell and Sophie Webb do an excellent job of portraying the reality of Mexican birds. It's by far, the best guide out there (heads and tails above the Peterson guide to Mexican birds) for the region. If you're going south of the border or just want to drool over God's creation, this is the book to look at.

I just got back from a one-week trip to Guatemala where I used the Howell and Webb guide which was reported as the best book by other birders and naturalists while I was there.
The only real alternative guide to use in Guatemala (based on my travels) would be to only bird in northern Guatemala, in Tikal for example, and use the premiere Belize guide which I'm sorry I don't have the name of right now. I encountered a guide in Tikal who was using the Belize book for his group.
As for the H&W, the one drawback, of course, is the weight of the book but it is an all-inclusive book about Mexico and N. Central America with descriptions of ecological areas within that region, appendices, glossary, etc. The maps were easy to use although they were only in black and white. The pictures are all placed in the middle of the book to keep their similarly glossy pages together -- the text pages would be significantly heavier, I believe, if they were printed on the same paper and I assume costs would be higher to place the picture pages next to the text pages. However, although the pictures section is separate from the full text, under each species name opposite the picture page is a brief account of important field marks/voice to identify each bird and to help contrast with similar species.

Before purchasing the book I read the frustrations of other birders that pictures of many ducks and other winter migrants to the area were not included. This really isn't a problem for a birder moderately familiar with N. American birds. In fact, if this book contained all those pictures and descriptions the added weight in paper may have precluded me from taking it into the field at all. I realized that my Sibley Field Guide to Eastern N. American Birds would be an excellent supplement and it was (I assume that the western field guide would work as well or any other North American guide you're familiar with). Obviously a true "field" guide would be the best bet because you'll already be carrying the cumbersome H & W. I left the N.A. guide in my hotel and consulted it in the evenings if necessary.
I would also like to thank the authors for creating such an excellent, well-researched book. I'm glad I now have this wonderful resource for my ever-growing birding library. And I'm looking forward to using it again in that beautiful region.
Happy birding!

I think few would question that this is the definitive guide to Mexican birds. Few would characterize it as the ideal field guide at 850-plus pages. For portable guides birders in Mexico can use the Peterson-Chalif guide (somewhat dated, but still useful), _The Birds of Mexico and Adjacent Areas_ by Ernest P. Edwards from 1998 (also quite useful and perhaps a bit underrated, though the sequence of some illustrations seems a bit baffling at times), and Van Perlo's illustrated checklist (not really a field guide in my view).

But nothing compares to Howell & Webb. And with some real bargains on used (even worn) copies occasionally found at Amazon, one can (with the help of a copy-printing service) obtain a portable guide that works quite well in the field. It's not a new practice and I may be covering ground already trod by other reviewers, but this is how I did it.

The copy service I used went with a small wire spiral for the plates and a large plastic spiral for the text. The Plates Volumes consists of:

- a laminated copy of the front cover
- a copy of the Color Plates table of contents
- a copy of the Abbreviations page
- all plates
- a laminated copy of the back cover

The Text Volume (kept in the car or hotel room for reference) includes:

- the front cover
- all text pages, including Appendices, Bibliography, and Index
- the back cover

Don't do this with your only copy of this book. My first edition copy is intact and used for reference at home.

This massive volume has a lot of information but, for me, too few color plates or drawings to be a useful FIELD guide, though I suppose it might not purport to be that. I've taken it to the Yucatan twice and found the lack of plates to be frustrating and unsatisfactory, especially on the Gulf coast, from the swamps around Progresso west to Celestun, areas in which species are varied and abundant. It renders the book more a work of scholarship than a friendly field guide, as previous reviewers have noted. Most of the birds I've seen have not been illustrated and positive identification has required consulting additional works, which can slow things down quite a bit in the field, when a bird other than a wader often is here and now it's gone. The authors admit, in their introduction, that while "the color plates are . . . usually one's first reference," the plates in this book will not suffice, particularly in winter. Indeed, the book illustrates only non-migrants: "We have opted to devote plate space to [basically non-migratory] Middle American species." Imagine a "Birds of Eastern" or "Eastern and Central North America" limited to non-migrants, which would be inconceiveable and could not sell. That's what this book represents. It's great for what it is, which is not a field guide, and toting a supplementary library is not my idea of a jaunt in the jungle, swamp/wetland or shore. Plus a good field guide should not weigh 3.4 pounds. I've observed birds from Vietnam to Cape May and I don't like this wonderful book.

This hefty volume cover many birds with good depth. The other reviews cover the sections included in the book very well. I would only like to mention that there are many birds that are not illustrated, which is somewhat frustrating if you are not familiar with North American birds, or are a novice birder. I am really not sure why they left these out, since the book is too large for a field guide anyway. In addition, some illustrations seem inaccurate. I guess there isn't the demand for a Sibley's or Sasol/Newmans (Southern africa) style book for Mexico.

If you are visiting Mexico for birding, this book is a MUST HAVE. but you will need to bring a second guide to cover all of the birds you may see. This book at 851 pages is not a field guide, but a guide and reference to all of the birds of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Western Nicaragua. The amount of information included for each species is both highly detailed and useful. the first 82 pages of the book describe the area covered ,Geography and bird distribution, a history of birding in the area, taxonomy, molt and plumage, and a glossary of terms. There are 5 maps of the area showing area covered, political divisions, and biogeographic regions. Not exactly info you'd use in the field, but still of use for birding the area.
The written species accounts really are the strength of this book. The descriptions are detailed and clear, for all plumages for each species. Similar species are described and differences listed. Something I found very helpful with identifying hummingbirds whose appearance is variable with the light. Species range, abundance and habitat are accompanied by a range map of the area showing distribution. and nearly every species has a voice description as well. Very often I used the text more than the illustrations to identify birds in the field.
The Illustrations are well done , but not exceptional, and again not all of the species of The area are included for example of the 66 wood warblers found in the area, 24 are illustrated on the colour plates. So when birding I suggest bringing one of the North American field guides along as well as this book. There are 71 colour plates that detail the species not found in North America.The plates are well organised and species are clearly illustrated to show differences and details to help with identification. With such a large amount of species some of the plates do get a bit crowded, for example one of ther hummingbird plates has 34 individual birds of 16 species illustrated. But adding more plates would make an already large book that much larger.
This book is not perfect, but it is still worth bringing along on your trip. No other guide for the area covered will be as helpful or as informative as this one, it's well worth the extra weight in your pack. Good Birding !

A large volume, not easily used, in the field. The authors presume a good knowledge of North American birds--so you need a Sibley in addition. Unfortunately carrying the Sibley will remind you of how much more difficult to use this volume is.
It lacks any drawings of NA birds such as Little Blue Heron, Tri-colored Heron, Whistling Ducks, Arizona Woodpeckers, Blue-Headed Vireo, Purple Gallinule, numerous sparrows, etc.
Almost no attempt to separate diagnostic marks from more general field marks.
The information on endemics is in here,organized in the Petersen style, plates separated from descriptions and maps. And it is exhaustive in depth.
But as a field guide it badly needs to be reworked in the Sibley fashion or Sinclair's Birds of Southern Africa.