Customer Reviews

Larger Illustrated Guide to Birds of Southern Africa

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BASICS: 2005, 463pp., 2nd edition, softcover; 198 color plates show excellent illustrations for all 950+ species found in southern Africa; text is not extensive but does offer very useful and concise identification notes; range maps show the southern six countries that display the abundance of the species

This is a larger version (9 ½ x 7 ¾ inches) of nearly the same, earlier book by these authors. This larger version is meant to be more of an at-home reference -- unless you don't mind carrying a slightly oversized field guide in your vehicle or in your backpack. Caring it into the field will definitely require an extra large pocket or pouch; and, you'll feel the weight.

Of the various field guides for southern Africa, this is my favorite for four reasons. One, is due to its excellent illustrations and the variety of poses. The birds are facing multiple directions, giving the plates a more natural look. Two, these plates show larger illustrations which is the cause of the increased size of the book. Three, the illustrations show a crisper color reproduction than most other guides. And, four, there are small identification tips written next to the illustrations. Having identification notes next to the bird is (to me) quite handy. It also reduces the time required to flash over to the text and skim through the lines in search of important notes -- all while the bird moves about quickly.

In all, there are 198 color plates which cover all 950+ species found in southern Africa.

Like most similar guides for southern Africa, you'll be able to use this in the six countries that constitute "southern" Africa. It also includes the southern half of Mozambique. The outlines of each country are shown in the multi-colored range maps. The ranges offer some nice detail and not simply a general "wash" over an area. However, I do have one small critique with these maps. Like some other guides, I do not favor the practice of creating an artificial boundary of the bird's range. The range of the bird is shown to stop at the artificial political boundaries. This is most noticeable where the bird's range would normally cross into Angola or Zambia. If the natural range advances (which many do), then show it. One last quirk of these range maps is the lack of a legend to let the reader know what solid vs. hatched coloration means. The only clue is a short line on the back cover of the book. Here, it reads "maps distinguish regions of high and low abundance". Presumably, the solid shading refers to high abundance.

As for the text, this material offers good but only brief identification notes. Scant information is given for the bird's status and its various vocalizations. The key notes for identification are in bold font and begin the paragraph.

At the rear of the book can be found a very nice addendum called "Identifying Problem Species". These 13 pages focus on fourteen groups of problematic species such as large brown pipits, glossy starlings, or small migrant reed-warblers. This section contains information rich in detailed identification that consists of several pages per group. As an example, a table compares 10 different body features of 6 of the Accipiters to help tell them apart.

I highly recommend this book for your trip to southern Africa, despite its size. The slightly smaller (but thicker and same weight) version might be handier, but it lacks some of the newer plates and some additional extralimital species. -- (written by Jack at Avian Review or Avian Books, July 2008)

I've listed several related books below...
1) Illustrated Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa by Sinclair/Hockey/Tarboton
2) Roberts Bird Guide: A Comprehensive Field Guide Southern Africa by Chittenden
3) Ian Sinclair's Field Guide to the Birds of Southern Africa by Sinclair
4) Birds of Africa South of the Sahara by Sinclair/Ryan
5) Newman's Birds of Southern Africa by Newman
6) Complete Book of Southern African Birds by Ginn/McIlleron, Milstein
7) Southern African Birds: A Photographic Guide by Sinclair/Davidson