Photographic Guide to Birds of the West Indies [Paperback]

G. Michael Flieg (Author), Allan Sander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2001

A pocket-sized guide illustrating 251 of the birds of the West Indies, more common species which either occur nowhere else in the world or are present in the region throughout the year or for a large part of it. Short descriptive accounts and color photographs with brief comments on calls, habits and/or habitat. 304 color photos, map,

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Ralph Curtis Publishing (February 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0883590506
• ISBN-13: 978-0883590508
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 3.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #286,185 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Photographic guide to the Birds of the West Indies, July 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Photographic Guide to Birds of the West Indies (Paperback)

This pocket guide contains photos and descriptions of virtually all of the endemic birds of the West Indies. It also covers introduced species and water birds of the Caribbean. It is an exceptionally usuable pocket guide for the birder to take along on a cruise or holiday to the islands.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book -- all my friends want one., October 23, 2004

By 

Birder in USVI (USVI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Photographic Guide to Birds of the West Indies (Paperback)

I bought this book to check out local birds in the US Virgin Islands, as well as several similar books that were recommended to me. Not only do I really love it but, during a recent hurricane when our house was filled with folks, our guests raved about the quality of the book, great pictures, etc. And this was after they got a chance to compare it to other books on the same subject. Of all the Virgin Islands birding and wildlife books we have, this is the one our guests all want. It is easy to use, the pictures are accurate, and I recommend it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent photos of 75% of the Caribbean endemics, October 30, 2008

By 

Soleglad (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Photographic Guide to Birds of the West Indies (Paperback)

Basics: 2000, softcover, 144 pages, color photos of 251 species, no range maps

First, this book is nearly identical to "A Photographic Guide to Birds of Jamaica and the West Indies" except missing the last 7 pages that list Jamaican names for the birds. Even the cover of the book is the same, other than a change in the title. Keep this in mind if you're looking for either book since the prices can vary considerably.

This compact pocket guide contains color photos for 251 species found throughout the many Caribbean islands. This represents just less than half of the nearly 560 birds found across all the islands. Despite having only half the Caribbean birds are included, it is important to point out that nearly 75% of the 180 or so Caribbean endemics included in the photographs. This makes this little book the most potent single source for photographs of Caribbean endemics (to date).

Although the compact size of the book requires smaller photos, a good job was done to zoom or crop-in to the birds to make them appear larger within the photo. The photos are typically well lit and show the bird clearly. Some of the photos could be improved (warblers, flycatchers) and it would be nice to see the parrots photographed outside of captivity.

The text is a brief paragraph that gives general information about the bird's appearance, habitat, and behavior. This information is acceptable for an introductory understanding of these birds but is not really useful for field identification.

This photo guide is a nice tool to be used for learning some of the Caribbean birds, but a true field guide will be required regardless of which island you visit. Several good books are available that focus on specific islands; and, there are other complete guides to the Caribbean. The best all-encompassing book for the West Indies is by Raffaele et al. noted below. -- (written by Soleglad at Avian Review / Avian Books, October 2008)

1) A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies by Raffaele
2) Birds of the West Indies by Raffaele
3) A Field Guide to the Birds of the West Indies by Bond
4) A Birder's West Indies: An Island-by-Island Tour by Wauer
5) Oiseaux des Petites Antilles by Benito-Espinal (ISBN 2950228453)
6) Oiseaux des Petites Antilles et Leur Nid by Benito-Espinal (ISBN 2912300223)
7) Birds of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands by Hallett
8) Birds of the Cayman Islands by Bradley
9) Birds of the Dominican Republic and Haiti (Princeton Field Guides) by Latta
10) The Birds Of The Turks & Caicos Islands by Ground
11) Birds of Cuba (Helm Field Guides) by Garrido
12) A Guide to the Birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands by Raffaele