Customer Reviews

Photographic Guide to Birds of the Himalayas

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Basics: 1998, softcover, 144 pages, color photographs of 252 species, no range maps

Like many of its sister compact guides, this book offers a selection of color photos for 252 (25%) of the 1,000+ birds that can be found in the Himalayas of Pakistan, China, Nepal, and Bhutan. This book covers both resident and migrant species. All levels of the Himalayas are also considered, which range from the foothills to the higher elevations.

Nearly every bird is shown with only a single photo. If the species has male-female plumage differences, it is typically the male that is shown except, ironically, for the Red Crossbill which is shown with only a brown female. The photos are smaller, which is necessary to make a smaller compact book. Unfortunately, unlike most of the other sibling guides, a greater percentage of the photos are simply disappointing. At least 40% of the photos are far too small, too distant, too dark, or unforgiveably blurry. Some of the birds are obscured by foliage.

A single paragraph of text is offered for each bird. This includes a general description of the bird, often some descriptions of the song, and other brief notes on feeding and nesting. These descriptions are not really in-depth enough to identify the birds, especially with some of the poorer photographs.

The best use of this book will be as a simple practice tool to become somewhat familiar with a few of the Himalayan birds. But, given the wide geographic range and the notable habitat differences found within the "Himalayas", this book offers only a weak sampling of the large variation of birds found across region.

Regardless of which region of the Himalayas you visit, don't take this book. It's convenient to carry but not of value to use in the field. Instead, take one of the excellent field guides available for the area. The books "Birds of Nepal" and "Birds of Bhutan" by Grimmett/Inskipp will serve you well. For the western Himalayas, you can use "Birds of India" by Grimmett/Inskipp or the superior "Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide" by Rasmussen et al. This book by Rasmussen is undoubtedly the best option for anywhere on the Indian subcontinent.

I've listed several related books below...
1) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of India by Grewal/Harvey/Pfister
2) Birds of Nepal by Inskipp/Grimmett
3) Birds of Bhutan by Inskipp/Grimmett
4) Birds of South Asia: Volumes 1 & 2 by Rassmussen
5) A Guide to the Birds of India... by Grimmett/Inskipp
6) Birds of India... by Grimmett/Inskipp
7) Tibet and its birds by Vaurie
(written by Soleglad at Avian Review or Avian Books, November 2008)