Where to Watch Birds in Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean (Princeton Field Guides) (Paperback)

~ (Author), David Brewer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Invaluable traveller¹s companion . . . [that] is concise and informative, but not without interest or humor. -- Condor

This invaluable traveller's companion provides information on the best places to birdwatch in each country in the region. . . . The writing is concise and informative, but not without interest or humor. . . . This book is particularly valuable for birders and nature travellers planning visits to the region and is small and light enough to take along. -- Review

Review

A must-buy book. . . . [The authors] sifted through a huge quantity of information scattered across many sources.
(Charles Duncan Birding )

Invaluable traveller¹s companion . . . [that] is concise and informative, but not without interest or humor.
(Condor )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (February 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691095159
• ISBN-13: 978-0691095158
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #882,870 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good trip planning resource, June 10, 2003

By	Victor J. Burgett "Tropical Bird Enthusiast" (Bellingham, Wa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is one of a series by Nigel Wheatley (I think that this is the only one co-authored by David Brewer) which covers many of the world's birding hotspots. All make for good reading for the traveling birder, and are especially good during the very earliest phase of trip planning - ie, choosing a destination. Considering the scope of the book, it is understandably brief and shallow, which is its greatest shortcoming. I could envision the next edition doubling in girth, and still omitting a lot! The segment on Mexico is particularly skimpy - whole regions, rich with endemic birds, are left out - such as the Acapulco/Guerrero region. On the other hand, the Lesser Antilles are treated a bit more completely. But, this book (and the series) is really the first of its kind, and every serious or casual neotropical birder will benefit from reading it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a gem addition to a birder's library, April 18, 2007

By	Brian Allen "neotropical birding" (Manistee, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've had this book for a few years and find myself often referring to it. I use it to look up specific birding locations mainly in Central America and Mexico but also browse it for fun reading about some of the Caribbean Islands.

For a 436 page book about a region as large and biologically diverse as Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean this is an excellent resource. As mentioned in the previous review the section on Mexico is limited (only 57 pages)but there are other good alternatives for an in-depth treatment of Mexican birding locations such as Steven Howell's excellent "A Bird-Finding Guide to Mexico" or Roland Wauer's more literary "Birder's Mexico". Additionally there are books such as Aaron Seekerak's "Travel and Site Guide to Birds of Costa Rica with side trips to Panama and Nicaragua" that can fill in the gaps of Wheatley and Brewer's book but this book is worthwhile for covering the entire region and being very detailed and informative for each site.

As an example of the books treatment of sites I chose El Salvador, a place I thought was entirely deforested and not often mentioned by birders. The chapter on El Salvador is eight pages long and lists 6 major sites and shows the locations on a country map at the beginning of the chapter. There are two pages of text describing the country, the transportation issues, accommodations, food, health and safety, climate and trip timing, conservation, bird families, bird species, and trip expectations. The site accounts follow and contain a brief description of the area, specialty birds found there (difficult to locate in other areas) endemics, and others (widespread species that are found at the site), and a paragraph on directions and access. One of the six sites (Cerro )Verde had a detailed area map. Apparently if you ever find yourself in El Salvador you can go birding.

Throughout the book, sites that refer to specific neighborhoods, roadsides, forests etc. will often be accompanied by a small detail map. A country road map would still be a necessary accompaniement to this book.

I highly recommend this book if you would like a resource to consider when trying to make a decision about a region or country to visit and then once you have decided, use this book and any other more country specific book for your trip. This book was written in 2000 so always check the internet for updated information about each country before traveling.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for what it is, July 16, 2008

By	John Crawford - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I think this was a very ambitious project. There are just too many habitats in Mexico, let alone Central America, let alone the Caribbean to cover them thoroughly. However this book manages to give a basic run down of what one will expect in certain places. This is very helpful for some of the lesser known islands in the West Indies which I believe do not have guides.