Friday, October 7, 2011

The Stuff of Dreams - Books for Birding Exotic Locales

Here is a list of books to promote the stuff of dreams for a birding enthusiast...

Each book has a description, a cover image, and a title that is linked to the print edition of the book.


By Guy M. Kirwan, Arturo Kirkconnell, Mike Flieg

This guide covers the Greater Antilles, which comprises five groups of islands and six countries. From Cuba, with about 360 species, to the Cayman Islands with just over 220 species, the Greater Antilles have recorded just over 550 species and this total contains more than 100 single island endemics and many more restricted range species making these islands a very attractive proposition to the visiting birder. The site accounts have details of location, birding strategy, accommodation and, of course, the birds. More than 80 sites are detailed, many with accompanying maps. A full species lists shows exactly what has been seen in each country, and the selective list helps to target the best places to visit. 





By Barrett Lawson


In A Bird-Finding Guide to Costa Rica, Barrett Lawson offers detailed information that makes it easy for both expert and novice birders to plan and enjoy an exciting trip to this birders' paradise. 

 Lawson describes fifty-three of the best birding destinations in Costa Rica. Birders will appreciate the detailed descriptions of how to bird each area, as well as the site-specific lists-"Target Birds" and "Species to Expect."







By Chris Santella

Santella presents some of the greatest bird-watching venues in the United States and abroad through interviews with prominent birders, from tour leaders and conservationists to ornithologists and academics. Interviewees include ornithologist Kenn Kaufman; David Allen Sibley, author and illustrator of The Sibley Guide to Birds; Rose Ann Rowlett, the “mother of modern birding”; John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; and Steve McCormick, president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy.

The places vary from the urban (New York City’s Central Park) to the mystical (the cloud forests of Triunfo in Chiapas, Mexico) to the extremely remote (the sub-Arctic islands of New Zealand). The book includes 40 gorgeous photographs that capture the vibrancy of our feathered friends, and the beautiful places they call home.





By Richard Thomas, Sarah Thomas, David Andrew, Alan McBride

* Easy-to-read, up-to-date information augmented with easily understood maps
* Divided by geographical area according to ease of finding each species
* Covers all endemic and resident species plus migratory species expected most years

This fully revised second edition expands on the best-selling appeal of the first, describing the best-known sites for all of Australia’s endemic birds, plus regular migrants such as seabirds and shorebirds. It covers all states and territories, and is the first guide to include all of Australia’s island and external territories.


Kindle Edition




by Chris McIntyre

A safari in northern Botswana takes the traveler to a wilderness populated almost exclusively by wildlife. Here are the predators and their prey; here, too, are the elephants, the hippos and the astonishing birdlife of the Okavango Delta.


by Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey, Warwick Tarboton and Peter Hayman


Birds of Southern Africa is the best and most authoritative guide to the birds of one of the world's most fertile birding regions. Two hundred color plates comprising over 4,000 expert illustrations help birders to distinguish all of southern Africa's approximately 950 bird species. The illustrations have labels highlighting diagnostic features, and many birds are depicted in flight as well as still. Special attention is given to plumage variation by age, sex, and season.

The informative text, written by eminent ornithologists, is fully integrated with the color plates to facilitate use in the field. Detailed species accounts emphasize the essential characteristics of each bird, including information on behavior, calls, and habitat preferences.








by Les D. Beletsky (Author), David Dennis (Illustrator), David Beadle (Illustrator)

Most travellers to Belize and Guatemala want to experience lush tropical forests and catch glimpses of exotic wildlife. This guide provides all the information you need to find, identify, and learn about the region's magnificent animal life. Beletsky selected approximately 500 of the animals you are most likely to see, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Also pictured are some of the highly endangered species of the area. You will want to have this easy-to-carry, entertaining, and beautifully illustrated book as a constant companion on your journey.


by H. Lee Jones (Author), Dana Gardner (Illustrator)

Birds of Belize provides the first complete guide to the identification of all currently known species--574 in all.









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