I have several field guides for southern Africa, and I have now added the new book by Hugh Chittenden to my collection. I assume the name Roberts in the title is just for easier brand recognition. Basically, it is a new book as far as I can judge it.
I have no immediate plans for revisiting the area, but I am not sure I would prefer the new book. On the positive side, it has the same pointer and explanation system as the fine European FG by Svensson, Mularney et al.. On the negative side, however, it suffers from too many illustrators. Some are great, others so so. But my main gripe is that this book is more a fine selection of bird art than a field guide. Usually, there is complaint about illustrations being too small. Here, I feel some are too large, which then results in unnecessary picture overlap. Something that I find quite irritating.
Different illustrators can mean different stiles which does not help with comparisons of species on different plates. Another problem with some, but by no means all illustrators, is the fact that the different species on the same plate have very different orientation. That definitely does not help for any quick comparisons. Let's just take plate 27 with the swifts. It would be easier to compare the very similar Common and the African Black Swift if they were not depicted symmetrically. The great RTP recognized this in his pioneering field guides, and human nature has not changed since. But human nature also accounts for the fact that illustrators try to be different from what others have done before them. Well, sometimes that is truly an improvement, and sometimes the opposite.
Range maps and texts are definitely a very fine feature of this FG. A rather superfluous addition, however, is the etymological chapter. It just adds to the bulk of the book. Personally, I also find it very questionable whether all species need to have a name in all languages. They certainly need it for the languages of the native people. But why French and German? If those names are requested, there is the HBW series that is not too far from being completed. There are no French or German field guides for the area, anyway. So why bother about those names in a book that ought to be as compact as possible? As far as I know, it's mostly bird breeders but not bird watchers who need those names.
Finally, I wonder how durable the plasticised cover is. Personally, I feel a bit irritated by its soft rim.
To summarize, then, I like to look at most of the illustrations in this new book, and I like its rather comprehensive text. But I feel it does not give that quick overview one wants when searching for an unknown bird in this book.
I have no immediate plans for revisiting the area, but I am not sure I would prefer the new book. On the positive side, it has the same pointer and explanation system as the fine European FG by Svensson, Mularney et al.. On the negative side, however, it suffers from too many illustrators. Some are great, others so so. But my main gripe is that this book is more a fine selection of bird art than a field guide. Usually, there is complaint about illustrations being too small. Here, I feel some are too large, which then results in unnecessary picture overlap. Something that I find quite irritating.
Different illustrators can mean different stiles which does not help with comparisons of species on different plates. Another problem with some, but by no means all illustrators, is the fact that the different species on the same plate have very different orientation. That definitely does not help for any quick comparisons. Let's just take plate 27 with the swifts. It would be easier to compare the very similar Common and the African Black Swift if they were not depicted symmetrically. The great RTP recognized this in his pioneering field guides, and human nature has not changed since. But human nature also accounts for the fact that illustrators try to be different from what others have done before them. Well, sometimes that is truly an improvement, and sometimes the opposite.
Range maps and texts are definitely a very fine feature of this FG. A rather superfluous addition, however, is the etymological chapter. It just adds to the bulk of the book. Personally, I also find it very questionable whether all species need to have a name in all languages. They certainly need it for the languages of the native people. But why French and German? If those names are requested, there is the HBW series that is not too far from being completed. There are no French or German field guides for the area, anyway. So why bother about those names in a book that ought to be as compact as possible? As far as I know, it's mostly bird breeders but not bird watchers who need those names.
Finally, I wonder how durable the plasticised cover is. Personally, I feel a bit irritated by its soft rim.
To summarize, then, I like to look at most of the illustrations in this new book, and I like its rather comprehensive text. But I feel it does not give that quick overview one wants when searching for an unknown bird in this book.
