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Best bird guides by region...Asia (1 Viewer)

I think the China book will be your best (only?) option.

The Mongolia book is yet another title which keeps getting delayed.


Andy
 
Bird of East Asia (by Mark Brazil) would be my pick, definitely. China remains one of the countries with no good bird guide at all.
Other obvious gaps are Argentina and Bolivia, but Bolivia should come out pretty soon.
 
Bird of East Asia (by Mark Brazil) would be my pick, definitely. China remains one of the countries with no good bird guide at all.
Other obvious gaps are Argentina and Bolivia, but Bolivia should come out pretty soon.

It doesn't cover Mongolia.....


Andy
 
Thanks andyadcock and temmie. I found another option!

Though the titles are Birds of Europe, Russia, China, and Japan, they also cover Mongolia (as any book covering both Russia and China must). I have no idea how good these will be. But, they may be good enough. It's a two volume set of pocket guides, separated into passerines and non-passerines. I'm not expecting the best quality. But, hopefully they'll be good enough.

https://amzn.com/0691133727

https://amzn.com/0691136858

Thanks for the help,
Scott
 
There is a 'full version' of the birds of South-East Asia by Robson and there is a concise edition. One of the comments on the full version is the weight, it's hardly a fieldguide any more. Which one to choose? Has someone used the concise edition?
 
There is a 'full version' of the birds of South-East Asia by Robson and there is a concise edition. One of the comments on the full version is the weight, it's hardly a fieldguide any more. Which one to choose? Has someone used the concise edition?

I have the larger book from 2000 and the smaller one from 2005. I have only used the smaller one in the field, and it is definitely more practical. Both books lack range maps, the major drawback in my opinion. So there is still room for competition. :-O

But the small book has excellent plates and decent range descriptions. And unlike the larger book, all the text is right opposite the plates. It is by necessity concise, but very informative and well structured. Definitely the book to use!
 
@Swissboy
Thank you for the information. I ordered the concise edition and am very happy with the book. The drawings, text and description of the range are together on the same pages and that is one of the most important things for me. The sequence of the birds however is different than I am used to. For instance, the woodpeckers are right behind the ducks!
 
Alex S.;3476464.............. The sequence of the birds however is different than I am used to. For instance said:
The sequence problem is a general pain! We had long discussions here on BF, and it seems one can't get an agreed to fixed sequence. :C

That's why I have long started to do my QUICK-FIND indices whenever there is none already provided in the book.

I have done one for this book too. You'll find it here: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=262021&highlight=quick+find+index

Best to look at post #3 as it is the optimized one. :-O
You only need to print and cut to size.

Just keep in mind that the list is a bit subjective. But it should be most helpful. I put mine under the transparent sleeve on the back. The Word version also allows you to adapt the list to your own preferences.
 
FG for Indonesia is available now

....
There is a new field guide for Indonesia in preparation but it is not due for publication until October at the earliest http://www.nhbs.com/title/207077/birds-of-the-indonesian-archipelago

This book , published by Lynx has just become available now. So I thought it might make sense to mention it here in this "sticky" thread as well. The book has been discussed here: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=298765&page=3
 
A Visual Celebration of Borneo's Wildlife

by Fanni Lai and Bjorn Olesen
Periplus Editions, 2016

ISBN-13: 9780794607876

This Borneo wildlife pictorial offers nature lovers, visitors to Borneo and armchair explorers an unparalleled introduction to this mysterious treasure island.

Illustrated with more than 350 images, taken by Bjorn Olesen and other wildlife photographers, A Visual Celebration of Borneo's Wildlife is a photographic tribute to the most spectacular wildlife species on the second-largest tropical island on Earth. It displays nature's beauty, revealing many private moments of the astonishing biodiversity of Borneo, where nature runs riot. Based on the latest research, it is filled with captivating little-known facts about the wildlife that modern-day travelers may come across when visiting this enchanting island. It also describes the top 16 wildlife locations in Borneo, with a comprehensive list of recommended reading, websites and blogs provided.

All of the authors' royalties will be donated to Fauna & Flora International for nature conservation work in Southeast Asia.

http://www.nhbs.com/title/210104/a-visual-celebration-of-borneos-wildlife
 
A new field guide to the birds of Taiwan was published back in January. It was not published by one of the large companies so maybe overlooked, it looks to be of amazing quality however (love the plates especially).

https://www.nhbs.com/a-field-guide-to-the-birds-of-taiwan-book?bkfno=240389
https://www.facebook.com/BirdsofTaiwan/

Thanks for the heads-up. If the sample plates are representative of overall quality, this looks like a superb field guide. Now if only they could extend coverage to include the whole of China!
 
A new field guide to the birds of Taiwan was published back in January. It was not published by one of the large companies so maybe overlooked, it looks to be of amazing quality however (love the plates especially).

https://www.nhbs.com/a-field-guide-to-the-birds-of-taiwan-book?bkfno=240389
https://www.facebook.com/BirdsofTaiwan/

Apart from the NHBS link in the OP, I can find absolutely no other outlet carrying this title. Even a search for the ISBN, returns no results.



A
 
Hey all,

I am back from a birding trip to Sulawesi. Seems like the best field guide is "Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea" (2016). I met a birder in Tangkoko who told me that a new version was on preorder on amazon since may 15th. I didn't find any information about it. Is this true ?
 
Hey all,

I am back from a birding trip to Sulawesi. Seems like the best field guide is "Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea" (2016). I met a birder in Tangkoko who told me that a new version was on preorder on amazon since may 15th. I didn't find any information about it. Is this true ?

I doubt that a book published as recently as 2016 will be on a second edition?


A
 
Hey all,

I am back from a birding trip to Sulawesi. Seems like the best field guide is "Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea" (2016). I met a birder in Tangkoko who told me that a new version was on preorder on amazon since may 15th. I didn't find any information about it. Is this true ?

I have been unable to find anything that would support the claim.
 
Just wanted to update this thread regarding Borneo field guides.

A second edition of the Susan Myers guide came out in 2016, and I would recommend it as the go to identification guide for Borneo. (Note that Amazon and some others erroneously list its publication date as 2012 for reasons unknown.) Unfortunately it is a tad pricey as I write this.

I do not recommend the Phillips' guide (third edition, 2014) as a primary guide. It lacks any identification information for many species, and in many other cases the identification information is sparse or inadequate. (It expects you to ID many birds just by looking at the plates--a proven method of unreliable identification). However, it should be a good supplement since it makes for more interesting reading overall, and has a good deal of natural history and other information that is lacking from the Myers' guide, which tends to be rather dry.

Also, the Birds of the Indonesian Archipelago guide mentioned in the preceding post covers all the birds of Borneo. It is too heavy and includes too many species not found in Borneo to recommend as a primary guide, but it does have taxonomic (and possibly ID) information not found in the other guides.
 

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