Birding in Tikal and northern Guatemala? (1 Viewer)

Any book recommendations for the Tikal area of northern Guatemala?

I know, Howell & Webb is usually recommended as FG. But it's a rather heavy book considering that this trip would only be a rather short extension of one further south (Panama). So I think I'll stick to the compact van Perlo volume. But I'd be interested whether there are others to be considered.

Is there a "where to find" book or possibly website for the area? A have a small booklet "La Ruta Maya" from 1994 that looks outdated and does not really go very far anyway. It just tries to cover too wide an area for its limited space.

Useful info on Tom Jenner's website:

http://www.mayanbirding.com/

Personally, I wouldn't want to visit Tikal and Panama armed only with the van Perlo book. Its makes a reasonable attempt at covering such a big area, but the size of the region means that nothing is covered in detail. Unless you are very familiar with Central American birds, you will almost certainly end up having to leave birds unidentified and find it frustrating. If size is a major issue, you could use the following in Tikal, with Edwards probably being the best option:

Edwards, E. P. (1998) A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and adjacent areas: Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador. University of Texas Press, Austin.

Jones, H. L. (2004) Birds of Belize. University of Texas Press and Christopher Helm.

Peterson, R. T. and Chalif, E. L. (1973). A field guide to Mexican birds. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, MA.

I believe that the following is still the main guide for Panama, though another is due out soon:

Ridgely, R. S. and Gwynne, J. (1989). A guide to the birds of Panama: with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ.

There are two books that are about the Tikal area, but one is an annotated checklist and the other is an out-of-date field guide. They are of interest, but not necessary if you are worried about weight:

Beavers, R. A. (1992) The birds of Tikal: an annotated checklist for Tikal National Park and Peten, Guatemala. Texas A and M.

Smithe, F. B. (1966). The birds of Tikal. Natural History Press, New York.

I am a big fan of the Howell and Webb book, but if size is an issue I would go with Edwards for Tikal and Ridgley and Gwynne for Panama. As Motmot mentioned, my website has some information on Tikal and the surrounding area. Have a great trip.

Tom

tomjenner said:

Personally, I wouldn't want to visit Tikal and Panama armed only with the van Perlo book.......Tom

Click to expand...

Thanks, Tom and Motmot, for your quick replies. My trip will only start in January, so there is some time to get the info together. I intend to use van Perlo's book only for the Tikal area. I'll have at least the presently available edition of Birds of Panama with me, and hopefully the new book, if it is really out by then. I'm not going to hold my breath for that one, though.

I need to think about the Edwards book for Tikal, though.

I have both earlier editions of Edwards and Birds of Panama, but those are so outdated that I don't even use them preparing for the trip. Too many name changes probably make it too confusing in the end. Also, I should have a birder friend showing me around in Panama.

There may be others, but the only birdfinding guide I'm aware for that area is - Where to Watch Birds in Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, by Nigel Wheatley and David Brewer.

It's pretty old, and I've never used it for that area, but it has been pretty helpful for the spots I've used it for. ...WOW...I just noticed that the used copies on Amazon are ridiculously expensive. Maybe I should scan some pages and sell it to help finance my upcoming Caribbean trip

I noticed that some plates in Ridgely and Gwynne were printed better in 1st than 2nd edition.

Niels