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Best bird guides by region...Central and South America (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter njlarsen
- Start date
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Mid October on my usual site, available in hard or soft cover.
http://www.wildsounds.com/products/5444-Birds-of-Central-America.shtml
I may buy one of each, hardcover remains at home as a reference and the softcover goes on trips.
A
Meanwhile Amazon UK lists the book as becoming available between 2 November and 19 December. I hope they still mean 2018! :-C
CaliSteve
Living life in Paradise!
I find amazon rather useless these days for buying books but I bought virtually all my books from sellers on amazon a decade ago. These days I much I prefer to buy books either directly from publishers or supporting smaller book shops specialising in natural history.
The Central American guide is already out btw as my copy arrived earlier this week.
The Central American guide is already out btw as my copy arrived earlier this week.
Living far from appropriate suppliers, it is my most efficient way to get access to the books I want. They are often sent by stores that use Amazon as a vehicle.
Meanwhile, Amazon has moved the date about a month back. So it's obvious the publishers can't supply to everybody at the same time. A feature well known from LYNX.
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
What's the verdict, worth having?
Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Indeed!!!!
Plate printing quality?
Steve, could you please let us know whether your book has all the plates printed decently? My own copy has many of them look like one would go birding on a slightly misty morning. I have posted a picture in the special thread: https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=368306 See post # 15.
A swallow plate on the left is from my copy.
Steve, could you please let us know whether your book has all the plates printed decently? My own copy has many of them look like one would go birding on a slightly misty morning. I have posted a picture in the special thread: https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=368306 See post # 15.
A swallow plate on the left is from my copy.
Birds of Bolivia
Looks like we completely ignored the FG to Birds of Bolivia in this sticky thread. It was issued 2016 in Bolivia and only few copies seem to have made it out of the country. There had always been attempts to make it available in the northern hemisphere. Buteo Books had some few copies once. NHBS has been trying to arrange for the book becoming available, probably via a second printing, this time north of the equator.
Well, Buteo Books has just sent me a note that they presently have some copies again. https://www.buteobooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=BBBAO&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=14746 So if one needs/wants it, it is best to get one while they last. I presume stocks to be rather limited, but I don't actually know. At US$ 95.-, the book is not exactly a bargain. As for having it sent to Europe, the cheapest version seems to be a flat-rate envelope at $35! Thus, total cost will be around $ 130.- at present.
Edit: checking again, the few copies they had seem to be all gone again. But they may try to get more. Thus being on the backorder list or at least on the notification list seems to be the way to go at present.
Looks like we completely ignored the FG to Birds of Bolivia in this sticky thread. It was issued 2016 in Bolivia and only few copies seem to have made it out of the country. There had always been attempts to make it available in the northern hemisphere. Buteo Books had some few copies once. NHBS has been trying to arrange for the book becoming available, probably via a second printing, this time north of the equator.
Well, Buteo Books has just sent me a note that they presently have some copies again. https://www.buteobooks.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=BBBAO&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=14746 So if one needs/wants it, it is best to get one while they last. I presume stocks to be rather limited, but I don't actually know. At US$ 95.-, the book is not exactly a bargain. As for having it sent to Europe, the cheapest version seems to be a flat-rate envelope at $35! Thus, total cost will be around $ 130.- at present.
Edit: checking again, the few copies they had seem to be all gone again. But they may try to get more. Thus being on the backorder list or at least on the notification list seems to be the way to go at present.
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Andy Adcock
Worst person on Birdforum
Out of stock already again it seems even at the inflated $95.
A poor effort it seems to me, they produce a niche title, only to fall down badly on the distribution.
Dan Miller
Avicasual Birder
I own both, but have used neither in the field. Having said that, I would probably opt for the Peterson guide - it is more compact, pocketable even.
Both appear to have similar information, though the order species are presented is not the same. Another drawback to Vallely & Dryer is that it will also include species found only in Costa Rica, Panama and farther south, which you will not encounter in Guatemala. See elsewhere on these forums about the "misty" nature of the plates in Vallely & Dryer - it is really noticeable when side-by-each with Peterson.
Arbu
Well-known member
Thanks, I already own field guides for Costa Rica and Panama so it sounds very much like the Peterson guide would be the better option for me.
I only know the Peterson guide, and agree I feel it is good for most species. I used it in Yucatan where the large majority of species are covered by this book, and there was a few cases where I was missing the good old trusty Howell and Webb. Most species was easy enough, though.
Niels
I agree that the Peterson FG covers most of the Yucatan species, with the exception of most endemics. The book served us extremely well, so there was never really the wish for the bulkier alternative. Our tour leader had the plates of the Howell & Webb book bound separately and we used them where needed. The quality of those plates is truly great, particularly considering their age. We were specifically going after the endemics, including Cozumel. Howell & Webb has the latter ones conveniently on a separate plate.
I have birded in Yucatan a number of times, almost always on my own (without a guide). The advantage of Howell and Webb is not only in the plates but also in the thorough text.
The Peterson FG: how many species would have had to be added to cover the three easternmost Mexican states? 10-20? I still do not understand that was not done. However, that was not a problem on the trip where I had this book as my only one, I was only birding in the southern end where everything is expected to overlap.
Niels
The Peterson FG: how many species would have had to be added to cover the three easternmost Mexican states? 10-20? I still do not understand that was not done. However, that was not a problem on the trip where I had this book as my only one, I was only birding in the southern end where everything is expected to overlap.
Niels
I agree regarding the text in Howell & Webb. But as there was sufficient joint expertise in our group, we did not need the text in the field. The copy minus its plates was in the car, however.
We concentrated our efforts specifically to the northern two provinces (Quintana Roo and Yucatan) as that is where the desired endemics are.
Mexico?
I don't know whether this has come up here before, but after posting trip reports recently, it struck me again. BF - and many others - consider Mexico to be part of North America. But going through these "sticky threads", it seems clear that Mexico belongs to Central America in the opinion of those who discuss the topic of FGs.
I don't know whether this has come up here before, but after posting trip reports recently, it struck me again. BF - and many others - consider Mexico to be part of North America. But going through these "sticky threads", it seems clear that Mexico belongs to Central America in the opinion of those who discuss the topic of FGs.
gdhunter
Well-known member
AOU's North American checklist applies to all of the Americas north of South America. The ABA's version of North America consists of the USA (excluding Hawaii?) and Canada. The avifuana of northern Mexico is strongly influenced by (and strongly influences) the birds of the southern and southwest USA, but you don't have to travel far (from about Victoria and then south in Tamaulipas) to encounter habitats and birds more typical of what we call Central America.
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