Guidebooks to Birds of Panama (1 Viewer)

We got started with this topic in another thread as a sideline: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=179675 from post #3 onwards.

I think, however, that it makes more sense to have a separate thread for Panama FGs, including birdfinding guides.

As a birdfinding book, the book by Angehr et al A Bird-finding Guide to Panama is excellent. E.g. here: http://www.amazon.com/Bird-finding-Guide-Panama-George-Angehr/dp/080147423X/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Also, there is a website that may be of interest: http://www.xenornis.com/

As for field guides, the second edition of the book by Ridgely and Gwynne (e.g. here: http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Birds-Panama-Robert-Ridgely/dp/0691025126/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b) seems to be the one to take along at present.

However, there is a new one in the works, but I'm not sure whether it will be out for my trip early next year. Depending on the source, the indicated publication date differs. And if the history of other new FGs is any indication, one may well wait quite a bit longer.

Here, the publication date is given as December 16, 2010: http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Panama-Field-Tropical-Publication/dp/0801476747/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_a

Here it is 1 February 2011: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Birds-Panam...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283867653&sr=8-2

Same here February 2011: http://www.nhbs.com/title.php?tefno=176321

The publisher Cornell says December: http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/cup_detail.taf?ti_id=9872

To just list some examples. Is there anyone here on BF who knows more about how far along this book actually is?

By chance, I went birding with George Angehr (author of the forthcoming new field guide) for a day following the IOC in Brazil. He seems to think that the book will indeed be published by the year-end (i.e. December 2010). For info, it will follow the same style and format as the most recent Costa Rican field guide, by Richard Garrigues, and "employs" the same artist.

GMK said:

By chance, I went birding with George Angehr (author of the forthcoming new field guide) for a day following the IOC in Brazil. He seems to think that the book will indeed be published by the year-end (i.e. December 2010). For info, it will follow the same style and format as the most recent Costa Rican field guide, by Richard Garrigues, and "employs" the same artist.

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Thanks Guy, that sounds like excellent news in every respect! I like that compact Costa Rica FG.

I just got my copy of the second edition of the Ridgely & Gwynne FG. And I must say that I'm rather disappointed. I already had the first edition, and I had hoped for more improvements than there are. Sure, there are more color plates at least. But the book definitely is dated in many respects. And it has gained a lot of additional weight as well. So it's good to be able to get a more modern and more compact book soon.

Swissboy said:

.......thread for Panama FGs, including birdfinding guides.

.............

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In my initial post (#1), I had forgotten the book by van Perlo: Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Central America. (e.g. here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Collins-Fie...r_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290075318&sr=1-15)

Except for the irritating fact that range maps are all concentrated in the back, I find this book at least a good starting point. It is compact, and Panama seems to be covered quite well as far as I can tell so far. The plates are a bit cramped in many cases. And parts of the captions are often on the next page. But there are a lot of flight pictures too. If the Costa Rica FG is going to be followed, I'm afraid that the upcoming Panama specific FG will have less flight pictures than the van Perlo book.

A few comments: I visited Panama at the same time as the site guide came out. It was available in Panama (the book store in the Parque Metropolitano) when I arrived there, but not available at Amazon yet - it was also published by Cornell.

I saw a copy of the plates from first edition of Ridgely and Gwynne, and at least one page was printed in a poorer quality in my 2nd edition (one of the flycatchers, tyrannulets?). However, as an ID tool it actually did work for me. I have no comparison with the van Perlo book.

The Costa Rica guide by Garrigues and Dean does take a little time to get used to, I feel, all birds look pale. However, I will know better how it works in another couple of month.

Niels

njlarsen said:

..........The Costa Rica guide by Garrigues and Dean does take a little time to get used to, I feel, all birds look pale. However, I will know better how it works in another couple of month.

Niels

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Regarding publication dates, it is often important to check both for the US and UK as these can be several months apart.

Looks like we will be on our way around the same time then. I agree with your assessment regarding the Costa Rica book. I think the blacks are often too grey, like in the Barred Antshrike or the Anis for example. It would be nice if they corrected that in the Panama book. But even more importantly for me at this point is that the book will be out in time for my trip. I'd rather leave the Ridgely/Gwynne book at home. Or I might just use the plates. But I hate to cut up books.

The van Perlo book has the additional advantage that I can use it for the Guatemala part of my trip as well. As I'll be spending a rather short time there, basically just visiting Tikal, that book has to suffice.

Angehr's book just published.

Motmot said:

Angehr's book just published.

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Fabulous news, thanks. Any link where it's already available? It's rather unusual to see books come out prior to the official release date.

Swissboy said:

Fabulous news, thanks. Any link where it's already available? It's rather unusual to see books come out prior to the official release date.

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I know it's been printed because my friend Robert Dean (the artist) has posted a pic of it on facebook, but I don't know how long will it take to be available, hopefully very soon.

Motmot said:

I know it's been printed because my friend Robert Dean (the artist) has posted a pic of it on facebook, but I don't know how long will it take to be available, hopefully very soon.

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Well, printed is not published, I'm afraid!

the publisher still has it under upcoming but with due date November 2010: http://www.zonatropical.net/upcoming_releases.htm

Niels

njlarsen said:

the publisher still has it under upcoming but with due date November 2010: http://www.zonatropical.net/upcoming_releases.htm

Niels

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I just noticed there that they have another FG in the works, one for northern Central America, i.e. Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. But apparently omitting Nicaragua, thus not fully filling the gap. Or with other words, the van Perlo guide will then still be the only one to include that country as even the bulky Howell and Webb book only includes a small part of Nicaragua.

Swissboy said:

Well, printed is not published, I'm afraid!

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Too true...sorry.

njlarsen said:

........The Costa Rica guide by Garrigues and Dean ......., I feel, all birds look pale. .....Niels

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Well, the Panama book is due any day now if they are able to stick to the schedule.

Meanwhile, I compared the sample plates from here: http://www.zonatropical.net/birds_Panama.htm

with my Costa Rica book. Seems that lots of species have been redone, but others were only rearranged. Compared to the Costa Rica volume, the samples would indicate the opposite of what Niels thinks for that volume: If the samples are true to the book's appearance, then many species might be rather too flashy, I'm afraid. We'll know soon, I hope.

Angehr and Dean FG Birds of Panama, any news?

The publication date would be today, according to Amazon US. However, the German Amazon site lists it for a release date of December 20. Amazon UK still has Feb 1, 2011.

Swissboy said:

The publication date would be today, according to Amazon US. ...........

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Their website has now been changed to temporarily out of stock. Has anybody received info that books have actually been shipped to customers?

25 December

Amazon.com now lists the new Garrigues/Dean FG as "In stock on December 25, 2010". We'll see.

Got the new FG to Panama today

Thanks to some expensive express delivery, I got my copy of the new FG today. The extra costs are well spent in my case, as this will allow me to still have some time to prepare myself for an upcoming trip to the country. Apparently, only Amazon US already has the book in stock at the moment.

Well, here is a brief first review:

This new field guide to the birds of Panama by Angehr and Dean follows the earlier book by Garrigues and Dean for Costa Rica in its pattern. Thus, hopes were high from the beginning when this book was announced. And the authors and publishers certainly kept their standards. So finally, there is a fine birding guide with range maps and today's customary set-up with the text, range maps and plates all on the same double-page spread. Compared to the Costa Rica volume, the printing of the plates is stronger. No more pale looking birds, instead, there may be a few that got a bit too much ink. But over all, the plates look more accurate. In particular, cotingas and honeycreepers now seem to have their correct colors.

Mostly, the illustrations from that Costa Rica book were retained where appropriate, but they have often been enlarged, reduced , sometimes mirrored or tilted to some extent. That means that some of the largish eyes seen previously show up here as well. No major problem though.

This book is a bit larger than the companion volume for Costa Rica. It has thus lost the advantage of being very compact. Part of the reason may be the elongated shape of Panama, as the range maps needed more space to still be meaningfully large. Aside from the increase in the number of pages to cover the larger number of species, I think some reduction in height should have been possible, however. Compared to the now outdated much larger earlier guide book for Panama by Ridgely and Gwynne, this is nevertheless a fairly compact volume.

There is still room for improvements, of course. The major one would be to have more flight pictures. And since Panama is actually a Spanish speaking country, it would help to have Spanish names as well, including an index for them. This would also help to further interest among the natives. Hopefully, a Spanish edition will be in the future as well. But all that is secondary for now. The authors have to be congratulated for this very fine achievement.

FG Birds of Panama some additional remarks

Some more remarks to this new book after some more elaborate study:

One feature that I find particularly useful is the bold face print of the most important distinguishing characters. This is found in the Costa Rica book too. Though I think they may have improved on it. But I first encountered the usefulness of this feature a few years earlier in that often criticised FG for the Birds of Argentina and Uruguay by Narosky and Yzurieta. Sure additional pointers would be welcome, but they are easy to add thanks to the emphasis in the text.

Additionally, there are many fine direct comparisons given in the species texts. This includes page numbers for quickly finding that other species. How often are we missing such most helpful details even in very recent FGs!

The map of Panama on the inside cover is a very useful feature as well as all the major locations mentioned in the species texts are there for easy reference.

It has become fashionable in the last few years to have a colored band on the top of the text pages with the group names in it, like Herons, or Sandpipers & Allies, etc. A quick check showed an orange band in the Costa Rica book, a purple one in the Birds of East Asia FG, a light blue one in the FG to the Birds of Brazil. And here now, there is a light green one. To me these bands are basically a source of ballast as they needlessly help to enlarge the size needed for the text page. I could see some use for such bands however if they were indicators of the major systematic groups. The color can be seen on the closed book, and it would thus be a helpful feature if I knew right away where I find say the Tyrant-Flycatchers or the Hummingbirds, by having different color bands for them. The same colors could be used several times as I'd soon know that red up front would mean Raptors, but Swallows in the middle. This just as an example.

The alternative with thumbtabs like in the National Geographic North American FG does also lead to an enlarged book. Thus, basically a no-no as well! However, that book also has a quick-find index on the rear inside flap. And something like that would be a most welcome addition to any other FG as well. The mere double-page table of contents as in the Panama FG is not a useful substitute as the other feature would be alphabetical.

Swissboy said:

Amazon.com now lists the new Garrigues/Dean FG as "In stock on December 25, 2010". We'll see.

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Just noticed that I had used the wrong name for the author. It's Angehr, not Garrigues. Though nobody seems to have noticed or bothered to correct it. Oh well.....

At least it's correct in the review post.