• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Where premium quality meets exceptional value. ZEISS Conquest HDX.

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

Hello!
What field guide would you recommend for Philippines?
Thanks!

Aleksey, I would recommend 'A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines' by Robert Kennedy et al. Some of the illustrations are rather weak, and the taxonomy is (inevitably) rather dated, but it is otherwise a very useful book with excellent text.
 
Hi!

I'm going to Sulawesi (Indonesia) and I havn't got Coates & Bishop's Guide tho the Birds of Wallacea. I bought the new edition on Morten Strange's Aphotographic guide to the birds of Indonesia. Any suggestion on how to make the most of it? Or otherwise being able to identyfy as many birds as possible?

Best regards,

Adam Oscarson
 
I've seen lots of threads from people new to birding, or going on holiday somewhere unfamiliar, who ask what's the best field guide for such-and-such a place. I wondered if the denizens of the books department here would mind helping to create a list of the best field guides for different regions of the world.
Doesn't have to be country-by-country, although a few places are pretty well single-country areas, like Australia.
Here goes:

Asia
Birds of East Asia: China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Russia - Mark Brazil, 2009.

Is this the field guide for Hong Kong, or is there a more specific book for there or, at least, southern China?
 
.......The downsides being you can't [Ahem!] legally print the plates.

The other downside is you have a series of loose sheets, not a true FG. At least it's not very convenient in the field. Well worth, however, as a supplement to a FG, I would presume.
 
Is this the field guide for Hong Kong, or is there a more specific book for there or, at least, southern China?

There is a specific FG for Hong Kong: The Birds of Hong Kong and South China, by Clive Viney, Karen Phillipps and Lam Chiu Ying. I have the 8th edition of 2005, but would think that there might be a new one. Though that 8th ed. had been fully revised, so maybe just a reprint in the meantime?
 
Best guide for China (Beijing )

Can anyone advise on the best field guide to take on a trip to Beijing / beidahe area of china?
 
Although I don't own it, I suspect the Helm Field Guide to the Birds of North East Asia by Mark Brazil would be the best option. I have the Field Guide to the Birds of China by John MacKinnon, which covers the whole of China but is not, in my view, up to the standard expected of a modern field guide.
 
Although I don't own it, I suspect the Helm Field Guide to the Birds of North East Asia by Mark Brazil would be the best option. I have the Field Guide to the Birds of China by John MacKinnon, which covers the whole of China but is not, in my view, up to the standard expected of a modern field guide.

I think this is the general consensus of the birders in the China subforum. If you are in west China, the Brazil book won't do, but in the east it is preferred. The pictures in MacKinnon are quite uneven, and the range maps were compiled when there was less info on birds in China. Still, someone might prefer particular items on the layout or info provided in MacK. It would be safe to go with Brazil, but you might look over MacK to be sure you don't prefer it.

PS On checking, I see the Brazil title is "Birds of East Asia" (though it is clearly not southeast Asia, the title does not mention "north").
 
Last edited:
PS On checking, I see the Brazil title is "Birds of East Asia" (though it is clearly not southeast Asia, the title does not mention "north").

You're quite right. Thanks for picking up the error, which might have caused confusion.
 
The Birds of Hong Kong and South China, by Clive Viney, Karen Phillipps and Lam Chiu

There is a specific FG for Hong Kong: The Birds of Hong Kong and South China, by Clive Viney, Karen Phillipps and Lam Chiu Ying. I have the 8th edition of 2005, but would think that there might be a new one. Though that 8th ed. had been fully revised, so maybe just a reprint in the meantime?

I have now bought the 2005 edition of this book from NHBS. It looks good, including sections on good areas for birds in HK. I am particularly impressed with the symbols showing the relative abundance of the species in HK, as well as mentions in the text as to the months some of them occur there.
 
What about a guide for the country of Georgia. I assume the birds of Central Asia (when it is published) will be a good choice, .....?

Nobody commented on this so far. Georgia is not included in the Central Asia FG. The book's range is delimited by the Caspian Sea in the west. Further countries outside the range of the book are (clockwise) Russia, China, Pakistan (as the only -stan country not included), Iran.

But as Edward had mentioned in post #14, Georgia is still within the range of the "Collins".
 
Last edited:
That is a though one, as I have used both the Myers and Phillips (second edition) Guides in the field and found them both to be most excellent. Personally I much prefer the plates and distribution maps used in Myers, and I find the species accounts to be much more detailed. This guide also includes the Natuna Islands off NW Borneo.

On the other hand the introduction chapter in Phillips is much more detailed, and make for interesting reading. There is also a very useful index and at the end there is excellent coverage to the best and most important birding sites on Borneo. The taxonomy used in the Phillips Guide is more up-to-date as well (52 endemic species recognized including that yet undescribed flowerpecker vs. 50 in Myers).

Apparently the third edition of Phillipps' Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo has just been published. This book was first published in 2009 so aim failing to see the need for another "revised" edition, especially when there is no apparent changes from the second edition published in 2011.

http://www.nhbs.com/phillipps_field_guide_to_the_birds_of_borneo_bkfno_211170.html

They recognize 669 species in both the second and third editions, meanwhile the number of recognized endemics have decreased from 52 to 51. Seems to me the publisher is trying to cash in much as possible on this book.
 
Birds of East Asia, by Mark Brazil, second edition?

Does anyone know if they'll be a second printing of Mark Brazil's guide to Birds of East Asia? I was wondering because it's been since 2009 that the guide first came out.

I know there are some corrections (I think he has a list somewhere on the web) of some range maps and a few new species that always occur and a small number of errata.

I was considering buying this guide and didn't know if I should wait on a second printing or not.

Thanks in advance
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top