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

Why not making another recommendation then? just concluding that coverage is not the only criteria is not very useful is it?
 
2nd edition of Birds of Vietnam from Lynx is due for publication in March 2025.

 
Wanted to make this a Birdforum exclusive ... but no. Couldn't work out how to add images to posts. Never mind. Hot off the press, the cover of the new edition of Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. Enjoy.

 
This is confusing. On my bookshelf is an older book by the same authors labeled as second edition?
Niels
 
This is confusing. On my bookshelf is an older book by the same authors labeled as second edition?
Niels
It is confusing. There are a few books with the same title, sometimes by different authors, plus a big avifauna-style book from the 1990s. There is also a 'pocket guide' from the early years of the century. Can you send me the ISBN (pm me) and I will get to the bottom of it.
 
Maybe and explanation: looking again, my book is just called "Birds of India" without the "subcontinent" piece ....
Niels
 
It is confusing. There are a few books with the same title, sometimes by different authors, plus a big avifauna-style book from the 1990s. There is also a 'pocket guide' from the early years of the century. Can you send me the ISBN (pm me) and I will get to the bottom of it.

I believe what Niels is referring to is the publication of what I believe is the exact same book or at least very close by Helm and Princeton in 2012 with differing names and one of them designated as second edition and the other not. So the current version is either “Birds of the Indian Subcontinent” from Grimmett, Inskipp, and Inskipp by Helm or “Birds of India: Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives - Second Edition” from the same authors from Princeton.

So if Helm publishes a new edition as the second edition it won’t be the same as the Princeton second edition but perhaps would be the same as a presumably forthcoming Princeton third edition. Why not just get the jump on the bastards at Princeton and call yours the fourth edition :ROFLMAO: Or, perhaps better, coordinate to publish it under the same name this time and call them both third edition or 2025 edition or some such?
 
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I believe what Niels is referring to is the publication of what I believe is the exact same book or at least very close by Helm and Princeton in 2012 with differing names and one of them designated as second edition and the other not. So the current version is either “Birds of the Indian Subcontinent” from Grimmett, Inskipp, and Inskipp by Helm or “Birds of India: Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives - Second Edition” from the same authors from Princeton.

So if Helm publishes a new edition as the second edition it won’t be the same as the Princeton second edition but perhaps would be the same as a presumably forthcoming Princeton third edition. Why not just get the jump on the bastards at Princeton and call yours the fourth edition :ROFLMAO: Or, perhaps better, coordinate to publish it under the same name this time and call them both third edition or 2025 edition or some such?

I lack the power to enforce this, alas ...
 
Thanks again to Niels for flagging this issue. To cut a long story short, the new (blue banner, Pied Thrush) book in the Helm Field guides series is the Second Edition. The old (green banner, Indian Pitta) edition was the first. The new one is completely revised and updated with new maps, a lot of new art, and much else besides.
Jim
 
Of course I have no insight into Helm and Princeton and respective arrangements between the two or with the authors, but it does not seem like it should be so challenging to make the two titles make more sense.

Whatever they end up being called, though, it will be a welcome update for sure!
 
Not to harass you too much Jim, nor to pour gasoline on a fire, but are you sure nothing can be done? It appears that Helm has ALREADY published the prior edition with pitta art but a white cover and called it the second edition, eg:


And to be clear, the forthcoming book might be the second time that Helm is publishing it, but if it is the second edition then the original publishing from 2001 must be the 0th edition?

 
And it looks like Helm published the original edition as well... eg:


I mean at some point maybe it doesn't matter, there are a million versions of this book floating around between the various publishers of the real first edition in 98/99/00 or thereabouts, and the 2012 edition, and then the regional guides and all... even just digging now it is a mire, so I'm just putting this all out here in case it's of use not to try to make any point or insult anyone!
 

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