I have been planning a trip to Hawaii for quite some time, but finding suitable books and other sources of info seemed a bit tricky for a while. Aside from traditional travel guide books, for literally decades I have owned the classic "The Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific" by Pratt, Bruner and Berrett (bought it in 1987). Van Perlo's book "Birds of Hawaii, New Zealand, and the Central and West Pacific" was added to my stock in 2011. Neither of these books makes it easy to get an overview just for the Hawaii archipelago. There is simply too much in addition in those books. Besides, the first of these books is very dated (a new edition has long been in the works), and I don't think the plates in the second book do the species justice. I have also owned the fine book by Les Beletsky "The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide" which I bought in 2003. That's definitely a book one might feel it would be sufficient. The plates are very good, and the book has considerable info on other species groups. For a considerable while, I felt that I would not need any other book. But at some point, I came to the conclusion that I wanted more info on the bird species and on where to look for them. That's when the great book "Enjoying Birds and other wildlife in Hawaii" by H. Douglas Pratt came into play. Fortunately, I was able to find it, as it seems to be in somewhat short supply. That book has become my major site guide, to the point that I felt the need for a more compact and updated version. One gets lost in all the detailed text at first, though it will definitely be one of the books I'll take along. Pratt and Jeffrey issued a fine compact book that provided the quick overview I was after: "A Pocket Guide to Hawai'is Birds and their Habitats." (https://www.nhbs.com/a-pocket-guide-to-hawaiis-birds-and-their-habitats-book) The present edition dates from 2013, and it has already gone through four printings. I think, I should have started with this book first, as it provides a fine overview about the ecology and the field marks without going into all that many details. I my case, I came across this book by accident. And a word of caution is appropriate if one wants to order it through Amazon. They have the right picture but for a simpler book by the same authors. Thanks to a reviewer's comments I refrained to order from that source. However, NHBS is rather expensive in this case: The list price printed on the book is $ 8.95, but NHBS sells it for $26 (plus postage). But then, they have the book in stock and thus can deliver in due time. Another book that I got recently, is "A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Hawai'i" by Jim Denny. This book has larger photos and a bit more species by species text than the other books, yet it is still relatively compact. A final book is still on its way directly from Hawaii "Hawaii's Birds" by the Hawaii Audubon Society. I saw it listed from other sources, but only the direct order guaranteed the newest (7th) edition. Not sure yet whether I'd really need all these books, but I usually prefer to have rather a bit too many than risking to miss out on something good.
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