Does anyone have the updated Guide to the Birds of China by MacKinnon? (1 Viewer)

[Barbets48]

I'm interested in hearing thoughts or reviews on the updated Guide to the Birds of China by John MacKinnon. Specifically would like to know things like:

• Are the illustrations the same, partly updated, or fully new?
• Are the bird descriptions and details still listed separately from the illustrations at the back of the book?
• Are the range maps improved and more detailed?
• What is the size/weight of the book compared to the 1st edition?

Thanks!
Mike

 

[Butty]

Guide to the Birds of China

Buy Guide to the Birds of China (9780192893673): NHBS - John MacKinnon, Karen Phillipps, Yang Xiao Nong, Liu Li Hua, Xiao Yao, Gao Zhi, Gao Chang, Lan Jian Jun, Annie MacKinnon, Lu Hefen, Yifan Li, Hu Yun Biao, Oxford University Press

www.nhbs.com

Guide to the Birds of China

China covers about 7% of the earth's land surface and encompasses a hugely diverse range of habitats. As a result, it boasts a rich and diverse avifauna, including some of the most spectacular and fascinating birds to be found anywhere in the world.

global.oup.com

All you ever wanted to know Ish.

 

[lgonz1008]

It's supposed to be released in January 31st here in the US, so I'm eagerly waiting to see my preordered book come to my doorstep.

 

[McMadd]

Mine despatched from seller (NHBS in Germany) earlier this week along with credit card debited so expecting it next week

 

[Swissboy]

Got mine now too. So just a few comments comparing the first and the new edition. I have some mixed feelings about this new book, but it is definitely a great improvement. Many illustrations are the same, but there are lots of new ones. Essentially the ones by the original main illustrator Karen Phillipps seem to have been (mostly) retained. It is mentioned that they reused more than 1000 of those again. The new ones are by a group of seven artists, and to me with one exception they all did a good to very good job. Though there are differences. The only ones I do not like are the ones of the rosy finches. Some of those illustrations are on the front cover. They look ok there, but the full plates leave a rather bewildering impression on me. It is hard for me to quickly compare species there, something a good FG should be optimized for.

The book is larger but thinner, so more species can be shown on a plate. Nevertheless, there are now 164 plates, compared to 128 in the first edition. Distribution maps and (shortened) texts are now together. But the book still does not fully follow the proven FG format with plates in one side and text/map on the same spread opposite. So while there are such combinations, there are also many plates where the corresponding text/map is overleaf or even two pages away. To me, this arrangement needs some getting used to. I got the soft-cover version, but compared to the first edition, the cover is too soft for my liking. The illustrations come now with the "Peterson" pointers, though without additional text of "Collins" fame. One should be aware that this is an eminently political book! China's borders are ending frighteningly close to Borneo, for example.

 

[pbjosh]

I too found the Rosefinches a bit underwhelming, and perhaps an odd choice for the cover given the relative quality of the art.

The layout with maps and text 1-2 pages away from the plates is indeed odd, a disappointing choice but not the end of the world.

Hadn’t seen the bit about China’s borders yet 🙄

 

[Swissboy]

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

Hadn’t seen the bit about China’s borders yet 🙄

Here is a copy from the book with emphasis on the inset to the lower right of the main map. Note the China border and claim is shown as a black line with two-banded purple lines on the outside.

From another forum (F-35C Landeunfall an Bord der USS Carl Vinson) I have the info that the South China Sea has depths in excess of 3500 meters (). So certainly a far cry from claiming that the area is all part of the "continental shelf".

 

[Xenospiza]

China's borders are ending frighteningly close to Borneo, for example.

How about Arunachal Pradesh?
At least carrying this book shouldn't get you arrested in China...

 

[Swissboy]

How about Arunachal Pradesh?
At least carrying this book shouldn't get you arrested in China...

That is all "China"! In the first edition there were areas marked as "Controlled by India, claimed by China". Now, it is all within the China boundary.

 

[Mysticete]

Including Taiwan I see!

 

[Steve Lister]

Including Taiwan I see!

No surprise there.

 

[Jim M.]

FYI, the first paragraph of the main text states "The region covered by this new field guide includes the entire land and sea area claimed as Chinese territory on official government maps of China. This includes the special administrative zones of Hong Kong and Macao and the island of Taiwan." So the guide is up front about indicating this is what the Chinese government claims--not necessarily what the authors are saying is part of the country politically.

 

[lgonz1008]

I'm still waiting for my guide (was delayed until late April from Amazon/US).

It's always fun to see China's government adding their influence everywhere, I'm surprised they didn't try to claim Mongolia as well. But honestly, I just want a guide for the region to put in my shelf and use when I eventually visit China. Might not be the best government in the world, but they have too many amazing wildlife within their borders to ignore, including that endemic family in the Pinktail...

 

[Swissboy]

............., including that endemic family in the Pinktail...

I had not known about that systematic specialty! Thanks for mentioning it.

Plate 155, bird #1388, when looking it up I only discovered that there are plate numbers. They are close to the spine and thus only show when fully opening the pages.

 

[lgonz1008]

I had not known about that systematic specialty! Thanks for mentioning it.

Plate 155, bird #1388, when looking it up I only discovered that there are plate numbers. They are close to the spine and thus only show when fully opening the pages.

That sounds like the worst possible outcome I could have hoped for an index...so unless you know the bird families in whatever order the book puts it, you have to use plate and bird numbers? That sounds like an unwelcoming headache.


And yeah, not what you'd hope from a place like China, they already had plenty of species that would make any birder's mouth just water but if you are a family lister, China is a forced country to travel since the Tibetan plateau where the species is found is only within their borders these days...Oh well, if being born in a communist country has taught me anything is that love the people, love the nature and don't think too much of the government of you will lose your will to go out and do better.

 

[OxBirder92]

Got mine now too. So just a few comments comparing the first and the new edition. I have some mixed feelings about this new book, but it is definitely a great improvement. Many illustrations are the same, but there are lots of new ones. Essentially the ones by the original main illustrator Karen Phillipps seem to have been (mostly) retained. It is mentioned that they reused more than 1000 of those again. The new ones are by a group of seven artists, and to me with one exception they all did a good to very good job. Though there are differences. The only ones I do not like are the ones of the rosy finches. Some of those illustrations are on the front cover. They look ok there, but the full plates leave a rather bewildering impression on me. It is hard for me to quickly compare species there, something a good FG should be optimized for.

The book is larger but thinner, so more species can be shown on a plate. Nevertheless, there are now 164 plates, compared to 128 in the first edition. Distribution maps and (shortened) texts are now together. But the book still does not fully follow the proven FG format with plates in one side and text/map on the same spread opposite. So while there are such combinations, there are also many plates where the corresponding text/map is overleaf or even two pages away. To me, this arrangement needs some getting used to. I got the soft-cover version, but compared to the first edition, the cover is too soft for my liking. The illustrations come now with the "Peterson" pointers, though without additional text of "Collins" fame. One should be aware that this is an eminently political book! China's borders are ending frighteningly close to Borneo, for example.

I have received my copy of this book and I think it looks absolutely fantastic! I have seen a few people grumbling about the layout, but I think they are forgetting just how many birds have to be packed into this book, so it's probably not realistic to expect every single piece of text to be right next to its plate, otherwise the book would be horrendously long and thick! I really like the double page spreads personally. The same applies to some grumbling I have seen about the text size- it's the same as Lynx Edition books as far as I can see and again the sheer number of birds means inevitable compromise. The resolution of the printing is absolutely beautiful and its great that it has larger, higher resolution artwork and QR codes. Having the Plate and bird number in the index also works perfectly well for me, just need to get used to it! It strikes the right balance between size/weight/compactness and is just light enough to stick into the flight case!