Field Guide to Chiapas (Mexico) (1 Viewer)

[elduderino260]

Hey all,

I am traveling to Chiapas this summer to do research for my MS. Despite that taking up most of my time, I would like to do some birding while I am down there. I am wondering if anyone has had any experiences with the field guides that are out there for Mexican birds.

I have the Garrigues book for Costa Rica, and was very pleased with its size, layout, and images. I was particularly pleased with the range maps directly next to the images of the respective birds.

However, each of the guides for Mexico seem to have some sort of problem. This one seems to be poorly organized. The Peterson guide is incomplete. The Princeton Illustrated edition does not have the maps next to the birds and has small pictures. The Howell book is huge and also does not have the maps next to the bird images. Finally, the Collins book is quite expensive. Any suggestions or preferences here?

 

[njlarsen]

The Howell guide is still the preferred one. I used it last quite a long time ago, but most recent threads I have seen on the topic still says that it is the best for the area. It has text for all species, but not drawings, so you may want to bring a US field guide for the rest, especially if you are there for a long period.

Lucky you, let us know what you did see when you return!

Niels

 

[Birdingcraft]

I second the Howell guide. It's still the most complete field guide for Mexico and has good illustrations and song descriptions of everything you are going to run into.

 

[Mysticete]

Thirded for the Howell Guide, although it would be nice if it was updated and put into a more "modern" format.

 

[cuckooroller]

Elduderino,
You can always falls back on the old method of getting the sources, and then making up your own Chiapas guidebook by extracting the information you need from the source - scan the stuff including the ranges, extrapolate the info you want, arrange the information how you want, and stick it into a little binder. Something else you can do is to web-search on a Chiapas list for photos - make up a file after you somehow vet the ID's, and take that with you (presuming you will have some sort of i-notebook).