Which book for Cuba? (1 Viewer)

[KFC]

Been chatting about this elsewhere. Basically - the Birds of Cuba is the obvious first choice... but is rather underwhelming in some respects. An alternative is Birds of the West Indies. Pros and cons for both... I am appending my thoughts and some photos.

Any comments?

Points to consider in the Windies book...
Pros...

• It's thinner, smaller and cheaper than the Cuba guide.
• There's less wasted space and it's easier to use with plates opposite info and maps.
• The illustrations are considerably better.
  Cons
• The text is far less detailed with less info on range, feeding habits, timings and identification.
• Not all species have maps.
• Even those that do - there is not really any detail within Cuba (i.e. the whole island is coloured so there is is no indication of where, exactly)

Points to consider in the Cuba book...
Pros

• Almost all regularly occuring species have relatively detailed maps (esp. the endemics and others that birders go for)
• Text contains further details on distribution/habitat/times when present/food etc.
• Text lists confusion species and how to tell them apart (but not always convincingly in my mind)

Cons

• Big and heavy - lots of wasted space (strange shadows of the plates with names on but no reference to text).
• Information and maps on a different page to illustration.
• Pics are are sufficient but uninspiring.

I took both books and used the Cuba guide for more specific information... but tended to use the Windies guide in the field because it was so much easier. I must be made of money!

Difficult to advise, really.

Ken

 

[KFC]

More comparative examples. As for others, hovering over the thunbnail will provide the name which I hope is self explanatory.

Ken

 

[username]

Ah-haaa! Good man Ken....[myself and friends will be most interested in this]:t:

Straight away i am tempted by the 'windies' guide....love that hummer plate!
The illustrations look a better class for a start...plus the obvious advantage of text opposite!

ps...i can see that if i purchase the windies book then i am going to be tempted to visit other area's in the region too....!!

pps...[i shall let me mates know at the weekend that you are posting comparison plates up...and as i mentioned to you before..much appreciated]!

 

[Swissboy]

....... in the Cuba book...
......[*]Pics are crap.
...
Ken

From what has been shown here, I would think the judgment is way too harsh. Sure the others are better, but it looks like the ones in the Cuban book should be sufficient for identification. Particularly as there are probably not that many confusion species. That, combined with the more detailed text still might make this book the better choice if one does not want to carry both.

I'm only judging from what has been shown in this thread though.

I have no immediate plans for a visit to the area, so my older books are sufficient for me now. Have the big hardcover Raffaele guide from 1998 (I presume the illustrations are the same) plus the much older very compact James Bond one.

 

[sclateria]

I used the Cuba guide during a visit (mostly non-birding but with several day or weekend trips worked in) in 2007, and I thought it was fine in the field.

 

[username]

I used the Cuba guide during a visit (mostly non-birding but with several day or weekend trips worked in) in 2007, and I thought it was fine in the field.

I'm sure it would 'do a job' in the field...i just don't find it a very appealing book on a number of 'fronts'...especially the layout.

Maybe i'm just being 'picky'...[i usually am]!...but it just doesn't seem very 'user friendly'...

 

[KFC]

What I said about the plates in the Cuba book was rather strong and I will edit it out... they are sufficient but uninspiring combined with a bizarre layout that wastes space, makes the book much bigger than it needs to be and makes no reference to where to find the text for the given species. As I also said, however, the text is extremely comprehansive and gives much more detail than Windies guide. I notice Raffaele is an author (or illustrator - I don't have my books to hand) on both.

Ken

 

[njlarsen]

Raffaele is author, not illustrator.

I only have the windies book (but in both versions), so cannot comment on the comparison.

Niels

 

[username]

Had the rather unexpected opportunity of comparing the Cuban guide alongside the 'windies' book today at Rutland Water...and i made my mind up very very quickly as to which book to plump for!
And...as my mate nabbed the only copy of the windies book...i've just ordered one on Amazon for only £13.86....which is an absolute steal, as this is a fantastic little guide of excellent quality. Illustrations...almost throughout...are really top notch and far exceed the Cuban field-guide...[in my opinion]! It is very 'user friendly'...!

So...just wanted to thank you KFC for initially bringing this 'alternative' book to my attention.....and for putting up this thread...:t:

ps...also, many thanks to 'others' for their help and advice in pm's...very much appreciated...[you know who you are]!...cheers..:t:

 

[KFC]

I'm glad you're going to get the one you want. As I said, I benefited from both. What a shame that Helm feildguides (who produce both books) haven't been able to combine the text and maps of the Cuba book with the format, layout and illustrations of the Windies book to produce a really useful and informative little guide for Cuba.

 

[caribemotion]

Unfortunately both editions are 7-10 years old and need to be updated.