Edward said:
Ditto Australia.
THESE WERE SOME REPLIES TO A SIMILAR QUERY I MADE A COUPLE OF DAYS AGO
Just out of interest, are there any decent field guides to these areas, Tim? Africa and Asia have got pretty good coverage but what about South America? I read about a trip to Brazil in which the birder said the new guide to Brazil he used was better than nothing but only just.
E
Hi Dan
birds of Peru by Clements and Shany
it's usable but Birds of Colombia by Steve Hilty is very useful too and for me is the best field guide ever written
Birds of South America Vols 1 and 2 are excellent with great artwork by Guy Tudor and are a steal pricewise
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1) For the Amazon, north Andean and north-east dry regions try "Birds of Ecuador". Yes, "plates are [in a] real 1950s style". But, even though they don't look like they are about to leave the plates, they are quite precise and works fine in the field. The text is quite good aswell. Regarding the Amazon, the main problem is the endemic zone of Amazonian SE Peru (shared with N Bolivia and W Brazil). Many endemics, best covered by;
2) "Birds of South America" vol. 1 & 2. There have been recent talks about finishing up the job and making the two final volumes (which would cover non-Passerines). I personally doubt it will happen. Not that it matter, as the Passerines covered in vol. 1 & 2 are of much greater importance in terms of ID.
3) "Birds of the High Andes" by Krabbe & Fjeldsaa. An expensive, yet highly recommendable book. Has become a referance work, and is highly useful in the high Andes from Venezuela in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south. Very good and precise plates. Many people copy plates from this book for their trip to Peru/Bolivia.
4) "Birds of Machu Picchu". A small, yet highly recommendable guide made by Barry Walker. Good, as it covers a great part of the species found in the Yungas endemic region (only shared with Bolivia).
5) "Field Guide to the Birds of Chile", by Alvaro Jaramillo. Highly recommendable, and (obviously) especially good for southern Peru and pelagics.
6) "Handbook of the Virds of the World" vol. 8 covers a large percentage of the South American species - i.e Ovenbirds, Woodcreeper, Antbirds, Ground Antbirds, Gnateaters & Tapaculos. The next volume will cover another large chunk of the Neotropical birds; most importantly Cotingas, Manakins & Tyrant-flycatchers. Copys of plates from vol. 8 are already seen commonly in the field, and I am quite sure the same will be the case with plates from vol. 9. For a few of the problematic genera in Hummingbirds, plates from vol. 5 are useful.
6)... wait for the new guide for Peruvian birds - it is in preparation, and should be in press within the next few years.
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Last edited by Rasmus Boegh : Yesterday at 03:16.
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