Ecuador

• Birdingpal Pablo Andrade's books.
  Flora Y Fauna Guia Del Sur Occidente Del Ecuador (Spanish Edition) by Chris Jiggins and Pablo Andrade Eduardo Cueva
  El libro proporciona la información en 76 especies de pájaros, de plantas, de mamíferos y de insectos de Ecuador. Cada descripción de la especie es acompañada por una ilustración así como la información sobre la ecología, los nombres locales y las aplicaciones. Los beneficios de la venta de esta guía irán hacia la conservación del bosque en Ecuador.
  Equador Nature Guide: Southwest Forests by Chris Jiggins and Pablo Andrade Eduardo Cueva
• Birds of Ecuador - Robert Ridgely and Paul Greenfield Cornell Univ. Press, 2001. This long-awaited, monumental work depicts nearly all of the 1,600 species known to have occurred in Ecuador. Ninety-six beautiful color plates, detailed species accounts, covering voice, behavior, habitat, nesting and distribution. Range maps aid in locating specific birds. Because this definitive guide is quite hefty at 760 pages, we recommend "splitting" the book.
  For a more portable and convenient alternative to carrying the full field guide, we can "split" your guide. We can remove the 96 plates that occupy the middle section of the book, bind them in a plastic spiral binding, and do the same with the remaining text. One may choose to carry only the plates with the short descriptions while in the field, leaving the text at the lodge to refer to later- eliminating more than 70% of the weight of the book! 760 pages 61/2 x 9 1/2, 96 color illustrated plates; range maps.
  A Neotropical Companion Second Edition - John Kricher Princeton University Press, 1997
  This is an extensively expanded and revised edition of the classic originally published in 1989. The geographical focus of the first edition was Central America while the new book is expanded to equally treat South America. It is an extraordinarily readable introduction to the birds, animals, plants and ecosystems of the New World tropics. Krichner presents the complexities of tropical ecology as accessible and nonintimidating with just the right amount of informality and humor. The most comprehensive one volume guide to the neotropics. Highly recommended. 451 pages, 6 x 9, color photographs and line drawings
  The New World Tropics; An Introduction for Naturalists - Richard K. Walton, Brownbag Productions, 2005. This new DVD is a must-have for the first-timetropical visitors as well as more seasoned travellers. Filmed at three of the moust famous eco-lodges in the world - The Asa Wright Center in Trinidad, La Selva in Costa Rica, and Chan Chich in Belize - The DVD presents a superb introduction to the world's more biologically diverse region. Dazzling footage of birds, butterflies, trees and orchids. Highly recommended for birders, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts.
  Birds of Tropical America: A Watchers Introduction to Behavior, Breeding, and Diversity - Steven Hilly University of Texas Press, 2005.
  Back in print, Birds of Tropical America offers a comprehensive look into the lives of some of the most fascinating birds in the world. Topics such as why antbirds don't eat ants, why tropical birds are so colorful (or not), an how hummingbirds survive and even prosper in the high Andes are covered. Hilly writes with knowledge, grace, and humor. You'll come back to this wonderful book every tie you're lucky enough to return to the neotropics. 312 pages 6x9 illustrations.
  Tropical Nature - Adrian Forsythe and Ken Miyata Scribners, 1984. Fascinating introduction to the extraordinary richness of plant and animal life in the lowland rainforests of the neotropics. In 17 chapters, each with a brief essay on tropical nature observed, the authors evoke the magic and wonder of a world completely contained within itself. 248 pages, 5 1/2 x 8 1/4 illustrations.
  Ecuador; The Ecotravelers' Wildlife Guide - Lee Beletsky Academic Press, 2000. This unique guide features nearly 350 of the most common amphibians, reptiles, ammals and birds - the species you are actually likely to see. This beautifully illustrated and easy-to-carry guide provides up-to-date info on the ecology, behavior, and conservation of all of the families of the species described. Common plants and habitats are also covered. While it won't replace any one field guide, Beletsky's book provides a wonderful overview of Ecuador's rich wildlife. Special bonus is a section on the Galapagos Islands with color plates on all the endemics. Highly recommended. 462 pages, 5 3/8 x * 1/2, full-color illustrated plates
  Where to Watch Birds in South America - Nigel Wheatley Princeton University Press, 1995. Excellent guide to a bird-rich continent. Detailed bird lists of specialties, endemics, and near endemics in all the country's habitats make this a great tool for preparing for your adventure. 431 pages 5 x 8.25.
  Map of Ecuador - International Travel Maps and Books. The best map of the country you can get! All major roads, national parks and topography. It's good to know where you've been!
  Wildlife of the Galapagos - Julian Fitter, Daniel Fitter, David Hosking - Princeton U Press 2000. The most complete identificaation guide to the wildlife of the Galapagos. Over 200 commonly seen species of birds, mammals, reptiles, invertebtrates, plants and coastal and marine life. Info on the history, climate, geology, and conservation of the islands.
  254 pages 7.5x4.5 400 color photos, maps and drawings
  Recordings/DVDs: Birds of The Ecuadorian Highlands - Niels Krabbe, J.V. Moore, Paul Coopmans, Mitch Lysinger and R.S. Ridgely - John V. Moor Productions 2001. The four-CD publication presents vocalizations of nearly all bird species found in the high Andes of Ecuador. It contains over 860 separately announced recordings of 246 species and represents the first attempt to publish an audio series devoted entirely to the birds of the high Andes. It is outstanding in its completeness. Including not only song, but also a variety of calls of each species and distrcit subspecies, several of whihc are endemic to the region. The high Andes of Ecuador supports a diversity of habitats ranging from the cushion plants near the snowline through the high-elevation grassland, wetlands and Polylepis-Gynoxys woodland, to humid forest on the rainy slopes and dry scrub in the intermontane valleys. These habitats are occupied by different species of birds, each with a voice adapted to it's specific environment and life style. This CD-set is part of a series that will eventually cover all the birds of Ecuador, one of the the richest avifaunas in the World. WOW!
  4 compact discs, 2 booklets - The Birds of the Northwest Ecuador Volume I: The Uppoer Foothills and Subtropics - John V. Moore, Paul Coopmans, Robert S. Ridgely and Mitch Lysing - John V. Moore Productions, 1999.
  This three-CD publication presents vocalizations from 190 bird species and features over 425 separately announced recordings. The mid-elevaion montane and premontane forests of northwest Ecuador support a wealth of birdlife, including a large numbr of species and subspecies endemic to the exceptionally rich "choco Faunal Region". This important biogeographic area extends northward into western Colombia and this is the first audi opublication to feature a large number of these endemics. For some of the wider 0ranging species included in this publicaation, the discrening listener will note certain differences between the vocalizations presented and those of the same species (but usally a different subspecies) found elsewhere.
  3 compact discs, booklet - The Birds of Northwest Ecuador Volume II: The Lowlands and Lower Foothills - Jahn, Moore, Valenzuela Krabbe, Coopmans, Lysinger ad Ridgely - John V. Moore Publications 2003
  This two-CD publication includes vocalizations of many of the bird species found in the humid, wet lowlands and lower foothills if nortwestern Ecuador. It contains recordings of 253 species, many of them presented for the first time in an audio publicatioin. The goal of this summary version is to present the more often heard, most typical and spectacular bird sounds to tbe broader public. The area covered belongs to the "Choco Endemic Area", which extends northward into western Colombia. It supports an exceptionally rich birdlife and the highest number of endemic bird species of any bidemic Area are featured.
  2 compact discs - Birds of Southwest Ecuador - Coopmans, J.V.Moore, Krabbe, Jahn, Berg, Lysinger, Navarrete and Ridgely - John V. Moore Productions, 2004. Features almost 1000 separate vocalizations from 235 species found in Southwestern Ecuador. The habitats covered are diverse and range from desert, desert scrub and dry forest to humid forest, and also include lakes, marshes, salt ponds, sandy beaches, and mangroves. A large numbere of species and subspecies confined to the important "Tumbesian Endemic Area" are featured.
  5 compact discs, 68 page booklet
  Regards, Cheryl Korowotny, San Jorge Eco-Lodge and Botanical Reserves. The Magic Birding Circuit. http://www.eco-lodgesanjorge.com
• So, bird books? No such things as a birding guidebook as far as where to go, except for the extremely outdated Clive Davis book, that I'm not even sure where to get anymore, really. The Field Guide by Ridgely and Greenfield continues to be fantastic, though the ranges have been slightly off in Psittacidae and Caprimulgidae, somewhat in a few of the hummingbirds, too. David complained about the browns being too rufous and the rufous being too orange in the plates, but they are very good, despite, and we're all very happy with having that for Ecuador, finally. Forrest Rowland


• Birdingpal Steve Herrmann's book.
  I have recently finished an ebook titled "Birding Northwest Ecuador" and available on Amazon.com (also Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, and Amazon.it). It discusses in detail the primary birding locations in the Andean Central Valley and the Western Slopes of Ecuador. It provides detailed maps on how to reach each location by private vehicle or public transportation and includes trail maps and bird lists along with target species for the reserves. There are appendices listing valuable information such as embassies, transportation, lodging, restaurants and guides. This is the first in a series of guides with future supplements covering the eastern slopes and Amazon basin, western coastal regions, and the southern highlands.
  
  
  
  

  Ethiopia

  • For my trip to Ethiopia March 2007 we used Ian Sinclair and Peter Ryan’s Birds of Africa, South of the Sahara. A big book but properly the best guide available. It’s user-friendly but for many species only one illustration is used making it difficult to identify many birds. We also used Bird Recordings from Ethiopia by Steve Smith. 72 announced species. Home-made quality. It is available from WildSounds, UK e-mail address isales@wildsounds.com Knud Rasmussen
  
  
  

  Florida, USA

  • The best guide I can recommend For my area ( Sarasota and Manatee counties in Florida) is put out by our Audubon center. It is called HOTSPOTS OF SARASOTA AND MANATEE and is available through our website at Sarasotaaudubon.org
    All the birds in our area can be found in the Sibleys guide to Birds of North America (eastern edition). Rick Greenspun/Sarasota Audubon
  
  
  

  Finland

  • Field guide: definately this one: Mullarney, K., Svensson, L., Zetterström, D., et al.: Birds of Europe.
    Bird Finding Book: Hard to say as I have not seen any such book for Finland... Only book I know is Finding Birds in Finland by D. Gosney, but I it's out of print...
    CD's for Finland: Probably Schulze (2003): Vogelstimmens Europas, Nordafrikas und Vordasiens. Also All the bird songs of Britain and Europe by Jean C. Roché (1990). Olli Haukkovaara cruzan(AT)gmail.com
  • The best field guide is the Collins guide (Svensson, Mullarney, Zetterström, Grant) - the name and the authors seem to vary between editions, but you probably know what I mean. Jonsson's (Fat:) Birds of Europe is another great guide. About bird finding books I do not know, if there are any relevant ones. Usually foreign people wish to find forest owls, woodpeckers and some eastern passerines here, and most of these are not tied to certain places from one year to another.
    When it comes to CD's, Schulze's Vogelstimmen and Roché's and Chevereau's) Bird Sounds of Europe and NW Africa are the most used ones. Harri Högmander hogmande(AT)maths.jyu.fi
  • Identification guide: There are some recent good(ish) guides in Finnish, but definitely the best guide all over Europe is "Collins Bird Guide" (Svensson, Grant, Mullarney and Zetterstrom). Some twitchers recommend Jonsson's "Birds of Europe with North Africa and the Middle East" (which covers the same geographical area), but I think that's for advanced birders, with basic idea "how to mix birds" rather than how to tell them apart.
    If Finnish language is not a problem, I would recommend these: "Suomen lintuopas" (Koskimies) or "Suomalainen lintuopas" (Laine). They both have all the regular birds of Finland with good photographs (several ones/species), distribution maps and especially the first one uses plenty of visual symbols which may help foreign users. Laine's book got a prize as "the most beautiful science book" when it was published. Both of these books are largely sold in discount (under 20 euros) in bookstores and even mall stores.
    Site guide:"Where to Watch Birds in Scandinavia" (Aulen) covers some 40 birding hot spots (except for Iceland) per country in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
    In Finnish, last year was published "Lintutornit" ("Bird towers", by Södersved) which describes and maps all the bird towers in Finland. Pretty much of these towers are good birding sites. Helsinki visitors are recommended to get "Let's Explore Nature in Helsinki" (Nieminen and Haapala).
    Recording: There are some comprehensive Finnish collections, which unfortunately are very difficult to get. In large book series "Suomen luonto, linnut" (by Weilin + Göös Company) was published a three cd series (Bruun) and "Suuri suomalainen äänikirja linnuista" (Hanhela) comes with about 18 cassettes of all different voices in excellent quality. These books are large, not for field. In bookstores there are smaller books with CD's, which contain less species, eg "Laulava lintukuvasto" (Tinggaard, Lahti, Manninen and Voipio) and "Kotimaan linnut" (Koskimies and Lokki - NOTE: the CD is not always supported with the book).
    In Finland, Birdlife's Lintuvaruste (http://www.birdlife.fi/lintuvaruste/index.shtml) sells books, recordings, optics etc. They can be contacted at lintuvaruste@birdlife.fi. Karri Jutila k_karwin(AT)hotmail.com
  • The best field guide is absolutely Mullarneys and Svenssons book. I think there is no updated bird finding book. All I know are too old to use. And I think nobody is going to do a new book because it would be bad for some professional bird guides like Finnature and our own Ornio. Many Finnish birds are too difficult to put to any book - Owls are shown from their nests, nightsingers are not in same places in different years and so on. Of course the best places are easy to tell. Oulu area (Liminka bay, Hailuoto Island and so on) even there are no Yellow-breasted Buntings or Terek Sandpipers anymore, Parikkala Siikalahti (our place) in Eastern Finland, Kuusamo area and of course Lappland. Some of the famous places are not good anymore (for example Värtsilä).
    There are many CD's about Finnish birds, but I would recommend some of the European CD. The Finnish ones are not as good as some of the French CD's.
    So the best way to come to Finland is absolutely to do some birding of your own (and find a Birdingpal, Knud), but then if you really want to see as many birds as possible you really need to get a guide in some places. Janne Aalto, Parikkala, Suomi-Finland
  • Lot of information about birding in Finland can be found from my sites.
    http://koti.mbnet.fi/caligata
  
  
  

  France

  • For France birding, here' are my suggestions for books: The best field guide (to Europe in general) is without a doubt this one Birds of Europe by Killian Mullarney, Lars Svensson, Dan Zetterström, and Peter J. Grant. It is published by Princeton in North America, and by Collins in Europe. It also exists in French as well. There is also “Where to watch birds in France" published by Helm in the UK. The original in French is published by the LPO (Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux). Mike Bowman mbowman(AT)libertysurf.fr
  • For France (and Western Palearctic), I have a strong preference for Lars Jonsson's field guide (1a in French, 1b in English, 1c in German), large, very nice and detailed drawings (watercolor, as opposed to 1) Peterson small/simple drawings and maps separated from the monographies, 2 (photographies, which I dislike). One can have an idea of his paintings on his web site http://www.larsjonsson.se/ When it comes to bird finding book, I know of only one, recently re-edited by the French Bird Protection Society[2]. I think it's quite good.
    For CD's of bird songs, I like Jean-Claude Roché's ones[3], Les oiseaux d'Europe d'Afrique du Nord et du Moyen-Orient, Lars Jonsson. Translated by Philippe J. Dubois, Marc Duquet, Guilhem Lesaffre. Nathan editor. Published 01/2004. 560 pages, ISBN 2092410520, Birds of Europe with North Africa and the Middle East, Lars Jonsson, Translated by David Christie, A and C Black (Publishers), ISBN 0713680962. Die Vögel Europas und des Mittelmeerraumes, Lars Jonsson, Translated by Peter H. Barthel, Publisher: Franckh-Kosmos Verlag, ISBN 3440078280. Où voir les oiseaux en France, Nathan editor, published 03/2004, 400 pages, ISBN 2092611763. Tous les oiseaux d'Europe (4 CDs), Jean-Claude Roché, 396 species in systematic order, 297 minutes, Sittelle editor http://www.sittelle.com/. Olivier Debre, pyrrhocorax(AT)free.fr
  • The best field guide is "Le guide ornitho" and for finding birds I recommand "Où voir les oiseaux en France". These 2 books are available in english (Collins Bird Guide: the most complete field guide to the birds of Britain and Europe, and the second is Where to watch birds in France).
    For CD's, there is the excellent "Le coffret ornitho" by J.Roché in 10 vol, but I prefer "Coffret 17CD Die Vogelstimmen - Les Chants des oiseaux".
    Take a look at these websites: http://www.sittelle.com/ for CD's, DVD's, http://www.wildlifebooks.com/birdwatching/birdwatching.htm for books, http://www.lpo.fr/voyages/index.shtml some good birdtrips but in french only. Willy Maillard
  • Birders traveling to St. Pierre et Miquelon should choose a guide that provides good information on gulls and seabirds, and might even consider bringing “The Seabirds” by Peter Harrison. A dedicated gull guide, such as “The Gulls” by P.J. Grant, might also be of considerable use, particularly in the winter. Of the many excellent general-purpose field guides available, the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, and the Sibley Guide to the Birds of North America (either the large “original” Sibley or the smaller “Eastern North America” Sibley) will serve the purpose. Carrying a copy of Birds of Europe by Killian Mullarney, Lars Svensson, Dan Zetterström, and Peter J. Grant is not a bad idea, either – especially if you are visiting in the fall or winter. John Pratt, Ottawa
  
  
  

  Germany

  • For Germany birding, here' are my suggestions for books: A The best Field Guides are: - Svensson, Grant, Mullarney, Zetterstöm "Der neue Kosmos Vogelführer". Jonsson "Die Vögel Europas". Both are the German editions of the well-known guides. Bird finding book: There is a brandnew book - but only about Southern Germany. It's excellent - Moning, Wagner "Vögel beobachten in Süddeutschland". The authors also maintain their excellent website: http://www.birdinggermany.de/ - The 3 volume-edition "Vogelparadiese" is out of print and cannot be recommended today. The books are too old.
    CD's:- Andreas Schulze "Die Vogelstimmen Europas, Nordafrikas und Vorderasiens". Manfred Schleuning chleuning.Sontra(AT)t-online.de
  • Here in Germany I find the best field guide to be Pocket Guide to the Birds of Britain and North-West Europe (Paperback) by Chris Kightley, Steve Madge, Dave Nurney (Illustrator), published by Yale Univ. Press. The Collins field guide for Europe and N.Africa is very good, but the scope is so much broader, since it covers all of Europe, the Middle East and N. Africa. It's easier to have something more concise covering the area in which one lives. When I'm back in Monterey, California, USA, I use Roger Tory Peterson's A Field Guide to Western Birds. Bruce Belknap
  
  
  

  Ghana

  • "Birds of western Africa" by Ron Demey and Nik Borrow
    "Birds of Africa south of sahara" by Ian Sinclair and Peter Ryan
    Bird Recordings from Ghana
    "African Bird Sounds Vol. 2, West and Central Africa" by Claude Chappuis
  
  
  

  Greece

  • The book I recommend for Greece is Collins Bird Guide: The Most Complete Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe by Lars Svensson, Peter J. Grant, Killian Mullarney et al. Also, the best maps are printed by ROAD, and you can find them all over Greece in good bookstores and touristic stores. If you need more info concerning birds of Greece, please ask me. Spyros Skareas spyros_skareas(AT)hotmail.com
  • Here are a few words about a book for the Pelion region of Greece. The definitive book on birds covers the whole of Greece. Entitled "The Birds of Greece" by George Handrinos and Triantaphyllos Akriotis: ISBN 0-7136-3929-6 it is now unfortunately very hard to find a copy. A small book on The Birds of Pelion by myself, Barbara Martin is now available. It only contains information on 31 species out of a total 226 recorded in the region, but it's a start. Copies can be obtained by sending a cheque to the equivalent of £10 (English) to her at: The Post Office, Promyri, Pelion, Greece 37006. If you need any more information, just let me know. Barbara Martin
  
  
  

  Guatemala

  • Recommended books for birding Guatemala:
    1. Howell, S.N.G. & S. Webb (1995) A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America.> Oxford Univ. Press. 851 pages. ISBN 0198540124
    Comprehensive (and bulky) field guide for the region. I prefer this book over all other currently available guide books for its extensive information on ID, habitat, distribution, range maps, and Sophie Webb's outstanding drawings. The book has no illustrations of North American species; it requires a book for North American birds as companion.
    2. Eisermann, K. & C. Avendaño (2007)Lista Comentada de las Aves de Guatemala/Annotated checklist of the birds if Guatemala. 175 pages. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 849655340X. This checklist presents updated information on bird distribution in Guatemala, including range maps for 115 species, and is therefore a good companion to Howell & Webb's guide book. List of 725 bird species, incl. information about status, habitats and endemic species, along with detailed distribution maps, information on species to look for and species of special concern.
    3. To identify birds of North America and waterbirds in Guatemala, I recommend Sibley, D.A. (2000) National Audubon Society The Sibley guide to bird. Knopf, New York. 545 pages. ISBN 0679451226., which illustrates different plumages and all species in flight. For long birding hikes is more practical the smaller National Geographic Society Field guide to the birds of North America, currently available as 5th edition (ISBN 0792253140). Knut Eisermann, Cayaya Birding
    Annotaded checklist of the birds of Guatemala by Knut Eisermann & Claudia Avendaño
  
  
  

  Guyana

  • For birding in Guyana, "Birds of Venezuela" by Steve Hilty is the best bird book available so far. Another option is the "old version" of "Birds of Venezuela" by de Schauensee and Phelps, which covers almost all species in Guyana. Another great resource is "A Field Checklist of the Birds of Guyana" by Michael Braun, Davis Finch, Mark Robbins, and Brian Schmidt. It contains information about the habitat and abundance of nearly all the species found in Guyana. This is really h helpful for finding out what birds are common and which habitat you might find them in. This checklist is available online at http://www.mnh.si.edu/biodiversity/bdg/guybirdintro.html. Hard copies were once available, but I'm not sure if they still are. Nigel Wheatley's "Where to Watch Birds in South America" has a good bit of info about birding sites in Guyana. Christopher Colby colby(AT)solutions2000.net
  • For birding guides, the best one is now the Birds of Northern South America by Robin Restall, Clemencia Rodner and Miguel Lentino. Judy Karwacki
  
  
  

  Hawaii, USA

  • Field guide: Hawaii's Birds by the Hawaii Audubon Society. Lance Tanino lancemanu(AT)hotmail.com
  • The best bird guide for visitors to Hawaii is the newly revised "Hawaii's Birds" Sixth Edition. Published by the Hawaii Audubon Society, P. O. Box 4714, Honolulu, HI 96812. A more thorough but less field-friendly guide is the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific by H. Douglas Pratt, Phillip Bruner and Delwyn G. Berrett. Keith Swindle
  • Hawaii Wildlife Viewing Guide written by Jeanne L. Clark details viewing locations for wildlife on all the major Hawaiian islands. Introduce your family and friends to responsible viewing of the wonders of birds, whales and dolphins, sea turtles and monk seals on your Hawaii vacation. Available on-line at www.hawaiiwildlife.org. The Hawaii Audubon Society's Hawaii's Birds is always excellent. Annette Kaohelaulii, President, Hawaii Ecotourism Association
  • A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Hawaii: The Main Islands and Offshore Waters. University of Hawaii Press by Jim Denny. Hawaii’s Birds/DVD. Hawaii Natural History Society by Jim Denny 2005
  
  
  

  Hong Kong, China

  • For Hong Kong birding, here' are my suggestions for books: In regards field guides, I can offer the following: Hong Kong - 'The Birds of Hong Kong and South China' by Clive Viney et al, published by HK Govt. and available from the Govt. website http://bookstore.esdlife.com A steal at HK$158, lovely illustrations, now in its 8th edition so earlier mistakes have been corrected, this is THE book for the region. Includes species found on Hainan Island, but not Taiwan. Andy Smith, Hong Kong
  • Birdingpal Mark Brazil's new Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia (http://sites.google.com/site/birdsofeastasia/Home)
  
  
  

  Idaho, USA

  • 1) Idaho is divided into essentially two parts, the Mountains and the High Desert. Only easy way here is by air into Boise, the capital and a full service city, population 200,000+. Once one gets here an automobile is a must. There is not really any internal infrastructure called public transportation, no trains, few buses, no easy intrastate air service. You drive everywhere to get anywhere. That being said, we do have many places with great birding opportunities; state and/or federal parks, wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, a national monument and forests, lakes, rivers and ponds scattered all over. Most all accessable if you've the time. Over 400 documented species of birds.
    2) What do I recommend for bird guides? If you can only choose one, I say go for The Sibley Guide to Birds, the big one as opposed to the splits, the newer Western/Eastern editions. The drawings of the species varied plumages are larger and more plentiful and I like the Peterson method of using pointers to indicate critical identifiers. Drawbacks: weight, maps needing updating more often, lack of much descriptive text. I keep three copies, one by my computer, one in my truck at all times and one in a pack ready to go if someone calls to say "Let's go bird, I'll pick you up". The splits are more portable, lighter, maps are more recent, more text. Drawbacks: fewer and smaller drawings. The National Geographic, 4th ed., is a distant 2nd choice. There are, of course, other choices depending on one's own likes/dislikes about photos vs. drawings etc. I think I've most every field guide published for N. America. Use them all, too.
    3) Audio CD's/tapes, I have not much to say. Only rarely do I use them, never been really sure which are the truly good ones.
    4) On "where-to-go" birding in Idaho, go to www.fishandgame.idaho.gov. Remember, getting around the state could require a lot of driving; from Boise, north-to-south 10-12hrs, east-to-west 5-8hrs. on the road not counting stops along the way.
    5) Because of the driving, an Idaho atlas is necessary. There are two: the 1998 Idaho Atlas and Gazetteer published by DeLorme of Maine; the other is the 2005 Idaho Road and Recreation Atlas published by Benchmark Maps of Oregon.
    The DeLorme, while flawed and full of errors, is still the atlas all sighting locales are referenced to. The Benchmark is new on the market and not everyone has seen it yet, but I believe it will soon become the new Idaho master map reference, it's that much better.
    6) Websites and bulletin boards: There are two main boards that cover all or parts of the state. The Idaho Birders Linked Electronically site, ible@yahoo.com is the statewide network for Idaho. "Inland-nw-birders" at "Birdingonthe.Net" covers N. Idaho and E. Washington. Several of the Audubon chapters in the state have their own websites and can be accessed thru the National Audubon Society link for State, Centers and Chapters.
    Idaho's premier website for birding is IdahoBirds.net. It has a calendar of events and the latest state checklist (July 05) in a downloadable pdf format and more. Since Idaho uses a Latilong (one degree of latitude by one degree of longitude) system for reporting bird sightings there is also a "continuously-in-work-but-not-yet-completed" distribution guide that can be viewed on a species-by-species basis. Can be of great help for birders in locating some of their desired target species to best locale and/or time of year. R. Rowland
  
  
  

  India

  • 1. The Birds of Pakistan (2 Volumes) by T.J. Roberts, published by Oxford University Press,
    2. Birds of the Indian Sub-continent by Richard Grimett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp, published by Oxford University Press
    3. Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Sub-continent by Richard Grimett, Carol Inskipp and Tim Inskipp published by Oxford University Press
    4. Birds of Noerthern India by Richard Grimett and Tim Inskipp
    5. A Field Guide to the Birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives by Krys Kazmierczak, published by Om Book Service
    6. Birds of Western Ghats, Konkan and Malabar (including Birds of Goa) by Satish Pande et al, published by BNHS
    7. Birds of Kangra by Jan Willem den Besten, published by Moonpeak Publications
    8. A Birdwatchers’ Guide to India by Kryz Kazmierczak and Raj Singh, published by Oxford University Pres
    9. Birds and Mammals of Ladakh by Otto Pfister published by Oxford University Press
    10. Birds in Bhutan by Peter Spierenburg, published by Oriental Bird Club
    11. Photographic Guide to the Birds of Indian Sub-continent by Bikram Grewal, Bill Harvey and Otto Pfister
    Suresh C. Sharma
  • After my trip to India I recommend as a field guide: Birds of India by Richard Grimmett, Carold and Tim Inskipp. It is not the most user-friendly guide but the illustrations are good. I also used Birds of India by Bikram Grewal, Bill Harwey and Otto Pfister. It is much more user-friendly, but it uses photographs and it is difficult to identify almost all birds in it. Knud Rasmussen
  • Birds of the Western Ghats. Director: Sharad Apte. Producer: Bird Song Education Research & Publication
    Duration: 67 min. Synopsis: ** This is an audio visual CD. An innovative CD introducing Birds of Western Ghats with their original calls, songs with their lively colour photographs. Bird calls songs are recorded by well known ornithologists Mr. Sharad Apte with the help of sophisticated equipment. Recoding work is accomplishments of 10 years strenuous efforts.
    CDs availabe from www.synclinefilmstore.com Special discounts to members of Birdingpal
  
  
  

  Indonesia

  • A Field Guide To The Birds of Borneo, Sumatera, Java and Bali by John Mackinnon and Karen Phillipps. Jason Bugay Reyes
  
  
  

  Iowa, USA

  • I haven't lived in the area long, but here are a few recommendations:Along the eastern edge of Iowa (Mississippi River) the guide for Wisconsin is helpful Wisconsin's Favorite Bird Haunts by Daryl Tessen, 2000). For bird distribution (not bird-finding) the best book is Birds in Iowa by Thomas H. Kent and James J. Dinsmore, 1996. For learning bird songs of the region the best CDs are BIRD SONG EAR TRAINING GUIDE: Who Cooks for Poor Sam Peabody? by John Feith and the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs: Eastern Region (Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs). Best field guides are the standards: National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of NA, Peterson's Field Guide to Eastern Birds, Sibley Guide. Unfortunately there is no site guide for the state at this time, but the state ornithological website has a few detailed accounts (www.iowabirds.org). Jason Paulios, Iowa City jpaulios(AT)earthlink.net
  • For birding in Iowa, here are my suggestions. I think that the best references for identification are David Sibley's Guide to Birds and the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. Kenn Kaufman's Birds of North America and Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern North America are good pocket guides for quick reference in the field. I think that they are the best guides for new birders to start with, but this is a highly controversial point. The ideal bird finding guide for Iowa has not yet been written. Much of the most useful information for bird finding in Iowa is passed along by word of mouth and by the state birding e-mail list. The Iowa Ornithologists' Union web site includes a link to the IA-BIRD listserve. It also has a site guide with directions to some of the more popular birding sites in Iowa, but many excellent sites are missing from this guide at the present time. It's web address is as follows: http://www.iowabirds.org/places/site_guide.asp More sites are being added gradually, so this resource may be more comprehensive in the future. For now, the only book available that covers many of the birding sites in Iowa is the Falcon Iowa Wildlife Viewing Guide. Birds in Iowa by Kent and Dinsmore also has some information on finding certain species and is an especially useful reference for dates of occurrence of all species in Iowa. The most comprehensive CD for the sounds of birds in this region is the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs: Eastern Region . Al Brown
  
  
  

  Iraq

  • Birding Babylon: A Soldier's Journal from Iraq by Jonathan Trouern-Trend
    ISBN: 1578051312 Publisher: Sierra Club Books - May 2006 Format: Hardcover, 80pp. Christina Lee Kessler. christina.kessler(AT)us.army.mi
    The Birds of Iraq Book, recently published by Nature Iraq, in a joint project with Birdlife International and with support from the Canada-Iraq Marshland Initiative (CIMI), is now available for purchase in Jordan & Iraq. Amman Office of Nature Iraq. The price of the book in Jordan is 14 JD or $20 USD. Shipment from Jordan can be arranged at an additional cost. For ordering from Jordan, write to info(at)natureiraq.org or call +962 6 5923736.
  
  
  

  Ireland

  • The best field guides for Ireland are The Collins guide to Birds of Britain and Europe (Zetterstrom,Peterson, Mullarney etc)a and the Complete Guide to Birds of Ireland by Eric Dempsey. Regards Owen Foley
  • I am a professional bird guide, writer, speaker and broadcaster. I am the author of the best-selling and award winning, Complete Guide to Ireland's Birds (1993 with a revised edition in 2002), the Pocket Guide to the Common Birds of Ireland and, in 2007, 'The Complete Guide to Finding Birds in Ireland'. The Finding Birds book details over 400 birding sites in the country and has received excellent reviews in Ireland and the UK. Eric Dempsey
  • A valuable new publication for visitors to Ireland is FINDING BIRDS IN IRELAND - The Complete Guide by Eric Dempsey and Michael O'Clery, published by Gill and McMillan. Dermot McCabe
  
  
  

  Italy

  • For Italy birding, here' are my suggestions for books: I would definitively recommend "A birdwatcher's guide to Italy" by Luciano Ruggieri and Igor Festari Lynx Edicions 2005. Marco Girardello girardellomarco(AT)yahoo.it
  • There is not any Field guide about Italian birds. The best is Svensson guide. There is an ongoing publication on Italian avifauna with status photo consevation not in English (vol III due to be published within a few months) by P Brichettiand Fracasso. The best birding guide is the brand new A Birdwatcher’s Guide to Italy by my great friends and excellent birders L Ruggieri and I Festari(Lynx ed). Gianluigi Castelli pedrolamar(AT)tiscali.it
  • At the moment, in Italy has been published only one Bird Finding book A Birdwatcher's Guide to Italy by L Ruggieri and I Festari, 2005, that therefore it is the "best book" available. Nevertheless, if you want my opinion on books and CD to make birwatching in Italy, these are: Collins Bird Guide, by L Svensoon, K Mullarney, D Zetterstrom and P J Grant. All the Bird songs of Britain and Europe, by J C Roché (4 CD set). Marcello Grussu, Sardinia, Italy
  • A Birdwatcher's Guide to Italy, Finding most important Italian birds Luciano Ruggieri and Igor Festari 303 pages, maps.Lynx Edicions Softcover | 2005 | £18.95 | approx. $34/¤28 ISBN: 8487334865. Guide to finding birds in Italy, incl. Sardinia and Sicily. You can buy it online at http://www.nhbs.com/title.php?bkfno=156489. It came out late last year, so it has up to date information. It's authors are among the founding members of EBN Italy (http://www.ebnitalia.it/), the first Italian birdwatching organisation and mailing list, of which I am a member and which publishes a six-monthly newsletter on CD-ROM. More information, especially about the Po Delta area, one of Italy's foremost birdwatching areas can be found on: http://www.birdinitaly.net/
    As for field guides, again, the Italian ones are mostly translations of older "historical" guides such as the Bruun-Singer and the Peterson-Mountfort-Hollom, but most serious birders tend to use the Collins Bird Guide (Mullarney, Svensson, Zetterstrom) (in English), which is regarded as the best field guide for Europe and the Western Palearctic. In Italian there is also the new edtion of Hayman and Hume's, which fits in your pocket and has a lot of good-quality illustrations for each bird, but only covers "regular" species (no vagrants). I keep it in the car or take it with me if I am going anywhere on a non-birdwatching trip. Cristiana Marti, Abbadia San Salvatore - Siena Italy
  
  
  

  Jamaica

  • 1. Birds of the West Indies - Herbert Raffaele et al It is a good easy reference guide with 94 colour plates and is useful throughout the West Indies. Extremely useful for Caribbean endemics which are resident in Jamaica and for our summer visitors. ISBN 0691-11319-X
    2. The North American Bird Guide - David Sibley. This is a well illustrated work and invaluable for identifying many of our resident birds and the large numbers of migrants and vagrants that we find in Jamaica. ISBN 1-873403-98-4
    3. New World Warblers - Helm Identification Guides - John Curson et al. Excellent book with very detailed descriptions of warblers (mostly migrant) that are found in Jamaica. The colour plates are superb and a real aid to identification of birds in non-breeding plumage. ISBN 0-7136-3932-6
    4. Birds of Jamaica - Audrey Downer and Robert Sutton. Superb photographs and text on Jamaican endemics. Sadly out of print but a few copies can still be found. ISBN 0-521-38309-9. Regards Vaughan Turland
    http://www.reliableadventuresjamaica.com, 876 8654257
  • "Birds of Jamaica" by Haynes -Sutton, Downer, Sutton. "Important Bird Areas in The Caribbean" by David Wege & Veronica Anadon-Irizarry. "Birds of North America" by David Sibley. "Bird Songs in Jamaica" by George B. Reynard and Robert L. Sutton.
    Vaughan Turland Birdingpal guide
  
  
  

  Japan

  • The two excellent field guides in English now available are (1) Birds of East Asia, by Mark Brazil (Helm Field Guides, A & C Black), London 2009, ISBN 9780713670400 and (2) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North-east Asia, by Tadao Shimba (Christopher Helm, A & C Black), London 2007, ISBN 9780713674392. The former has in-depth text including extensive discussion of subspecies, and it is illustrated with generally excellent drawings, while the latter (obviously) uses photographs. Both are focussed on Japan but cover a much wider area. The text of the photographic guide is minimal, but it does do a pretty good job of covering multiple plumages and is a good adjunct to Brazil's key field guide.
    There are two English-language birdfinding guides, both out of print: A Birdwatcher's Guide to Japan, by Mark Brazil (1987), ISBN 0-87011-849-8 and A Birder's Guide to Japan, by Jane Washburn Robinson (1987), ISBN 0-934797-02-1. Both are growing outdated as civilization makes inroads, but they are still quite functional. Use both (if the miracle of their concurrent possession should occur), as their information is often complementary, but either is good on its own. The Wild Bird Society of Japan bookstore still has new copies of the Brazil birdfinding guide in stock, as does Dr Brazil himself (markbrazil@world.email.ne.jp), but the WBSJ website and bookstore use only Japanese, and they do not mail-order outside of the country.
    The really major, best-known sites are mentioned in Where to Watch Birds in Asia, by Nigel Wheatley, Princeton UP, 1996, ISBN 0691012148, and the Tokyo area is well covered in Where to Watch Birds in World Cities, by Paul Milne, Christopher Helm 2006, ISBN 9780713669831.
    The major authoritative reference work in English is Mark Brazil's The Birds of Japan (1991), ISBN 0-7136-8006-7. It is a detailed survey of the status and seasonal distribution of all species which have occured in the country. It is not a field guide, however, and the only birds illustrated in colour (there are numerous line drawings) are the endemics. Available at www.wildsounds.com.
    A much older English-language field guide, Field Guide to the Birds of Japan, by the Wild Bird Society of Japan (WBSJ) and illustrated by S. Takano, has been out of print for several years, and is poorly illustrated by today's standards, while the text and taxonomy are considerably out of date. Used copies occasionally appear for sale at exorbitant prices, but are not worth the money now. An adequate substitute for the Takano field guide is A Field Guide to the Birds of Korea, Lee, Koo & Park, (2000), ISBN 89-951415-1-4, which covers many of Japan's accidentals and rarities in more detail than the Takano book, but lacks information on Japan's strict endemics, many of its pelagics, and species of the tropical islands south of Kyushu. Birds of East Asia (2009) has now completely overshadowed these older guidebooks now.
    For the multilingual, there are a number of excellent, up-to-date national and regional field guides (both photographic and with paintings) and birdfinding guides in Japanese-- and usually available only in Japan. One good field guide is A Guide for Bird Lovers: 630 Birds (Japanese Society for the Preservations of Birds, 2002), ISBN 4-87246-532-6. It has an English index and English names in the species entries, but all else is in Japanese, so a non-speaker can glean no further information from the entries beyond the range maps and good illustrations.
    The best Japanese-language photographic field guide is the two-volume work, Nihon no Tori 550, by Masashi Kirihara, Norio Yamagata, Toshiyuki Yoshino and Himaru Iozawa, 2000, ISBN 4-8299-0163-2 and -3 respectively . The first volume is called Mizube no Tori (Waterbirds), covering everything from divers to terns. The second installment is called Sanya no Tori (mountain birds), which covers raptors to crows. What sets it apart from the other guides is the number of photos illustrating plumages other than adult and subspecies and depth of description (albeit in Japanese).
    The most comprehensive CDs of Japanese birdsongs is the 6-CD set published by Shogakkan, called The Songs and Calls of 333 Birds in Japan (SNZ-480071-1 through -3 and SNZ-400072-4 through -6). The identifying voice on the tape is Japanese, but they do come with a trilingual (Japanese-English-Latin) index. Again, difficult to obtain if you are non-Japanese and outside the country.
    The above information has been recompiled and updated June 2009 from earlier postings by Mike Yough, Tony Bannister (igirisujinATjapan.com), Charles Harper (mistermicawberATgmail.com), Herb Bastuscheck (japanherbATyahoo.com), Sean Minns (minnsfujiATyahoo.com), and Mark Brazil (markbrazilATworld.email.ne.jp). Charles Harper, Yokohama
  
  
  

  Kansas, USA

  • First of all, thanks for Birdingpal! I hooked up with a swell guy in the Netherlands, when I was living there last year.
    I live in the state of Kansas in the U.S. - the northeastern part of this rather large state. The books to have are the following: Zimmerman, John L. and Patti, Sebastian T. A Guide to Bird Finding in Kansas and Western Missouri. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1988. ISBN 0-7006-0366-2. This is still the most useful guide to find places and match them to seasons and species.
    Thomson, Max C. and Ely, Charles. Birds in Kansas . (2 volumes). Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1989 and 1992. ISBNs: 0-89338-027-X (vol. 1) and 0-89338-040-7 (vol. 2). Not a field guide but a reference work - VERY thorough, though it's getting a bit outdated as to record sighting dates and county records. (hope they update it)
    Also see the Kansas Ornithological Society web site: http://www.ksbirds.org/kos/index.html for rare bird alerts, birding locations, etc.
    In our neighboring state of Missouri, the Audubon Society publishes A Guide to Birding in Missouri. For St. Louis, use Birds of the St. Louis Area and Where to Find Them, published by the Webster Groves Nature Study Society, in that city. All of these books are available via the American Birding Association on-line store. The Missouri Dept. of Conservation publishes a free pamphlet, Enjoying Missouri's Birds, that has a terrific chart of species, with abundance by month and by habitat. This works well for the eastern fourth of Kansas, as well.
    For the US more generally, the National Geographic Guide to Birdwatching Sites (2 vol) is very helpful - we are in the "Eastern US" volume. Joe Harrington, Lawrence
  
  
  

  Kazakhstan

  • GAVRILOV, E. I. (2000): Guide to the Birds of the Kazakhstan Republic. Published by the author, Almaty. (Available from www.osme.org) KAZMIERCZAK, K. and B.v. PERLO (2000): A Field Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. Pica Press, ---. RYABITSEV, V.K. (2001): Ptitsy Urala, Priuralya, i Zapadnoy Sibiri. Thesis, Yekaterinburg (russ.). Hard to get, if you want to have a copy, please write me an e-mail. SVENSSON, L., K. MULLARNEY, DAN ZETTERSTRÖM and P.J. GRANT (2001): The Complete Guide to the Birds of Europe. Princeton, London. Mark Ashcroft
  
  

  Kenya

  • BIRDS OF KENYA AND NORTHERN TANZANIA by Zimmerman.
    BIRDS OF EAST AFRICA by Terry Stevenson and John Fanshawe
  
  

  Korea

  • Birdingpal Mark Brazil's new Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia (http://sites.google.com/site/birdsofeastasia/Home)
  
  
  

  Main, USA

  • Currently there is only one book available for the State of Maine. "A birders Guide to Maine" Elizabeth C. Pierson, Jan Erik Pierson and Peter Vickery 1996 Down East Books PO Box 679 Camden, ME 04843 This book is pretty good at the local level, I can attest to that in the Down East area. Though some of the info is a little dated it still is pretty acurate. I have been told that Peter Vickery is involved in putting together a new book, though I'm not sure when it will be completed. The only other guides that would pertain to Maine would of course, be bird guides to New England, of which there are several. I hope this info is helpful take care. In reference to the local guides; the Peirsons, Jan Erik and Elizabeth C., also created "The Birders Guide to Coastal Maine", 1981. I have not read the book so I cannot give my opinion, though if it's similar to their other publication I'm sure its is pretty acurate. Barry Southard, Machias
  
  
  

  Mali

  • Best field guide is without a doubt Birds of West Africa - the field guide version- 2005- Borrow and Demey. Best CD's are Claud Chappuis' 11 CD set. That same set of CD's is for North and West-Central Africa. There is no birdfinding guide yet for Mali. Maybe when I retire I will write one. Callan Cohen was recently in country and did a trip, so we slowly but surely gather info. There's a lot of places I have not yet been. Mary Crickmore
  
  
  

  Malaysia

  • 1) New Holland Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia New by C. Robson, 2005, Paperback; 304 pages,ISBN 1843307464
    2) A Field Guide to the Birds of West Malaysia and Singapore by Allen Jeyarajasingam and Alan Pearson
    3) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia by M. Strange, 2000, Paperback, 400 pages, ISBN 9625934030
    Lee Kok Chung kclee(AT)endemicguides.com
  • Title: Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia - New Edition, Author: C. Robson, Publicher: New Holland 2005, Paperback; 304 pages, ISBN 1843307464
    Ahli Chung ahlichung(AT)yahoo.com
  • I find that there are no "best" field guide for Birds of Malaysia. The most comprehensive is written by Allen Jeyarajasingam and Allan Pearson "A field Guide to the Birds of West Malaysia and Singapore" (Oxford University Press). However the illustrations by Allan Pearson resulted in "fat" birds and some errors of illustration. Allen Jeyarajasingam also collaborated with Morten Strange and co=authored "Birds: a photografic guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore" (Sun Tree Publishing Limited, Singapore; 1993)
    My wife and I prefer to use the Thai book, "A Field Guide to the Birds of Thailand" by Boonsong Lekagul and Philip D. Round. The illustrations of the 900 odd species by Mongkol Wongkalasin and Kamol Komolphalin are very accurate although there are a few errors. A new field guide to the Birds of Thailand by Craig Robson is also one that we increasingly use as it is more comprehensive with the addition of the 30+ species from the south, which were left out of Boonsong's book (the south was a hotbed for communist insurgency so the jungles were mined and no one dare to venture there until the ceasefire and eventual peace treaty). Hope this is sufficient for you to put for general knowledge. Happy birding. Cheaw Hon Ming
  
  
  

  Maryland, USA

  • Finding Birds in the National Capital Area by Claudia Wilds. T. Beal THBeal(AT)aol.com
  • For the Baltimore Region the Birder’s Guide to Baltimore City/County. It was a collaborative effort by members of the Baltimore Bird Club. It is $10 per copy and if anyone wants a copy they can email me and I can get them one. Wendy Olsson
  
  
  

  Massachusetts, USA

  • David Sibley, http://www.sibleyguides.com/, has the what I consider to be the ultimate field guides for North America. He has also taken the time to separate his original oversized guide with and East Coast Version and a West Coast Version: SIBLEY'S GUID TO BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA and SIBLEY'S GUIDE TO BIRDS OF WESTERN NORTH AMERICA. All his publication are listed on his website: http://www.sibleyguides.com/publications.htm. I like to use this guide because he has a leader page that lists side views of all the birds of that general description: i.e.; gulls, kittiwakes. A Birder not familiar with field markings of the Birds of this area has an opportunity to choose the side view [from smallest to largest] most resembling what is seen...a good starting point. Calls are also noted in the text. Ara Charder arastours(AT)yahoo.com
  • Birding Western Massachusetts. Habitat Guide to 26 Great Birding Sites written and illustrated by Robert Tougias. Birding Western Massachusetts features 26 great birding locations in Western Massachusetts. Every site has been chosen either for diversity and volume of bird life, or for its unique and rare birds. All sites are easily accessible and are open year-round. Whether you are an avid birder looking for specific birds, or a casual nature enthusiast with an interest in seeing different kinds of birds, this guide will provide you with everything you need to make your experience a success.
    Author Robert Tougias presents a "habitat" approach to birding, showing how to use the awareness of habitat to find birds. With mountains, meadows, rivers, and reservoirs, a wide variety of habitats exist in western Massachusetts. Within each habitat, a unique set of birds can be found. And what a variety! There are over 100 different birds nesting in western Massachusetts, and at least 200 different birds that migrate through the region -- a total of over 300 different birds are recorded annually through the seasons. Few people realize the ideal situation of such a large variety of birds, together with a large number of easily accessible places in which to see them. It is a winning combination for every birder at every level to enjoy. This guide allows you to seize this opportunity in an easy, user-friendly way. Bob Tougias rtougias(AT)snet.net
  • Birding Cape Cod (2005 edition) compiled by the Cape Cod Bird Club, published by On Cape Publications P.O .Box 218, Yarmouth Port MA, 02675 USA http://www.oncapepublications.com Excellent information on birding by season, habitats, and tides, easy-to-read maps and parking recommendations for all sites. In Massachusetts, this guide is available in birding stores and Massachusetts Audubon gift shops as well as from the publisher. Pat White
  
  
  

  Mexico

  • I`ll send you the best site for birdwatching in north of Quintana Roo, where you can see about 80 or 100 species in one birding 06:00 to 13:hours
    Botanical Garden DR. ALFREDO BARRERA MARIN Central Vallarta, Boca del Puma, Tres Bocas, siete bocas y verde lucero these site It´s a 20 km Botanical Garden across hightway in Puerto Morelos, Q. Roo Coba and Punta Laguna Muyil, Boca paila and vigia chico part of Sian Ka`an Felipe Carrillo Puerto. These site It`s the best for birdwatching in all site can you to see about 280 species in one or two week. The best field guide are for me: A guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America, Steve N. G. Howel and Sophie Webb, Oxford University, Field Guide to the birds of North America National Geographic, Four Edition. AMERICAN BIRD CONSERVANCY`S FIELD GUIDE: ALL THE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. These three books is best for birdwatching. Luis Ku, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo motmotbird(AT)hotmail.com
  • My recomendations for Mexico are the next field guides: Mexico its between two regions neartic and neotropical, then you need to use many guides that compliment: A guide to the birds of México and Northern Central America, National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Aves de México of Peterson and Chalif. I think the Spanish version is more complete than the english version. Sibley field guide to the Birds Western or Eastern North America. Alejandro from Querétaro, México ale220171(AT)yahoo.com
  • I would think that the best birding guide here in Mexico is Birds of Mexico and Central America by Howell and Web. The field guide to birds of North America by National Geografic, in winter we have many resident from the north that are not ilustrated in the Howell's book, so the National is convinient to carry in the field for its size and exellent illustration. Roque Antonio
  • If Howell and Webb is too much guide for you you can scan the plates and just print them into a booklet. The illustrations are a nice resource, that I use to supplement Ber van Perlo's 2006 guide, Birds of Mexico and Central America. I now carry less than 2lbs of bird books to Mexico, as van Perlo's is a slim and lightweight companion to the Sibley's Field Guide to Birds of Western North America (which I take for more information about neotropical migrants). I also enjoy reading Howell's A Bird Finding Guide to Mexico and often photocopy pages for a particular day's adventure so I don't have to pack it everywhere. Birdingpal Dannie Carson
  
  
  

  Missouri, USA

  • First of all, thanks for Birdingpal! I hooked up with a swell guy in the Netherlands, when I was living there last year. I live in the state of Kansas in the U.S. - the northeastern part of this rather large state. The books to have are the following: Zimmerman, John L. and Patti, Sebastian T. A Guide to Bird Finding in Kansas and Western Missouri. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1988. ISBN 0-7006-0366-2. This is still the most useful guide to find places and match them to seasons and species. Thomson, Max C. and Ely, Charles. Birds in Kansas. (2 volumes). Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1989 and 1992. ISBNs: 0-89338-027-X (vol. 1) and 0-89338-040-7 (vol. 2). Not a field guide but a reference work - VERY thorough, though it's getting a bit outdated as to record sighting dates and county records. (hope they update it). Also see the Kansas Ornithological Society web site: http://www.ksbirds.org/kos/index.html for rare bird alerts, birding locations, etc.
    In our neighboring state of Missouri, the Audubon Society publishes A Guide to Birding in Missouri. For St. Louis, use Birds of the St. Louis Area and Where to Find Them, published by the Webster Groves Nature Study Society, in that city. All of these books are available via the American Birding Association on-line store. The Missouri Dept. of Conservation publishes a free pamphlet, Enjoying Missouri's Birds, that has a terrific chart of species, with abundance by month and by habitat. This works well for the eastern fourth of Kansas, as well.
    For the US more generally, the National Geographic Guide to Birdwatching Sites (2 vol) is very helpful - we are in the "Eastern US" volume. Joe Harrington, Lawrence
  
  
  

  Mongolia

  • Actually there is almost no special guide book for Mongolian birds by now. It has a some clear reasons, for example the bird checklist of Mongolia is still not complete (now 464 species). Our birds are from many different resources:
    - from Siberia
    - from Korea and Manjuur(North East China)
    - from Central Asian desert
    - from SouthEast Asia
    - from Australia and otherPacific countries
    So we usually use different kind of field guidebooks of many regions. But I have some recommendations, to those books which useful in my last trips.
    1. Birds of Europe by Killian Mullarney, et al. 2001 year. It includes about 80% of our birds. This guidebook useful for Mongolia
    2. Birds of Khentii region in Mongolia by N.Tzeveenmaydag, N.Bold 2005 year. The guidebook from Science Academy of Mongolia, the illustrations isn't good, but other informations are useful, such as distribution and status. It has over 300 species. The Khentii region is center and east part of Mongolia.
    3. A field guide to the Birds of China by John Mackinnon, Karen Phillipps 2000 year. Important thing is it includes the most species of Mongolia. Howeverit's illustrations aren't good, it is better than nothing. If there is a new good guide book for birds of China, it must be important for Mongolian birds.
    4. I can't remember the name of this guide book, it is like as "Asian Waterbirds"... small book. The most birds of Mongolia are migrants from Siberia, India, Pakistan, South China, Korea, Japan, Australia etc. So birders can use those countries guide books in Mongolia. But we have some special and endemic species in Mongolia, those are difficult to identify, I'm trying to collect some pictures and materials about them, I can share it others.
    End of mail, I'm good guidebook for Mongolian birds. It's joke: By the way, I'm glad for new birders forum, soon I will join it, when my web become ready. Last year some birders visited from America and Germany, they found me with Birdingpals site. They enjoyed all the birds in Mongolia. Uugan Chulunnbaa
  
  
  

  Morocco

  • I think the most usefull birdguide in French (and not too heavy to take in the field), for Morocco, is, for the moment: "Le guide Ornitho" by Mullarney (K.), Svensson (L.), Zetterström (D.) and Grant (P. J.), Ed. Delachaux et Niestlé, Paris (tirage 2004). http://www.go-south.org for usefull informations for ornithology in Morocco. Jacques FRANCHIMONT. MEKNES - MOROCCO. j.franchimont(br)menara.ma
  • "Where to watch birds in Morocco" (Bergier) is really the best one, with maps, accomodations, species list (not only birds but mammals, reptiles, amphibians and orchids). Otherwise, the fieldguide to use would be "The Birds of Europe" or "Guide ornitho" (in french) from Svensson and all. There is also a song CD which is "Oiseaux du Maghreb" (J-C Roché), very well made. Olivier Fontaine
  
  
  

  Namibia

  • As field Guide I would go with Sasol´s Birds of Southern Africa, as a finding guide Hugh Chittendens top Birding Spots is the most recent. I was ask to comment on the Namibian section of the much belated Birdfinding Guide by Cohen and Roussouw... and at the time of reading 2000(??) I thought the information was outdated and lacked of any novel sites, hinged very much on old and already existing information, often outdated. Many birders and tours have cruised Nam since and a better job of deserving. Tropical Birding is busy putting together a birdfinding site which is yet not posted but coming.... CD wise I would reccomend Guy Gibbons collection... also his video collection and many other videos we are busy placing on the International Bird Collection http://www.hbw.com/ibc Christian Boix
  
  
  

  Netherlands

  • The information below is very similar to these from the surounding countries like Belgium, France and Germany but here it goes: There is a whole pile of fieldguides to choose from for The Netherlands but I like the Collins birdguide by K. Mullarney, L. Svensson, D. Zetterstrom and P. Grant the best. Another very good one with beautifull plates is Birds of Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East by Lars Jonsson.
    'Where to watch'like information is quite common in Dutch, but there's not much choice in English. The best one (although I have not used it myself) is probably "Where to watch birds in Holland, Belgium and Northern France" by Arnoud van den Berg en D. Lafontaine. Of course the relevant chapters in Wheatleys Where to watch birds in Europe (although very poor) and Gooders book could be consulted. There are seveal good sets with songs and calls but the old one of J. Roche "All the birdsongs of Brittain and Europe" is good and very complete for Western Europe. For recent news of national rarities you can check http://www.dutchbirding.nl at the section sightings. These are updated daily (in the evening. Pierre van der Wielen
  
  
  

  Nevada, USA

  • Having a site with recommended books/guides for travel ling birders is a good idea. My recommendations for North America are: Field guide: National Audubon Society: The Sibley Guide to Birds. Sibley, David Allen. Alfred A. Knopf, New York US$35.00. My recommendation is the large format, it having more aspects of each bird than the smaller edition. Yes, it is bigger than either of the European books I have: Peterson, et al., and Heinzel, et al, but I think the Sibley is worth it. Tour guide: American Birding Association: Birdfinder: A Birder's Guide to Planning North American Trips by Cooper, Jerry A. US$23.95. Lower 48, Churchill and Alaska. Tourist birder who comes to Las Vegas, I have these books. If your birder would wish to buy copies of his own, Amazon.com can ship them to me so you can collect here, or, at a perhaps greater expense, to addresses outside of the U.S. John Taylor
  
  
  

  New Brunswick, Canada

  • "Birding in New Brunswick" is an update of an earlier site guide I wrote in 1990 and now out-of-print. It is divided into 17 regions, each containing general and detailed seasonal information on specific sites.
    A lot of the information came from my personal observations from living and birding from Kouchibouguac, Saint John and Grand Manan supplemented by bird sightings posted on the NB ListServe site. Goose Lane Editions wanted photos, so I approached Merv Cormier and paid for more than 240 colour photos, which are spread throughout the 370-page book, along with many black-and-white photos selected by the publisher.
    The birds selected by Merv and me were those most appropriate to the regions in which they appear. Also included are a list of Local Contacts and Websites, a Local and Rare Species Index and a Site Index.
    It is not intended as a field guide, a role supplied by my "Birds of Atlantic Canada" published by Lone Pine in 2002. That book contained up-to-date species maps based on Maritimes Breeding Bird Atlas, Breeding Bird Surveys, Maritimes Shorebird Surveys and Christmas Bird Counts published up to 2000, which made them far more accurate than competing eastern North America field guides. The book also includes some local site information lacking in better-known field guides.
    The same format was used by Lone Pine in its series of state and provincial field guides. The unfortunate thing is that Lone Pine failed to promote the books, so even local residents often didn't know of their own state or provincial guide.
    Birdingpal Roger Burrows
  
  
  

  Newfoundland, Canada

  • “Newfoundland and Labrador (“Newfoundland”) is not served by its own field guide. However, any of the guides for North America will suffice. Birders traveling to Newfoundland and Labrador should choose a guide that provides good information on gulls and seabirds, and might even consider bringing “The Seabirds” by Peter Harrison. A dedicated gull guide, such as “The Gulls” by P.J. Grant, might also be of considerable use, particularly in the winter, when as many as 13 species of gulls in varying plumages can be seen in one day around St. John’s. Of the many excellent general-purpose field guides available, the most popular among Newfoundland birders are the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, and the Sibley Guide to the Birds of North America (either the large “original” Sibley or the smaller “Eastern North America” Sibley will serve the purpose). Newfoundland gets more than its fair share of European rarities, and carrying a copy of Birds of Europe by Killian Mullarney, Lars Svensson, Dan Zetterström, and Peter J. Grant is not a bad idea, either – especially if you are visiting in the fall or winter.
    Cam Finlay’s "Bird Finding Guide to Canada" – 2nd Edition” can be very useful for anyone planning a trip to Newfoundland. Be sure to get the SECOND Edition however, as the First Edition is badly out of date. Visitors to Newfoundland should check the Saturday editions of The Telegram for Bruce Mactavish’s birding column, entitled Winging It”. The column regularly reports on rare and interesting birds seen throughout the province. NOTE: Although The Telegram is available on-line, Winging It is not available without a paid subscription. The Checklist of the Birds of Insular Newfoundland is published by the Natural History Society of Newfoundland and Labrador, and is available at this website: http://www.cs.mun.ca/~nhs/cbc_etc/checklist.htm Hard copies can be purchased directly from the Society. Their website is: http://www.cs.mun.ca/~nhs/index.html
    John Pratt
  
  
  

  New Jersey, USA

  • For New Jersey (which includes world famous Cape May), The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America is the current field guide of choice. Boyle's "Birdfinding in New Jersey" is the best guide to local birding areas. Also check out www.njaudubon.org for latest sightings and other information, as well a as a source to order both. Gary Wilson
  • Guide - Sibley, National Geographic, Local site guide, Bill Boyle's Guide to birdfinding in NJ, John and Justin Harding's Birds of the Delaware Valley. Matt Sharp sharp(AT)acnatsci.org
  • I live near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. However, I am on the border of New Jersey, which is where I do most of my birding. For bird locations, I highly recommend “A Guide to Bird Finding in New Jersey” by William J. Boyle, Jr. Unfortunately, the equivalent guide for Pennsylvania is in my opinion the worst state guide I own (I have purchased and used over a dozen). The name is “Birder’s Guide to Pennsylvania” by Paula Ford. In my opinion, the directions lack the detail, clarity, and precision I’ve found in other guides. The whole book is simply too general.
    For my immediate region (encompassing southeastern PA, central and southern New Jersey, and northern and central Delaware) I also recommend “Birding the Delaware Valley Region” by John and Justin Harding. The book has not been updated since 1980, so some areas are no longer as described in the book (especially around the Philadelphia Airport), but it is still a good guide and is better than the aforementioned state guide. With regards to field guides, I personally use two: “The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America” by David Allen Sibley, and the venerable “Birds of Eastern and Central North America” by Roger Tory Peterson. With regards to CDs for bird songs and calls, I used “Eastern/Central Birding by Ear” by Richard K. Walton and Robert W. Lawson for learning. For reference, I also use “Eastern/Central Bird Songs” produced by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (part of the Peterson Field Guides series). Steve Dupont
  
  
  

  New York, USA

  • One book is “Where to find Birds in New York State” by Susan Roney Drennan, and the other is put out by the Mohawk Hudson Bird Club, and covers eastern Adirondacks and Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. So far, have not put my hands on that one!! Persistence wins!! Book is “Birding New York’s Hudson-Mohawk Region”, and is put out by the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club. There is also good info on the web, specifically from Buffalo Audubon and Lake Champlain Birding Trail. Buffalo is working on a birding trail, but have not found details yet. That trail starts along Lake Erie south of Buffalo, continues north along Niagara River, Lake Ontario shoreline and then south into Iroquois Nat’l. Wildlife Refuge.
    Other good area books that I have found include, “Birds of the Blue Ridge Mountains” by Marcus Simpson, Jr.
    I also have Microsoft Streets and Trips with GPS. Using a laptop we can get exact information on where we are and how to get where we want to go. The other very useful software is Thayer’s Birding Guide. Prior to a trip you can set up a variety of quizzes, by location or by category. Again, using laptop, plan is to have this in truck, and we can replay songs, use the id wizard, and maintain trip or daily bird logs. Nellie Hintz
  
  
  

  Nova Scotia, Canada

  • The only up-to-date and thorough guide for Nova Scotia is "The Birding Sites of Nova Scotia" by Blake Maybank, which is supplemented by a thorough companion web site: http://maybank.tripod.com/BSNS/BSNS.htm Blake Maybank
  
  
  

  Oklahoma, USA

  • For Oklahoma-USA, I guess ANY of the field guides of North American birds (primarily Eastern) will do. My personal preference is Sibley's "Guide to Eastern Birds", but that's just me; I could find you any number of other Oklahoma birders who prefer Peterson's or Nat'l Geographic and they all have their own reasons.
    The website of the Tulsa Audubon Society (Oklahoma) offers detailed maps and notes about the birds to be found in and around Tulsa: http://www.tulsaaudubon.org/birding.htm Just about everything you'd ever want to know about when to visit Tulsa and what birds can be found here is available at that website. Cyndie Browning, Tulsa
  
  
  

  Ontario, Canada

  • For Ontario birding, here' are my suggestions for books: For Ontario I recommend as a field guide: National Geographic's" Field Guide to the Birds of North America". It is user-friendly and fits in your pocket.
    "The Sibley Guide to Birds" by David Allen Sibley is great, but my problem is the illustrations and text are too small to read without reading glasses, so I tend to use it as a back-up guide.
    For Warblers in the spring I use "Warblers of the Americas" as a back-up to National Geographic
    "A Bird-finding guide to Ontario" by Clive E Goodwin is a must unless you know a local Birdingpal. Knud Rasmussen
  
  
  

  Oregon, USA

  • For Oregon, recommend checking the website www.oregonbirds.org for purchase of the CD of Oregon Breeding Birds Atlas, Statewide and local resources including tapes, county site guides, status and distribution, checklists etc.
    We use Nat'l Geo and Sibley NA as the 2 field guides most helpful for our area. Sibley for more options with drawings and Geo for the more rare species which may not be listed at all in Sibley.
    For those wanting to do extensive reading on Oregon birds before a trip, BOGR - "Birds of Oregon: A General Reference", has extensive status and distribution information on all the birds that have occurred in Oregon.
    All of the above items are listed and for sale on the Oregon Birds website mentioned above. Some of the publications are also available from ABA Sales. Judy Meredith jmeredit(AT)bendnet.com
  • For the state of Oregon I recommend "The Birders Guide to Oregon" by Joseph Evanich(Audubon Society of Portland, 1990). It really is the only comprehensive sight-specific birding guidebook to the entire state. Despite its age it is hands down the best. Take along a field guide and this book and you're on your way to some good birding. Brian Quinn, Portland ukeiquinn(AT)msn.com
  • For birders visiting Oregon, the best selection of books, optics, recordings, birdseed, gifts, and advice can be found at the Nature Store at the Audubon Society of Portland, 5151 NW Cornell Rd., Portland, OR 97210 http://www.audubonportland.org/naturestore/index_html (503) 292-9453 email store@audubonportland.org Hours 10-6 Mon - Sat. 10 - 5 Sun.
    I recommend Joe Evanich's "The Birder's Guide to Oregon", David Sibleys "Guide to the Birds of North America", the National Geographic "Field Guide to the Birds of North America", plus Dennis Paulson's "Shorebirds of the Pacific Northwest", and for beginners, either Kenn Kaufmann's or Don and Lillian Stokes guides. Paul T. Sullivan (503) 646-7889 ptsulliv(AT)spiritone.com
  • In addition to acquiring books and CDs, some like to subscribe to the mailing/discussion list "Oregon Birders Online" prior to their trip. They can ask for suggestions that are timely for the location they will be visiting (current rarities, etc.) and get a feel for what birds are around. Subscription information is at: http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/obol. B Combs
  
  
  

  Panama

  • To find birds in Panama The Panamá Audubon Society is about to release a book "Where to find birds in Panamá", Is going to be out this year.
    "Important bird areas in Panama" by George Angehr list endangered and endemic birds of Panama and their geografic distribution. Jose Carlos García. joseca_10(AT)hotmail.com
  • "A guide to the Birds of Panama" by Robert S. Riglely and John A Gwynne Jr 2nd Edition.
    For the Panama City Area birds "Que Vuela Ahi" or "What flying there" by Jorge Ventocilla are the best choices. Ivan Rodrigo Ortiz, Gamboa Eco Tours and Adventures, www.geocities.com/gamboaecotours/Gamboa_Eco_Tours.html
  • "The Birds of Panama, A Field Guide" by George R. Angeher and Robert Dean is a new and more userfriendly guide book to birding Panama. Knud Rasmussen
  • A Guide to the Birds of Panama, by Robert S. Ridgely and John A. Gwynne, Jr. Gonzalo Horna Birdingpal guide
  
  
  

  Pennsylvania, USA

  • The book, "Birding the Delaware Valley Region" is still the best publication for the Philadelphia area. The authors are John J. Harding and Justin J. Harding and the publisher is Temple University Press which is located in Philadelphia. Ron French quetzal2(AT)verizon.net
  • I live near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. However, I am on the border of New Jersey, which is where I do most of my birding. For bird locations, I highly recommend “A Guide to Bird Finding in New Jersey” by William J. Boyle, Jr.
    Unfortunately, the equivalent guide for Pennsylvania is in my opinion the worst state guide I own (I have purchased and used over a dozen). The name is “Birder’s Guide to Pennsylvania” by Paula Ford. In my opinion, the directions lack the detail, clarity, and precision I’ve found in other guides. The whole book is simply too general.
    For my immediate region (encompassing southeastern PA, central and southern New Jersey, and northern and central Delaware) I also recommend “Birding the Delaware Valley Region” by John and Justin Harding. The book has not been updated since 1980, so some areas are no longer as described in the book (especially around the Philadelphia Airport), but it is still a good guide and is better than the aforementioned state guide.
    With regards to field guides, I personally use two: “The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America”, by David Allen Sibley, and the venerable “Birds of Eastern and Central North America” by Roger Tory Peterson.
    With regards to CDs for bird songs and calls, I used “Eastern/Central Birding by Ear” by Richard K. Walton and Robert W. Lawson for learning. For reference, I also use “Eastern/Central Bird Songs” produced by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology (part of the Peterson Field Guides series). Steve Dupont birdman52(AT)comcast.net
  • Pennsylvania Best Guides: "Susquehanna River Birding and Wildlife Tail" by PA Audubon ( www.pabirdingtrails.org). Can be gotten from PA Audubon Office, 100 Wildwood Way Harrisburg, PA 17110 phone 717 213 6880 I think the price3 is $7.00. "Birders Guide to Pennsylvania" by Paula Ford is only okay. Terry Neumyer
  
  
  

  Philippines

  • GUIDEBOOK: I highly recommend: "A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines" by Robert S. Kennedy, Pedro C. Gonzales, Edward C. Dickinson, Hector Miranda, Timothy H. Fisher. This book however is currently (May 2006) not available in local bookstores in the Philippines.
    AUDIO RECORDING: I have tried the first edition of "Birds of Tropical Asia" by Jelle Scharringa but I think the new version: "Birds of Tropical Asia 3", DVD-ROM for Windows should be a lot better.
    TRIP REPORTS: Please visit the official website of The Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, Inc. - www.birdwatch.ph Nilo Arribas Jr.
  
  
  

  Portugal

  • Unfortunately, for Madeira Island there is still few information about it. The only book we know is: - "A birdwatchers' guide to Portugal and Madeira". Moore C.C., Elias G. & Costa H., 1997. Prion Ltd., Perry. There is a website where we are compiling information about Madeira's breeding birds, so there is a description of each bird, its habitat and nesting activity which is: http://www.madeirabirds.com. Catarina Fagundes visitmadeira(AT)gmail.com
  • As everywhere in the Western Palearctic, the Collin's Bird Guide (Svensson et al., 2000, but soon available in a revised edition) is enough to identify most birds. A very good alternative is Lars Jonsson (2005) Birds of Europe.
    The exception that sets the rule is identification of a few Category C birds (introduced birds with self sustainable populations: Black-headed Weaver Ploceus melanocephalus, Yellow-crowned bishop Euplectes afer, Red Avadavat Amandava amandava, Black-headed Munia Lonchura mallaca, Crested Myna Acridotheres cristatellus). (Other introduced species still not included in the WP list are mentioned in these pages: http://www.triplov.com/matias/index.html
    http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lista_de_espécies_invasoras_em_Portugal) These birds are more or less straightforward to identify using field notes against pictures. For now none of the Western Palearctic guides cover all these cat. C birds, except for Matias (2003) (http://biblioteca.avesdeportugal.info/avesexotic.html) which was distributed by volunteers in the national atlas and to my knowledge it is not for sale.
    A birdwatchers' guide to Portugal and Madeira. Moore C.C., Elias G. & Costa H., 1997. Prion Ltd., Perry. covers main hotspots but is a bit outdated. Gosney (2005) suffers of the same problem.
    Knowledge of the Portuguese language can be quite helpfull. A few good books were only published in Portuguese, including the national Atlas (2008; http://biblioteca.avesdeportugal.info/atlasdasaves.html) and a quite detailed book on where to watch birds in Southern Portugal (Costa, 2003).
    All relevant titles are indexed here: http://biblioteca.avesdeportugal.info/data.html)
    For the Azores and Madeira, Field Guide to the Birds of the Atlantic Islands (Clarke et al.,2006) provides useful information, ideally to be used along with Svensson's Bird Guide or a similar identification book.
    I'd also reccomend consulting Petrels night and Day (Robb et al., 2009), since there is much taxonomical debate going on and this book offers some of the best arguments towards splitting some macaronesian seabird specialties.
    If surveying Flores and Corvo for Nearctic vagrants, The North American Bird Guide by Sibley (2007) covers all possible vagrants with detail. João Tiago Rocha Tavares omnicogni(AT)gmail.com
  
  
  

  Poland

  • I use "Collins Bird Guide". The most complete field guide to "The birds of Britain and Europe". I also use "Birds of Europe and the Mediterranean area region" by L. Jonsson.
    I think those two books are one of the best available in Poland. Another interesting book I would recommend "Shorebirds an identification guide" by P Hayman, J Marchant, T. Prater.
    Now CD's - there is a really good CD with birds voices by Z. Palczyski - "The Bird voices of Poland" with voices of 150 most popular birds of Poland. R Swierad swiergol1(AT)o2.pl
  • The best Field Guides are (like for rest of Europe): 1) "Collins Bird Guide" from Lars Svensson Peter J. Grant. 2) "Birds of Europe with North Africa and the Middle East" from LarsJonsson
    Polish edition "Ptaki Europy i obszaru śródziemnomorskiego" from LarsJonsson
    German edition "Die Vögel Europas und des Mittelmeerraumes" from Lars Jonsson
    The best book ever about polish birds is: "Ptaki ziem polskich" Volume I + II from Jan Sokołowski. But is only in Polish.
    Book about bird populations in Poland: "Awifauna Polski Rozmieszczenie", liczebność i zmiany" form LudwikTomiałojć, Tadeusz Stawarczyk. In Polish with short English summary. Smyku smykuraf(AT)wp.pl
  • The choice is very limited. I can recommend "Finding Birds in Poland" by Dave Gosney. It is a smal field guide in English to eastern part of Poland/Bialowieza Forest and Biebrzaonly. I bought it in Danemark. Published by Gostours UK. Marek Kolodziejczyk, Czestochowa-Poland
  
  
  

  Qatar

  • Common Birds of Qatar by Frances Gillespie. Jean Thompson, jeanmrasbridge(AT)gmail.com
  
  
  

  Quebec, Canada

  • I live in Pabos, on the south shore of Gaspé Peninsula. The local bird club published recently, the "Guide to Birding Sites on the Gaspé Peninsula" (available in English and also in French under title Guide des sites ornithologiques de la Gaspésie. These guides are available on the web site : htttp://www.cogaspesie.org
    J'habite Pabos, sur le versant sud de la Péninsule gaspésienne, à 30 minutes de Percé.Le Club des ornithologues de la Gaspésie a récemment publié le Guide des sites ornithologiques de la Gaspésie (aussi disponible en anglais sous le titre de: Guide to Birding Sites on the Gaspé Peninsula)
    Ces guides sont disponibles en visitant le site web du Club des ornitholoques de la Gaspésie http://www.cogaspesie.org. La version anglaise est aussi disponible chez ABA Sales. Pierre Poulin
  • Birders traveling to St. Pierre et Miquelon should choose a guide that provides good information on gulls and seabirds, and might even consider bringing “The Seabirds” by Peter Harrison. A dedicated gull guide, such as “The Gulls” by P.J. Grant, might also be of considerable use, particularly in the winter. Of the many excellent general-purpose field guides available, the "National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America", and the "Sibley Guide to the Birds of North America" (either the large “original” Sibley or the smaller “Eastern North America” Sibley) will serve the purpose. Carrying a copy of "Birds of Europe" by Killian Mullarney, Lars Svensson, Dan Zetterström, and Peter J. Grant is not a bad idea, either – especially if you are visiting in the fall or winter. John Pratt
  
  
  

  Russia

  • The best Field Guide so far as I think is "Birds of the Urals, pre Urals and West Siberia" by V.K. Riabitzev. It is published in 2002 by the University of the Urals (Ekaterinburg city).There are 1800 high quality colored pictures (not photos!) of 410 bird species on 96 plates artistically done by the author. As I know the author was planning to create CDs for the book.There are many other good birding books in Russian such as "Birds in nature" by A.N. Promptov, "Birds of Russia", "Birds of the USSR", "Field guide to the birds of the european part of the USSR", "Guide to the birds of the USSR", "Ornithological excursions" etc. But I am successfully using "The birds of Britain and Europe with North Africa and the Middle East" here as well. Evgeny Karev
  • Birdingpal Mark Brazil's new Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia (http://sites.google.com/site/birdsofeastasia/Home)
  
  
  

  Senegal

  • "A field Guide to Birds of Gambia and Senegal" by Clive Barlow, Tim Wacher and Tony Disley, Pica Press. Amitiés du Niokolo Koba, Campement Hotel de Wassadou http://www.niokolo.com
  
  
  

  Serbia

  • Bird guide in Serbian "Ptice Srbije" by D. Simic & S. Puzovic. I am happy to announce that a long overdue booklet, the first ever bird guide in Serbian, "Ptice Srbije", is about to be published next week. It has 48 pages (21x12 cm), and covers 138 bird species on 30 pages, while the next 16 pages are devoted to Serbia's 35 Important Bird Areas. Circulation: 3000 copies. Authors: D. Simic & S. Puzovic.
    I would also like to thank all those individuals who have contributed in any way, directly or indirectly, and helped this booklet to be born (in alphabetical order): Ade Long, Borut Rubinic, Darko Saveljic, Goran Sekulic, Ian Burfield, Jyrki Mäkelä, Maciej Szymanski, Nebojsa Covic, Srdjan Belij, Todor Todorov and Werner Müller.
    Institutions and companies that should be acknowledged at this occasion are the BirdLife Switzerland, the Environmental Secretariat of the City of Belgrade, Publikum, Delta Maxy and the Institute for protection of Nature of Serbia.
    I also recommend "Collins Bird Guide – The Most Complete Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe" by Mullraney, Svensson, Zetterstrom & Grant, ISBN 0 00 711332 3
    Dragan Simic, Vice Chair, League for Ornithological Action of Serbia, Mobile +381 (0)63 7669239
  
  
  

  South Africa

  • Personally I use Newmans "Birds of Southern Africa" by Kenneth Newman as my field guide of choice. This is the one that I use predominently and only refer to other guides as a backup. The new Roberts 7 is very good, but is no longera field guide as it is too large and heavy and thereforecan only be used for referencing.
    Second choice for an all round field guide is Sasols "Birds of Southern Africa" by Ian Sinclair. Malcolm Henderson malcolm.henderson(AT)roche.com
  • The best Field Guides are the standard southern African ones. Sinclair, Hockey and Tarboton. Birds of Southern Africa. 3rd Edition - not any of the earlier ones. I think it is published by New Holland Press in the USA - here in southern Africa it is published by Struik and is called the SASOL Guide after the principal sponsor. Newman, K. "Birds of Southern Africa". Sappi Guide. A bit dated but some people like it.
    The best sound recordings are by Guy Gibbon. "Bird Calls of Southern Africa". Same set of recordings that is widely used in South Africa. All the important species are there. The best bird finding guides are a little more difficult. Callan Cohen is bringing out a book in the next couple of months on where to watch birds in Southern Africa, but I have no idea what the information is like. Otherwise the guides that are available are a bit dated. The best of which is Chittenden, H. 1992. "Top Birding Spots in Southern Africa" (Published by Struik??) Christopher Hines
  
  
  

  Spain

  • For Spain birding, here is my suggestion: "Guía de las Aves de España. Península, Baleares y Canarias." by Eduardo de Juana & Juan M. Varela. Lynx Edicions. Most compact and good pictures. Jesus Laborda
  • Where to Watch Birds in Donana by Birdingpal Francisco Chiclana Moreno (Author), Jorge Garzon Gutierrez (Author)
    Birds of the Province of Seville also by Birdingpal Francisco Chiclana.
  
  
  

  Sri Lanka

  • For Sri Lanka birding, here' are my suggestions for books: After my trip to Sri Lanka I recommend as a field guide: "A Field Guide to the birds of Sri Lanka" by John Harrison and illustrated by Tim Worfolk. I also used "Birds of India" by Bikram Grewal, Bill Harwey and Otto Pfister. It uses photographs and it is difficult to identify almost all birds in it. You may also be interested in Prasanjith Caldera's "Sounds of Sinharaja". A day’s walk through a Rainforest in Sri Lanka. To purchase the Sounds of Sinharaja CD contact Prasanjith Caldera prasanjithcaldera@hotmail.com Knud Rasmussen
  • A Field Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka by John Harrison. A Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka by G.M. Henry, Thilo W. Hoffmann (Editor); Deepal Warakagoda (Editor); Upali Ekanayake (Editor). Bird Sounds of Sri Lanka by D Warakagoda, Drongo 2000.
    Chandima Jayaweera Birdingpal guide
  
  
  

  Suriname

  • The best field Guide for Suriname is "The Birds of Venezuela" by Steve Hilty 2003. Books may be found at VACO, a bookshop in the Domineestraat, Paramaribo. CD"s cannot be find here and ther are not many books either. Those thing are better purchased before arriving in Suriname. Cornell has many CD's but I do not have more info than this. Where to find birds, cannot be said in a few words. Otte Ottema
  
  
  

  Taiwan

  • For Taiwan birding, here' are my suggestions for books: Taiwan - the title is 'Taiwan Wild Birds' but it is in Chinese only, as is the whole book. Bird names include English and scientific. Lovely illustrations, I think by a Japanese artist. Published by the Wild Bird Society of Taipei, it costs about HK$225. Includes all the Taiwan endemics, of course. Andy Smith, Hong Kong andysmith99(AT)yahoo.com
  • Birdingpal Mark Brazil's new Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia (http://sites.google.com/site/birdsofeastasia/Home)
  
  
  

  Texas, USA

  • In answer to your query on best field guides for the Big Bend area, I would say the large "Sibley Guide" first. Not the western or eastern ones, because we have many birds here from both regions. Also a good regional aid is "Birds of the Trans- Pecos" by Jim Peterson and Barry Zimmer. Those two books will be all a Big Bend birder needs. Carolyn Ohl
  
  
  

  Trinidad and Tobago

  • To find Tobago's unique forest birds one must visit the Gilpin trail within the Forest reserve. The Bon Accord sewerage ponds for wet land birds and the Grafton Bird Sanctuary for generalforest birds. To purchase CD of birds contact Newton George at 660-5463. Darren. darren_tours(AT)yahoo.com
  • I have created a mini booklet regarding, hummingbirds of Trinidad as well as 3 CD's of wetland Tannagers and Bananaquits sounds. I shall be happy to take all Birdingpals to various nature trails and bird seeking adventures. call me at 868 758 2775 any time. Inshan Randolph, Port of Spain
  
  
  

  Tunesia

  • We use a lot this one: Name of the book: Oiseaux d’europe,d’afrique du nord et du moyen orient" Auteur: Herman Heinzel Edition: Délachaux et Niestlé Langue: Français.
    Ce livre vient de paraître en France vers fin juin 05, il n’est pas encore disponible en tunisie
    Name of the book: "Oiseaux de Tunisie, Birds of Tunisia", Auteur: Paul Isenmann, Thierry Gaultier, Ali El Hili, Hichem Azafzaf, Habib Dlensi et Michael Smart, Edition: SEOF, Langue: Français/Anglais
    Un bon guide pour la faune et la flore mais pas spécialement tunisienne mais qu’on utilse beaucoup:
    Name of the book: "Toute la nature Mediterranéene", Auteur: Paul Sterry, Edition:Délachaux et Niestlé, Langue: Français
    Ce même livre existe en version anglaise d’ailleurs c’est la version original de ce bouquin
    Name of the book: "Collins complete Mediterranean wildlife photo guide", Auteur: Paul Sterry, Edition: Harper Collins Publishers, Langue: Anglais
    "A Field Guide to the Raptors of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa", Name of the book: "Collins Bird Guide", Auteur: Lars Svensson, Edition: Harper collins Publisher, Langue: Anglais
    Nidhal Ben Abdelhamid
  
  
  

  Turkey

  • There is a nice book for birders in Turkey. The name is: "Türkiye'nin Önemli Ku* Alanlar*", authors: Murat Yarar/Gernant Magnin. The book illustarates important regions of bird sites all around Turkey. If you are interested in very local bird places, then I can recommend a few places near my site.(I'm living in Mersin, southern coast of Turkey). Ibrahim Gürsey IGURSEY(AT)sisecam.com
  • The best field Guide is definitely "Collins Bird Guide", Svenson et al.
    The best bird finding book is: "Where to Watch Birds in Turkey, Greece and Cyprus", Welch et al.
    We use "Roche" Vol1-4 CD's for bird calls, but they are not the best. I don't have the latest CD's. So, no comment!
    Kerem Boyala kerem.boyla(AT)gmail.com
  • For Turkey I think "A birdwatchers' guide to Turkey" (Green & Moorhouse) is very usefull, and also Gosney's "Where to watch birds in ... Turkey" should be recommended. The latter is somehow a little outdated but has good maps. Supplemented by reports from the internet, you will be very well prepared.
    As for all WP-countries the only field guide you need on your trip is Svenssons "Birds of Europe" Jan Kiel jaki(AT)selandia-ceu.dk
  • The essential guide to birding in south central Turkey is Dave Gosney's 'Finding Birds in Turkey: Ankara to Birecik'. This is surely a must and if you do not have one, you can borrow from our small library. Our name is also in that book. (Part one Page 13) Also We worked with also other famous birders such as Ian Green. Our name is also in his book. "A Birdwatchers' Guide to Turkey" by Ian Green and Nigel Moorhouse. Ali Safak http://www.ozsafak.net
  
  
  

  Uganda

  • Stevenson, Terry and John Fanshawe. A Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Academic Press, 2001
    Ian Sinclair, Peter Ryan. A comprehensive illustrated field guide: Birds of Africa - south of the Sahara 2003
    Peoples and Culture: Kefa M. Otiso, Culture and Customs of Uganda (Culture and Customs of Africa) 2006. (Book Available at Amazon Sales)
    
  • Mammals:
    Kingdon, Jonathan. The Kingdon Field guide to African Mammals. Academic Press, 1999. This excellent book covers all of Africa's mammals. Larger mammals (squirrel size and larger) are covered to species level and smaller mammals to genus level
    
  • Reptiles:
    Spawls, Stephen, Kim Howell, Robert C. Drewes and James Ashe. A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa Academic Press, 2001. A superb and comprehensive but rather bulky guide to all the species of reptiles occurring in Uganda
    
  • Trees and Shrubs:
    Dharani N. Field Guide to the Common Trees and Shrubs of East Africa Struik, 2002. A newly published guide to the more common trees and shrubs found in East Africa
    
  • General travel information:
    Philip Briggs with Andrew Roberts (6th Edition). Uganda, the Bradt Travel Guide 2010. A good guide to travelling in Uganda.
    Finlay, Hugh, M. Fitzpatrick, M. Fletcher and N. Ray (5th Edition). East Africa Lonely Planet Publications. 2000. An excellent general reference work to travelling in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania
    
  • East African Bird Sounds (CD-Audio) by Brian Finch
    
    

    United Kingdom

    • The best local book is by Dr Malcolm Olgilvie: "The Birds of Islay" – I use this one daily! Also he has produced a wonderful photograph book also called "The Birds of Islay" – a photographic guide. If you wish to see details of the two books that Jeremy mentions, you can find them at http://www.lochindaalpress.co.uk/. We also use "The Collins Bird Guide", Lars Jonsson’s "Birds of Europe" and Mitchell Beazley’s "Pocket guide to the birds of Europe". It really depends upon the level of the client. They all have equal use though. eremy Hastings jeremy.hastings(AT)onetel.net
    • Islay Birding, Birdwatching and Bushcraft, The Old Byre, Port Charlotte, Islay PA48 7TX, 01496850010, http://www.islaybirding.co.uk
    • Could I recommend the following 2 books for anyone visiting the Scottish Highlands.
      "Best Birdwatching Sites in the Scottish Highlands", ISBN 0 9533840 98, ISSN 0144-364 X, Price: £15.95, Gordon Hamlett, 2005, Published (and available from) Buckingham Press, 55 Thorpe Parke Road, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE3 6LJ, United Kingdom, email: buck.press@btinternet.com
      I use this all the time and keep a copy in my car for reference when on the road and asked about the best sites by visiting bird watchers. Excellent maps and clear directions of how to get to the less well known sites with comprehensive lists of the birds you can expect to see. "Scottish Birds", ISBN 0-00-719737-3, Price £9.99, Valerie Thom, 2000, Collins, ww.collins.co.uk
      Small pocket guide to 180 Scottish bird species listed by habitat. Used in conjunction with Collins "Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe" (Peterson) covers all eventualities and leaves little room for doubt.
      David Rendell dacamacsys(AT)btinternet.com
    • In a quick look I cannot see UK. "Collins Guide to Europe" is by far the best book, but I recommend to new visitors the very small "Larousse Guide to Britain only". Mike Robinson mike(AT)nwbirds.co.uk
    • I recommend the "Collins guide to the birds of Europe" and for a pocket guide which is excellent the "Mitchell beazley guide". For french birding I recommend the site guide by the "Ligue Pour la Protection d'Oiseaux guide 'Ou voir les oiseaux en France' admittedly by my friend Dr Philippe Dubois a French authority on birds who meets up with me on the Isle of Ouessant south of the Scilly Isles near Brest in brittany in October most years.
      The Collins guide has a CD accompanyment of all bird calls and songs which is good.Also the Fench guide has an English version "Where to Watch Birds in France" Second edition available from Helm publishers for around $40 post and packing or £20 in Sterling.
      Regards Bertram.E.B. Bree, Jersey, near France.
      
    • I notice that none of the Christopher Helm series of "Where To Watch Birds..." in the UK are included in the United Kingdom section. I have four of this series and find them extremely useful in the field in the East Midlands, East Anglia and Yorkshire. They are updated as required and give detailed information on access to and birds found at sites throughout the UK. I most recently used the books for a birding vacation to coastal Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk & Essex and heartily recommend the series inconjunction with a British or European field guide...I use the "RSPB Handbook of British Birds", also published by Christopher Helm in 2002. It has detailed id tips and other info, a wide range of plumage illustrations and good good range maps that complement the publisher's site guides. All regular species are mentioned and some rarities, but recent "splits", notably warblers, are not included.
      Birdingpal Roger Burrows, New Brunswick, Canada
    
    
    

    Virginia, USA

    • For birding in Metropolitan Washington and farther afield, a good book is "Finding Birds in the National Capital Area" by Claudia Wilds. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries publishes separate "Birding and Wildlife Trail Guides for the Mountain, Coastal, and Piedmont Areas of Virginia". Elaine Serlin
    
    
    

    Washington, USA

    • I think most Washington state birders would agree that the best all around "where to find 'em" guide is Hal Opperman's ABA Birdfinding Guide, "A BIRDER'S GUIDE TO WASHINGTON". My personal opinion about the best field guide for ID is Sibley's, but I have several friends who prefer the Nat'l Geographic's Birds of North America. Rolan Nelson rnbuffle(AT)yahoo.com
    • Knud - for Washington State, there is a new book, "Birds of Washington State" by Brian H. Bell and Gregory Kennedy (Lone Pine Publishing). This has 1 species per page with the usual text, an illustration, a good range map for where to find the bird within the state, Washington state status information including seasonal data, and a very useful "Best Sites" listing which complements the "Birders Guide to Washington" nicely. Michael Hobbs, Kirkland, WA, http://www.scn.org/fomp/birding.htm
    
    
    

    Washington DC, USA

    • For birding in Metropolitan Washington and farther afield, a good book is "Finding Birds in the National Capital Area" by Claudia Wilds. The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries publishes separate "Birding and Wildlife Trail Guides for the Mountain, Coastal, and Piedmont Areas of Virginia". Elaine Serlin
    
    
    

    Venezuela  

    • As I recomend most of birdwatchers that come to my country, I recomend "Birds of Venezuela", written by Steven Hillty, excelent book, information and plates of birds. I also recommend Henri Pittier National Park where you can find more than 500 species of birds. On my tours I warranty at least 150 species in a day, and of course if people make the trip around Venezuela, they will see at least 800 species. In fact, Venezuela have more that 1300 species of birds. Oscar Padilla
    • "Birds of Venezuela" by Hilty. Princeton University press. "Birds of northen South America" by Restall, Rodner, Lentino. CD: "Birds of Venezuela" by Peter Boesman. Ivan Tepedino, Birdingpal guide
    • I used "Birds of Venezuela" by Hilty. Princeton University press during my February 2013 trip to Venezuela. It is a very good guide, but a "monster" to carry around, when you bird the forest. One solution is to remove the plates and get them bound into a field guide a quarter of the book size. "Birds of Northern South America" is also useful when you prepare for such a trip. Knud Rasmussen, Birdingpal
    
    
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  Vermont, USA

  • The best resource for Vermont is "Birdwatching in Vermont", by Ted Murin and Bryan Pfeiffer. There is also a Vermont listserve at VTBird@list.uvm.edu. A very good and up-to-date website is http://madbirders.org, the website of a group of birders located in the Mad River Valley but it deals with sightings throughout Vermont. Last but certainly not least is VINS, the Vermont Institute of Natural Science, which is an educational and research organization with several centers around the state. They also have a raptor rehabilitation center and serve as the clearinghouse for the Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas, the Forest Bird Study, and various Christmas counts.
    Another center of interest is the Birds of Vermont Museum which is located just up the road from the Vermont Audubon Society headquarters in Huntington. The museum houses hundreds of carvings of native bird species set in their specific habitat. Carver/sculptor Bob Spear is a uniquely talented artist. There are trails for birding at all of these locations. Charlie La Rosa
  
  
  

  Wisconsin, USA

  • An excellent guide for Wisconsin, USA - "Wisconsin Bird Haunts" edited by Daryl Tessen. Contains numerous detailed descriptions of all the local birding sites written by the local area specialists. Available through through the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology website and also the American Birding Association website. Delia Unson, Madison delia_chuck(AT)tds.net
  
  
  The best guide for birding locations in Wisconsin is "Wisconsin's Favorite Bird Haunts? compiled by Daryl Tessen.
  Bob Smidt