I have been using this book for a year now after my wife gave it to me as a present. I use it only to identify birds that are on our farm in the southern Cape and have learnt a lot from it. I have in this year positively identified 84 different species that are found on the farm. I am not a birder, but now I know the birds that I see almost everyday which is very helpful and interesting to me. The book is great and the sketches are nice, but I use it along with a google search to get pictures of the birds to compare with the pictures I took, as the sketches I find is not always easy to compare. Each specie also has a little map to show where it is found and this also helps a lot when identifying some species. Highly recommended for birding in southern Africa.
I used this guide (4th Ed.) during a month-long trip to southern Africa. My other options were Newman's and Roberts. I am so happy with my choice as with this guide -that made its home in my daypack- I could confidently identify virtually 100% of the c. 230 species that crossed my path (just one raptor escaped). This guide proved invaluable, the illustrations are accurate, descriptions quite good and the sonograms were essential for identifying the small Cisticolas. This is the guide for the region! (I suggest buying a small photographic book too, like Burger Cillié's, by Sunbird).
great bird guide to the birds of southern africa. Very useful information and maps with abundance of the species and diagrams of their breeding seasons. Nice drawings and layout. (I have the larger edition of the bird guide)