A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America

by Steve N.G. Howell, Sophie Webb

Book by Howell, Steve N.G., Webb, Sophie

Genres: Birds, Reference, Nature, Field Guides, Nonfiction, Science

868 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Jan-Joost Bouwman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first used this (large) fieldguide on our first trip to Mexico in the 90s. We were blown away with its detailed descriptions and accurate plates. Compared to the then other available fieldguides it was miles ahead. And was an essential companion in the field when trying to get to grips to our first Neotropical birds. Since that first trip (and the second the year after) this has been the gold standard of fieldguides against which I measure all other fieldguides. Yes, it is heavy. But what do you expect if you have this many species to cover in this much detail.
This year I got to use it again, in my fourth trip to Mexico, revisiting some of the northern states: Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas. Yes, some of the taxonomy has been updated since, but not so much that it has become obsolete. Yes, we now mostly use Merlin in the field, but that doesn't nearly have the same level of detail. And in the end, you are better off with a fieldguide with plates than with photo's, because it can point out the important differences (together with the text, highlighing similar species). Yes, Steve Howell also wrote some of the text for Merlin, so that helps. No, the species I still needed this time were not as challenging as those in my first trips, when I started out with Myiarchus flycatchers. (Thick Billed Parrot isn't an ID challenge, just hard to get to). (also, I came with a guide this time)
Yes, it is still heavy, but I'm still glad I took it along into the field. Still good. If only more fieldguides were this good.

[Sarah Ehinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the color plates throughout. There isn't a ton of information about each bird, but if you are looking solely for visual identification, this does the trick.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Howell's guide to the birds of Mexico is by far the best field guide for Mexico. Webb's iilustrations are fantastic with great details to different plumages and sexes. The text is superb and readily gives need information at a glance. Even with all this praise the book has one major flaw -- no information or illustrations of North American migrants (basically any bird that breeds north of Mexico). I just got back from a two week birding trip to Mexico and eventhough it wasn't necessary to have pictures of the northern breeders it would have been nice to have access on distribution, migration times,ect... Even with the flaw Howell's guide is essential birding material and should be on every birders shelf who has an interest in neotropical nature.

[Scott Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous field guide! I have used it extensively to bird the Sonora region of Mexico including the Sierra Madrean mountains east of Hermosilla (near Yecora). Some of my favorite sightings: Mountain Trogon, Black-throated Magpie-Jay, Brown-backed Solitaire, Orange-billed Nightingale Thrush, Russet Nightingale-Thrush, Blue Mockingbird, Gray Silky-Flycatcher, Crescent-chested Warbler, Rufous-capped Brush-Finch, and many, many more!

[Tomek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful natural history background and illustrations. The problem is that it is absolutely huge. Not exactly a field guide...

[William Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good guide, but could be better. See Sibley and National Geographic. Description, illustration and map should all be on same page.