What do you think?
Rate this book
Princeton Field Guides
Birds of Southern Africa
Birds of Southern Africa is the best and most authoritative guide to the birds of one of the world's most fertile birding regions.
Two hundred color plates comprising over 4,000 expert illustrations help birders to distinguish all of southern Africa's approximately 950 bird species. The illustrations have labels highlighting diagnostic features, and many birds are depicted in flight as well as still. Special attention is given to plumage variation by age, sex, and season.
The informative text, written by eminent ornithologists, is fully integrated with the color plates to facilitate use in the field. Detailed species accounts emphasize the essential characteristics of each bird, including information on behavior, calls, and habitat preferences.
All species names and divisions are in line with the latest recommendations of the International Ornithological Committee, while well-known and local common names are also included. Both beginners and advanced birders will appreciate the regional checklist, quick reference guides, and excellent family summaries. Up-to-date distribution maps feature dual shading to indicate areas of low and high abundance, while cross-referencing is made easy with color coding and a simple numbering system.
Absolutely up-to-date and both beautifully and comprehensively illustrated, this field guide is a terrific reference as well as a superb visual record of the rich variety of a region that is home to one-tenth of all bird species.
Two hundred color plates comprising over 4,000 expert illustrations help birders to distinguish all of southern Africa's approximately 950 bird species. The illustrations have labels highlighting diagnostic features, and many birds are depicted in flight as well as still. Special attention is given to plumage variation by age, sex, and season.
The informative text, written by eminent ornithologists, is fully integrated with the color plates to facilitate use in the field. Detailed species accounts emphasize the essential characteristics of each bird, including information on behavior, calls, and habitat preferences.
All species names and divisions are in line with the latest recommendations of the International Ornithological Committee, while well-known and local common names are also included. Both beginners and advanced birders will appreciate the regional checklist, quick reference guides, and excellent family summaries. Up-to-date distribution maps feature dual shading to indicate areas of low and high abundance, while cross-referencing is made easy with color coding and a simple numbering system.
Absolutely up-to-date and both beautifully and comprehensively illustrated, this field guide is a terrific reference as well as a superb visual record of the rich variety of a region that is home to one-tenth of all bird species.
448 pages, Paperback
First published September 23, 2002
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 19, 2023
This is an excellent field guide to the Birds of Southern Africa.
March 23, 2018
Birds of Southern Africa: Fourth Edition, published in 2011, has a plethora of information on bird basics, behavior, habitats and biomes, resident/visitor distribution, classification, and nomenclature. This field guide covers nearly 1,000 bird species in the southern Africa region which includes the countries of: Namibia in the west, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique along the eastern coast; as well as South Africa, Swaziland, and Lesotho. Birds of Southern Africa is a shining example of how to create a thorough and easy to use guide for identifying and finding wildlife and is yet another stellar reference book by Ian Sinclair.
Most useful for beginner and intermediate birders and wildlife enthusiasts will be the glossary of terms related to bird species, their habitats, and their behaviors, as well as the illustrated glossary defining visually and textually the features of a bird and its plumage. Of particular interest for self-guided bird-watching safaris or beginners wanting to experience bird-watching in a group will be the sections on "Birding Literature" (for further reading), "Birding Societies" (groups that may interest you), and "Birdlife South Africa Clubs."
Looking up one of the more than 950 avian species noted in Birds of Southern Africa couldn't be easier for novice naturalists, eco-tourists, and veteran birders. Aside from thumbing through until you find the right bird, the field guide provides several easy ways to find a specific species' information for English speakers:
1. The inside of the front cover has a visual quick reference containing 128 bird illustrations for easy visual identification.
2. On the back cover a quick reference alphabetically lists 204 bird groups (falcons, sparrows, etc.) using their common names in English.
3. Pages 449-453 have an extensive list of bird species by their scientific name.
4. Pages 454-458 have an extensive list of birds by their common names in Afrikaans.
5. Pages 459-464 have the same common name list in English.
Any method provides a page number directing the reader right to the correct page and they're all very easy to use. Less experienced safari tourists will probably get the most use out of the illustrated quick reference, while people on guided tours and guided safaris will benefit most from the common name indexes.
The bulk of the field guide is laid out with information and range of each bird species on the left page and two or more full-color images of each species on the right. The images depict each species perched, in flight, and some species also have images also denote different stages of development or breeding (juvenile, breeding, non-breeding). The information on each bird is very concise and explains appearance, plumage appearance during certain seasons or stages of life, size, wingspan, voices, and the status and biology of the species. Each species’ information comes in a single paragraph about the same size as this one and is accompanied by a small map showing the estimated range of that species, along with a few unlabeled reference points of major cities (Johannesburg, Pretoria, Harare).
At a little over 8x6x1 inches the Birds of Southern Africa: Fourth Edition is small enough to be carried around in a day pack, but probably too large and heavy a field guide for hikers or photographers already carrying around a lot of weight. For these individuals the Birds of Southern Africa: Pocket Guide, also by Ian Sinclair, is highly recommended. Avian enthusiasts will want to stick with the larger Birds of Southern Africa: Fourth Edition for a more comprehensive guide.
Most useful for beginner and intermediate birders and wildlife enthusiasts will be the glossary of terms related to bird species, their habitats, and their behaviors, as well as the illustrated glossary defining visually and textually the features of a bird and its plumage. Of particular interest for self-guided bird-watching safaris or beginners wanting to experience bird-watching in a group will be the sections on "Birding Literature" (for further reading), "Birding Societies" (groups that may interest you), and "Birdlife South Africa Clubs."
Looking up one of the more than 950 avian species noted in Birds of Southern Africa couldn't be easier for novice naturalists, eco-tourists, and veteran birders. Aside from thumbing through until you find the right bird, the field guide provides several easy ways to find a specific species' information for English speakers:
1. The inside of the front cover has a visual quick reference containing 128 bird illustrations for easy visual identification.
2. On the back cover a quick reference alphabetically lists 204 bird groups (falcons, sparrows, etc.) using their common names in English.
3. Pages 449-453 have an extensive list of bird species by their scientific name.
4. Pages 454-458 have an extensive list of birds by their common names in Afrikaans.
5. Pages 459-464 have the same common name list in English.
Any method provides a page number directing the reader right to the correct page and they're all very easy to use. Less experienced safari tourists will probably get the most use out of the illustrated quick reference, while people on guided tours and guided safaris will benefit most from the common name indexes.
The bulk of the field guide is laid out with information and range of each bird species on the left page and two or more full-color images of each species on the right. The images depict each species perched, in flight, and some species also have images also denote different stages of development or breeding (juvenile, breeding, non-breeding). The information on each bird is very concise and explains appearance, plumage appearance during certain seasons or stages of life, size, wingspan, voices, and the status and biology of the species. Each species’ information comes in a single paragraph about the same size as this one and is accompanied by a small map showing the estimated range of that species, along with a few unlabeled reference points of major cities (Johannesburg, Pretoria, Harare).
At a little over 8x6x1 inches the Birds of Southern Africa: Fourth Edition is small enough to be carried around in a day pack, but probably too large and heavy a field guide for hikers or photographers already carrying around a lot of weight. For these individuals the Birds of Southern Africa: Pocket Guide, also by Ian Sinclair, is highly recommended. Avian enthusiasts will want to stick with the larger Birds of Southern Africa: Fourth Edition for a more comprehensive guide.
February 2, 2016
I highly recommend this book to anyone who's taking a trip to South Africa to see wildlife. The book is very descriptive, giving you straight facts and no 'filler' information. It features over 950 different species, which is truly amazing. There is a map alongside each species showing it's distribution across the country. I will be using this book for a long while yet, and the information will be very useful when I head out to South Africa later this year.
Read
May 10, 2015read in order to identify birds on 2 trips to South African game reserves..
September 6, 2009
A nice little handy book :)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews