Field Guides - South America

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A Guide to the Birds of Colombia
Steven L. Hilty, William L. Brown
$45.00
836 pages - Paperback

If you are going to South America to see birds, you really need to take this book with you. Describing all of Colombia's birds, Steven L. Hilty and William L. Brown bring together information on one of the world's largest avifaunas -- nearly 1,700 species. Over half of all the species of birds in South America are included, thus making the book useful in regions adjacent to Colombia as well as in the country itself. The primary purpose of the work is to enable observers to identify the birds of the region, but it also provides detailed species accounts and will serve as an important handbook and reference volume. Fifty-six lavish color plates, thirteen halftone plates, and one hundred line drawings in the text illustrate over 85% of the species, including most of the resident birds. Notes on the page facing each plate, and range maps of 1,475 species, facilitate identification.
Written with the field observer in mind, the text gives special attention to comparisons of similar species, transcriptions of voices, and comments on behavior, status, and habitat. It also provides ranges, breeding data, and references. Notes outline taxonomic problems and briefly describe species that eventually may be found in Colombia. Introductory chapters and photographs highlight Colombia's geography, climate, and vegetation, and discuss migration and conservation questions, and the history of Colombian ornithology. Appendices contain a large bibliography, a section on birding locations, and coverage of two of Colombia's far-flung island territories, Isla San Andres and Providencia. Maps depicting vegetation zones, political boundaries, national parks, and most text localities are included.

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A Guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
Richard Ffrench
$35.00
426 pages - Paperback

The islands of Trinidad and Tobago have long been of especial interest to ornithologists and bird lovers. The area is a wonderful introduction to the birds of South America – without overwhelming you. Politically part of the West Indies, they lie barely ten miles from the great Orinoco delta of Venezuela, and share with their mainland neighbor a rich and varied fauna. The climate of Trinidad is mild, the range of habitat wide, with extensive areas of tropical rain forest, mangrove forest, and fresh-water swamp. Birds breed virtually year round; the island attracts migrants from both North and South America, and in addition presents many interesting problems of distribution and species differentiation.
This book has 28 identification plates in color and 25 drawings in black and white by ornithologist-artist John O'Neill, a specialist in neotropical birds. There are 8 superb decorative plates -- a labor of love by Don Eckelberry, who has an enduring and personal interest in the beautiful birds of Trinidad. Richard Ffrench has added habitat, photographs to his Introduction, and other pertinent tabular material to make this book a complete guide. Study this book before you settle into the rocking chair on the porch of the Asa Wright Nature Center to watch Purple Honeycreepers or before you canoe into the Caroni Swamp to watch the Scarlet Ibis return to roost at sunset!

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Guide to the Birds of Venezuela
Raadolphe M. De Schauensee
$39.60
424 pages - Paperback

More than forty percent of the bird species known to inhabit South America have been found in Venezuela. Here in one volume is the essential information on this rich and varied avifauna-nearly 1,300 species, almost all of which are illustrated. Text and plates have been designed for rapid identification in the field while providing at the same time detailed information indispensable for the scientist and serious observer. Forty superb color plates reproduce more than 900 species with exceptional clarity, and halftones and line drawings depict an additional 195 species.
Captions accompanying the illustrations call attention to the distinctive features of each bird for ease in identification. The text provides full information regarding physical characteristics, behavior, habitat, range and, whenever possible, a note to indicate the song or call. Ranges are supplied not only for Venezuelan species, but also for many in northern Brazil and eastern Ecuador regions for which no guides exist – as well as Colombia, Guyana, and Surinam. An introduction describes Venezuela's geography, altitudinal zones, and river systems. Maps show almost all of the localities, rivers, and mountains mentioned in the text. Until Steve Hilty finishes his new book on the birds of Venezuela, this is the one to get.

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The Birds of South America : The Oscine Passerines (Vol. 1)
Robert S. Ridgely, Guy Tudor
$49.00
516 pages - Hardcover

The Birds of South America, when completed, will be a four-volume work. The initial volume, The Oscine Passerines, is the first modern field handbook for all the true songbirds, encompassing over 700 species. Thirty-one color plates by Guy Tudor, meticulously researched for soft-part colors and perching attitudes, provide a definitive visual record of most of the species included and are arranged to show relationships of different species to each other. The text by Robert Ridgely provides extensive information on the habitat, range, habits, and voices of the birds. Over 700 specially prepared distribution maps, based on published sources and recent observations, enhance the volume's usefulness. [Keep this beautiful book back at base camp – it is WAY to heavy to carry into the field].

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The Birds of South America : The Suboscine Passerines (Vol. 2)
Robert S. Ridgely, Guy Tudor
$59.50
814 pages - Hardcover

The Birds of South America, Volume II: The Suboscine Passerines completes the field handbook to all true songbird species begun in Volume 1: The Oscine Passerines. Volume II encompasses over 1,000 species. Fifty-two color plates by Guy Tudor, meticulously researched for soft-part colors and perching attitudes, provide a definitive visual record of most of the species included and are arranged to show relationships of different species to each other. The text by Robert Ridgely, provides extensive information on the habitat, range, habits, and voices of the birds. Over 1,000 specially prepared distribution maps, based on published sources and recent observations, enhance the volume's usefulness in the field.
Although South American birds elicit much popular and scientific interest, they have never been completely or satisfactorily described and cataloged in a single, published source. The Birds of South America, projected to be a four-volume work, thus fills a critical void. Starting from a museum approach, the authors have examined specimens of each subspecies, comparing them visually and trying to discern the patterns in their plumage variation, both intra- and inter-specifically. They take a new look at bird systematics, reassessing relationships in light of new information. Perhaps most important, they combine this review and analysis with extensive field observations to give an accurate, incisive portrait of the birds in nature.