- Paperback: 528 pages
- Publisher: Princeton University Press; Reprint edition (5 Feb 2012)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0691153493
- ISBN-13: 978-0691153490
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,910,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Review
This book is the field guide for the birds of the Indian Subcontinent?. Most highly recommended. -- Wildlife Activist
Exactly what was needed?. The authors have done a wonderful job of balancing the needs of information and space. -- Bird Watcher's Digest
Achieve[s] the high standards one expects from Princeton University Press field guides?. Excellent for casual bird enthusiasts and serious birders making short visits to the regions covered. -- Condor
Exactly what was needed?. The authors have done a wonderful job of balancing the needs of information and space. -- Bird Watcher's Digest
Achieve[s] the high standards one expects from Princeton University Press field guides?. Excellent for casual bird enthusiasts and serious birders making short visits to the regions covered. -- Condor
Product Description
The best field guide to the birds of the Indian subcontinent is now even better. Thoroughly revised, with 73 new plates and many others updated or repainted, the second edition of Birds of India now features all maps and text opposite the plates for quicker and easier reference. Newly identified species have been added, the text has been extensively revised, and all the maps are new. Comprehensive and definitive, this is the indispensable guide for anyone birding in this part of the world.
- The leading field guide to the birds of the Indian subcontinent--now thoroughly revised and improved
- 1,375 species illustrated and described, including all residents, migrants, and vagrants
- 226 color plates--including 73 new ones--depict every species and many distinct plumages and races
- Concise text and accurate distribution maps opposite plates for easy reference
- Includes newly identified species
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very comprehensive, but not very easy to use.,
By david-stevens@springfield-lawn.demon.co.uk (Cheltenham, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Birds of India: Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives (Princeton Field Guides) (Paperback)
The geographical area covered by this book is huge, for it deals with species that can be seen from Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan in the north to the Maldives and Anderman Islands in the south, with everywhere in between. It deals with almost 1300 different birds, that are illustrated on no less than 153 full page coloured plates. In general, a visitor to the subcontinent will travel through a relatively limited area and will not visit all the places covered by the book and that creates a problem. When used in the field a lot of time is spent searching through the huge number of illustrations to find the bird one wishes to identify. If one is, say, in Madhya Pradesh, it is pointless to hunt through all the species that only live in the mountains or near the coasts, but there is no alternative. The little maps are helpful here and a trick that I used was to mark the birds that, according to the maps, are likely to be in the area, thereby creating the equivalent of a short cut. That more or less works, but not all the birds I saw had consulted the maps, so this system is not perfect. There are problems with taxonomy. This book follows Sibley and Monroe's system, as does Clements Birds of the World check list, but local Indian ornithologists often use there own names. Porphyrio porphyrio is called the Purple Gallinule locally, but it is really the Purple Swamphen. That business can drive you mad and there is no easy answer. However, things would be made easier if the illustrations were accurate, then the purple whatever could be easily found. Unfortunately the colour printing is not terribly accurate for some species and that isn't acceptable. If this book goes to another edition, then the problem with colours must be sorted out. Just in case this review is read by someone who has this book or by the authors or publishers, then do have a look at poor old Porphyrio porphyrio - he isn't really right. Thus, this book is a laudable attempt to comprehensively cover a huge area, and it does that well, but it is hard to use and it is let down by the colour printing. It is very reasonably priced and it is far more comprehensive than the Collins book (in which the colour printing is better) so it is well worth buying. Using it is a bit tough going, but worth the effort if the problems mentioned earlier are acknowledged.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews) 56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
At long last...,
By Tom Kogut - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Birds of India: Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives (Princeton Field Guides) (Paperback)
UPDATED REVIEW OF THE SECOND EDITION: I just received the second edition of "Birds of India..." and am delighted to say that I can now happily update my (four star) review of the first edition to five stars! All of the deficiencies I noted for the first edition have been addressed and corrected in the second; excellent, updated range maps now appear next to the species accounts- no more searching around to find them. The authors have added alternative English bird names where appropriate, which is perhaps less important now that the newer names have been established and in use for awhile. More importantly, the text and plates have been updated and many new species added based on recent taxonomic changes, as well as ornithological field work. The book has grown considerably in size however (528 pages vs. 384 for the first edition), and is significantly heavier. I'm not sure if it can really be called a "field guide" at this point- I for one do not relish the idea of carrying it for hours on jungle paths along with my photo gear, water bottles, etc. Perhaps the size and weight is simply the price to be paid for comprehensive coverage of India birds, but I would also like to see a true, smaller FIELD guide published that would be compact enough and light enough to put in a pack or vest, and better comply with international airline weight restrictions. Be that as it may, the second edition of this outstanding India bird guide is a great achievement and highly recommended, and a must for anyone with an interest in the birds of the Indian subcontinent!REVIEW OF THE FIRST EDITION: Finally, a complete, comprehensive field guide to the birds of India! Gone are the days of hauling 2 or 3 hardcover bird books to the subcontinent just to be able to identify relatively common species. The drawings in this book are excellent, the descriptions very detailed, and the range maps very helpful. My two criticisms are that birders familiar with the common names in Salim Ali's "The Book of Indian Birds" will be confused with the revised nomenclature in this guide (based on the Inskipp's Indian Checklist); some changes are relatively minor, while others are so dramatically different (and frankly puzzling) that cross-referencing is a chore. The second involves the separation of many of the range maps from the plates and descriptions, sometimes by many pages. This was due to the large number of species featured on some plates- there just wasn't enough room for the maps also. A better strategy might have been to put them all in the back of the book. But the benefits of this book far outweigh the shortcomings- my next trip to India promises to be more rewarding and productive bird-wise (as well as easier on my back)due to this excellent and overdue field guide. 19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The birder's companion to India,
By Debby Ng - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Birds of India: Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives (Princeton Field Guides) (Paperback)
Going to India? BUY THIS BOOK. Truly a definitive guide to the birds of India, absolutely user-friendly in the field. Accurate slates and distribution diagrams will help you determine, very briskly, the bird you are looking at. This is important in India because there are tons of birds. Morphological and behavioural characteristics are also defined in this intense field guide. Importantly, this is easy to access, it doesn't make you bounce back and forth 3 times from the slate. Pointers on the slate also help you to quickly make distinctions between similar birds. This field guide makes birding fun and an ease. Colourful slates, smart layout, if only all field guides could be this good.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Only book we needed,
By Gary Miller "siburrgary" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Birds of India: Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives (Princeton Field Guides) (Paperback)
We bought a second reference because it's hard to know which plates will help amateurs like us identify the species in a place we've not previously visited. However, with the plates, the maps, and the generally brief, but accurate descriptions, this was the only book we needed to quickly identify the over 100 species we spotted on our trip. The soft cover made it easier to stuff into one of our binocular bags.
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