| ||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in A Photographic Guide to Birds of China Including Hong Kong for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
This is a fully updated edition of this compact, easy-to-use bird identification guide for any birdwatcher visiting China and Hong Kong. This area is one of the world's top destinations for birdwatchers. A total of 252 species is described here in detail, from the majestic White-naped Crane to the strikingly colourful Large Niltava. All of these birds are clearly illustrated in a collection of specially commissioned colour photographs. With almost 300 full-colour photographs, easy-to-use thumbnail family silhouettes, a regional distribution map and handy tips on the best birding localities, this guide is an invaluable aid for any birdwatcher visiting the region.
About the Author
John Mackinnon lived in China and Hong Kong for eight years, and has extensive experience of watching and writing about Chinese birds. He has been working in ecology and conservation in Asia for over 30 years and has written and co-authored many books on the natural history of the continent. Nigel Hicks is a freelance writer and photographer. He has travelled extensively in Asia and is the coauthor of New Holland's A Photographic Guide to Birds of the Philippines. He lives in Teignmouth, Devon.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A useful little book of the more common birds of China. I would say a good additional book if you are a serious bird watcher. You will need something like the Birds of East Asia as your main reference book.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
almost perfect
31 Jan 2002
Format:Paperback
This book was very helpful when identifying birds of Hong Kong. The color photographs of each bird were clear and extremely helpful, and the descriptions helped me distinguish similar species if I was still in doubt after seeing the picture. The range maps seem accurate, and the book's small size makes it very portable and convenient to carry. The only drawback was that several species I saw, some fairly commonly, were not listed or pictured, so I was unable to identify them at the time. Overall, I would recommend this book for someone wanting to identify Hong Kong birds.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Decent photographs but for only 20% of China's birds
1 Nov 2008
Format:Paperback
Basics: 1996, softcover, 144 pages, color photographs of 252 species, simple range maps
This compact guide offers decent color photos for 252 (20%) of China's 1,300+ birds. The large size of China with diverse habitats combined with the relatively low percentage of birds covered in this book means this photo guide should only be considered as a practice tool before visiting China. It's certainly small enough to carry around, but it's too limited to be of consistent help.
Nearly all the birds are shown with only a single photo. These photos are clear and well lit. The photos are smaller, which is necessary to make a compact book. However, the photo usually zooms in on the the bird to maximize its size. These pictures will be good enough to identify the bird - if you see that specific plumage of the bird.
Each bird receives a single paragraph of text with the photo. Most of this is dedicated to describing the bird. These descriptions are average and, while offering some details, are generally not in-depth enough to identify all the birds. A few additional lines are given for voice and habitat.
The same range map template is used for all birds. This is small (2.5 x 1.5cm) and uses only one color to denote the distribution. However, it is not apparent what the mapped distribution specifically shows. Breeding? Winter? Year round? At some point during the year? The book only states the maps can be used to "check whether the species can be expected at the given locality."
I liked this book to practice learning the birds, but a true field guide is necessary with this it. This book is really just a sampling of China's birds. Three books I recommend for China are "The Birds of Hong Kong and South China" (8th edition) by Viney, "A Field Guide to the Birds of China" by MacKinnon, and "A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Hong Kong" by the Hong Kong Birdwatching Society. Each has its strengths and limitations.
I've listed several related books below...
1) The Birds of Hong Kong and South China by Viney/Phillips
2) A Field Guide to the Birds of China by MacKinnon/Phillipps
3) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Hong Kong by HKBS (ISBN 9621428947)
4) The Birds of China by de Schauensee
5) Atlas of birds of China by Qian (ISBN 7534915643)
6) Atlas of the Beijing Birds by Zhao (ISBN 7503822570)
7) The Avifauna of Hong Kong by Carey (ISBN 9627508020)
8) Birds of China by Zhang
9) Les oiseaux de Chine, de Mongolie et de Coree non passereaux by Etchecopar
10) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North-East Asia by Shimba
(written by Soleglad at Avian Review or Avian Books, October 2008)
This compact guide offers decent color photos for 252 (20%) of China's 1,300+ birds. The large size of China with diverse habitats combined with the relatively low percentage of birds covered in this book means this photo guide should only be considered as a practice tool before visiting China. It's certainly small enough to carry around, but it's too limited to be of consistent help.
Nearly all the birds are shown with only a single photo. These photos are clear and well lit. The photos are smaller, which is necessary to make a compact book. However, the photo usually zooms in on the the bird to maximize its size. These pictures will be good enough to identify the bird - if you see that specific plumage of the bird.
Each bird receives a single paragraph of text with the photo. Most of this is dedicated to describing the bird. These descriptions are average and, while offering some details, are generally not in-depth enough to identify all the birds. A few additional lines are given for voice and habitat.
The same range map template is used for all birds. This is small (2.5 x 1.5cm) and uses only one color to denote the distribution. However, it is not apparent what the mapped distribution specifically shows. Breeding? Winter? Year round? At some point during the year? The book only states the maps can be used to "check whether the species can be expected at the given locality."
I liked this book to practice learning the birds, but a true field guide is necessary with this it. This book is really just a sampling of China's birds. Three books I recommend for China are "The Birds of Hong Kong and South China" (8th edition) by Viney, "A Field Guide to the Birds of China" by MacKinnon, and "A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Hong Kong" by the Hong Kong Birdwatching Society. Each has its strengths and limitations.
I've listed several related books below...
1) The Birds of Hong Kong and South China by Viney/Phillips
2) A Field Guide to the Birds of China by MacKinnon/Phillipps
3) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Hong Kong by HKBS (ISBN 9621428947)
4) The Birds of China by de Schauensee
5) Atlas of birds of China by Qian (ISBN 7534915643)
6) Atlas of the Beijing Birds by Zhao (ISBN 7503822570)
7) The Avifauna of Hong Kong by Carey (ISBN 9627508020)
8) Birds of China by Zhang
9) Les oiseaux de Chine, de Mongolie et de Coree non passereaux by Etchecopar
10) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North-East Asia by Shimba
(written by Soleglad at Avian Review or Avian Books, October 2008)
Compact, clear and user friendly
28 May 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I love this book. I didn't want/need a huge compendium of Birds in China to carry around, and this is light, will fit in my hiking pocket, and the photographs are clear and helpful. I got it from Crzybulldogs, in perfect condition, and they sent it very quickly. Nuff said!
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
