A Field Guide to the Birds of China: Ornithology (Paperback)

Customers buy this book with A Guide to the Mammals of China by Andrew T. Smith

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• This item: A Field Guide to the Birds of China: Ornithology by John MacKinnon

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• A Guide to the Mammals of China by Andrew T. Smith

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Review
"This field guide has been long awaited by the growing number of birders visiting China. By including in one volume all the species--complete with distribution maps--recorded in this vast country, it represents a huge step forward. It is the first complete, taxonomically up-to-date and fully illustrated guide to the birds of China published in English ... The initial chapters include an introduction to the region, with a revealing section on birds in the local economy and culture. ... Next come the 128 all-important colour plates, which have distribution maps opposite--an arrangement which I like. ... The species accounts cover nomenclature, descriptions, voice, range (global), distribution and status (within region) and habits, and occupy 500 pages. Finally, there are appendices which include lists of endangered and protected species, and endemic and limited-distribution species. ... This book is a major achievement and an invaluable conservation tool."--Birdwatch
"This field guide is a great step forward and essential for anyone with an interest in China's birds. For the first time, in any language, all China's 1329 species are described and illustrated in one book and despite containing more than 500 pages its A5 size makes it compact enough for easy field use. The layout is well thought out...it is easy to identify which similar species should be present in a particular region of China. It is well worth the price of the book just to have all species illustrated accurately. Overall a good quality field guide that I would not be without." -- Ross MacLeod, British Ornithologists' Union, Vol 143, 2001


Product Description
China is one of the largest countries in the world, covering 7% of the earth's land surface, and encompassing a hugely diverse range of habitats. As a result it boasts a rich and diverse avifauna, including some of the most spectacular and fascinating birds to be found anywhere in the world. John MacKinnon and Karen Phillipps' important new guide will be the first truly comprehensive, taxonomically modern, and fully illustrated field guide to the birds of China. Over 1300 bird species are illustrated in 128 original colour paintings, by Karen Phillipps and Dave Showler. The species accounts stress the key points for field recognition and give a full description of the plumage, voice, range, distribution, status, and behavioural characteristics for every bird, with additional descriptions provided for hundreds of subspecies. Colour distribution maps are provided for all illustrated species. The book also includes a useful introductory section that presents a background to the ecology of China, a brief history of Chinese ornithology, and plenty of practical hints on birdwatching in China. The guide's portable format means it will fit easily into a backpack or pocket. 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 his work in China included co-authoring the master plan to save the Giant Panda and its habitat. He has written and co-authored many books on the natural history of Asia, including a number of other bird guides. Karen Phillipps was born in Borneo, lived in Hong Kong for over 20 years, and has illustrated several other books on the birdlife of the region.

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First Sentence
This is a worldwide family of ground-living birds with short round wings but often long tails. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover

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1 Review 5 star:    (0) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 3.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   17 of 17 people found the following review helpful: 3.0 out of 5 stars A bit of a curate's egg: good in parts, 28 Nov 2000 By  m.lindop@virgin.net (Solihull, England) - See all my reviews This is the best guide to the birds of China on the market. However there is not much competition. By the standard of many modern bird books this one is slightly disappointing. The plates are of variable quality with the worst (of geese) being of little assistance in identification. There are too many typographical errors. The text is limited which is to an extent understandable given the number of species described. All in all this book did not quite live up to expectations. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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