Customer Reviews

Birds of Western Africa (Helm Identification Guides)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A major new fieldguide, and a classic from the "Helm" stable that will set the standard for Western Africa for years to come. It covers all the 1282 species expected to be seen in the c.20 nations inside a triangle enclosing The Congo, Chad and Mauritania. For several of the countries it is the only single guide that covers all of the nations birds in one book. Nicely illustrated with over 3000 drawings on 142 colour plates which cover all the species described apart from a few vagrants. Distribution maps are provided for the majority of species. As the first comprehensive guide to the region in over 25 years this is a "must buy" for any serious birder visiting Western Africa.

I have found this book absolutely essential when working in the forest zone of West Africa. No other book is more comprehensive for the region. Another review here comments on the illustrations and species descriptions being inadequate. Very little is known about birds from this region and, although brief, the species descriptions are accurate and often essential when identifying tricky species. The plates are not all that inspiring but they adequately illustrate plumage variations and are perfect for the purpose of identification and separation of similar species. Descriptions of vocalisations are as good as they can be and I have found the maps to be accurate.

If you intend on serious birding in difficult environments and want to be able to separate one nondescript greenbul from another, you will NEED this book. If you want to admire the odd bird on a safari holiday then either go for the smaller, field guide version of this book or another less specialised book with nice pictures. In short, this is one of my favourite bird books!

Like most books of this type the information is very general and simply gathered from various references which can make it quite inaccurate.On top of this the illustrations are of a standard that would make identification difficult if birds were actually encountered in the flesh, or feather as it may be.
The size and weight puts it in a catagory of reference book but there is very little information on species that goes into any detail. Things like distribution and status are very general and no breeding info at all.
It's more like a field guide that you would need a wheel barrow for to take out in the field. It would probably take up half your luggage allowance if you took it out to West Africa with you on a birding trip.
Better off with books with less species and more detail.
Not worth the money !