Birds of Southern Africa by Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey , Warwick Tarboton, and Peter Ryan is a comprehensive guide to more than 950 bird species known to occur in southern Africa. The book includes 213 color plates, which are accompanied by range maps and a short description of the species.
One aspect of the book that caught my attention was the quick reference guide on the first page. The guide shows a picture of the genus or family and the first page on which they appear. This would be especially useful to someone not familiar with the birds of southern Africa or novice birder. The book also includes a list of bird societies and clubs of southern Africa, which I have never seen in a field guide. I thought these two features would make this field guide ideal for a bird watcher visiting from another region.
I thought that the illustrations were accurate and plenty of details were given to help distinguish between similar species, like the Cisticolas. The maps next to each species description are also a great help when trying to distinguish similar species. The relatively small size of the book coupled with the beautiful and accurate plates make this field guide an ideal companion for any level of bird watching in southern Africa.
Disclaimer: Princeton University Press kindly provided a review copy of this field guide.
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