The premise for this work is rooted in the sound logic that avifaunal overlap in the various political units of Central America defies national boundaries, with many species being present in all seven countries. It makes sense, therefore, to have one field guide covering the entire region.
The opening sections follow the time-honoured traditions of field guides, explaining the scope of the book in the introductory comments, with notes as to taxonomy, the rationale for the design of the maps and other generic comments. A conventional diagram depicting bird topography is included and, though we have been exposed to this artifice so many times, it remains a valuable tool. It must be especially helpful to enthusiasts new to recreational birding but lacking in detailed knowledge of feather tracts and other aspects of avian morphology.
There is an important chapter dedicated to the geography of Central America and herein lies the core reason for grouping the countries of the region together. From the standpoint of bird populations, they are defined by similar physical and climatic features, with political boundaries meaning nothing to highly mobile birds seeking to maximize their life styles and breeding opportunities. Pacific lowland dry forest in southern Guatemala is little different from the same ecosystem in neighbouring El Salvador. Many species found here will also be discovered in the dry forests of Guanacaste in Costa Rica.
The illustrations in the book are well done, but the biggest issue I have is the quality of reproduction. I am not sure whether it is by design, or whether the printer forgot to crank up his ink, but looking at many of the pages is like peering through gauze.
The birds look flat, greyish and washed out. The pages that I include here actually look brighter than the book. Take for example the Jabiru above. While the head is factually not entirely black it appears to be so to the field observer, especially in bright sunshine when it appears glossy black and the throat so deep a red as to resemble blood. I have carefully checked my photographs of this species, and several other references, and universally this is true.
Look at the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher below.
While this species is not gaudy, being in fact an artist's palette of subtlety, it nevertheless leaves one breathless when first viewing its understated beauty. The picture above fails to capture this.
Similar comments might be made about the images below.
The book is overall a great addition to the ever-growing compendium of first rate field guides, and the less than perfect plates should not deter potential buyers who would find this work useful. Whenever I coach beginning birders I always tell them that a field guide is exactly what it says - a guide. Use it wisely, but take into account all other aspects of the sighting - habitat, time of year, location, behaviour etc. And remember, just as in humans, minor variations occur all the time and even the play of light and shade can cause colour to appear different.
The book weighs in at a hefty 1,395 grams (about 3 lb) but given its coverage this is not unreasonable and carried in a suitable pouch across the shoulder should present no problem toting it in the field.
In January I will be going to Costa Rica and in April to Panama so I will have a great opportunity to give it a workout in the field. I will look forward to the pleasure.
Birds of Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama
Andrew C. Vallely and Dale Dyer
Paperback - $49.0 - 9780691138022 - 584 pages - 6" x 9"
Publication date: 16 October 2018
Monday, October 22, 2018
Book Review - Birds of Central America - Princeton University Press
David M. Gascoigne, Monday, October 22, 2018![David M. Gascoigne,](http://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCGroJtCgyE7QawndB1Ag7qF4d1Mki1L-QMhW-qnd0_RDwpTYf20AOlpoi1r62gyK4XNu4X0nljHYQoTWByWOG8p-wUpCMZkEIt12oceSvqcihD3gXmm0qJ11TiWXMvQ/s220/new+david+profile.jpg)
David M. Gascoigne,
I'm a life long birder. My interests are birds, nature, reading, books, outdoors, travel, food and wine.
you may also like
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that the land on which we are situated are the lands traditionally used by the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Neutral People. We also acknowledge the enduring presence and deep traditional knowledge, laws, and philosophies of the Indigenous Peoples with whom we share this land today. We are all treaty people with a responsibility to honour all our relations.
Followers
Welcome
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDwNBsGzgrCVhnx9-xI04vqTyh1rB_cZm7FylTFgJETf1yNPRTsW3PkwbwXdeDZr-uCf8W8CKGpoibgE4T_l8buNJkYOOdexpbbS1CihpnS0zk9U3tYXVAoS_xYaMquS4fBPxfjD09hiM94oYmPfu1m0xt91HaWbTI9Vb7GZdpyd6nB8pUYbR51Fh_g/s1003/new%20david%20profile.jpg)
My name is David. I'm a lifelong birder, fiercely committed to all of nature, however. Married to Miriam Bauman. I love to travel. I Enjoy a good book and a good glass of wine. To read more about me, click my ABOUT page.
Follow by Email
Search This Blog
Blog Archive
Popular Posts
-
I don't consider it hyperbole to suggest that the ability of scientists to communicate effectively with the world at large is one...
-
I suspect that for many, their only association with cephalopods, until recently, was the calamari on their plate. That seems to have...
-
Steve Nicholls has an impressive resumé as a distinguished entomologist and as an award-winning documentary film maker. This rare com...
-
23 September, 2023 I have been running this outing for Waterloo Region Nature for about eleven years now, in different seasons, and ...
-
24 November, 2023 Playa Larga - Nearby Rural Area - Playa Girón - Playa Larga - Nearby Rural Area The excitement started early! Just ...
-
08 August, 2023 The Mill Race, St. Jacobs, ON It's always a good day to explore on the Mill Race Trail, one of our favourite spot...
-
01 July, 2023 We were so entranced with this location the first time around it was a no-brainer to make a return visit with our dear ...
-
25 November, 2023 Playa Larga - Cienfuegos - Trinidad We said our goodbyes to our hosts in Playa Larga and boarded the bus to drive t...
-
21 November, 2023 Viñales - Autopista Habana-Pinar - Soroa Orquideario - Niña Bonita Dam - Playa Larga The start of another fine day ...
-
Miriam made focaccia bread! David is happy! To claim that it is wonderful is to understate the very meaning of ecstasy! When it...
Hello David,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a nice book. I'm looking forward to read about your travels later on.
How disappointing those illustration plates must have been, David, when one considers the usual excellence of this aspect in field-guides these days. Have the publishers offered any explanation?
ReplyDeleteNot yet!
DeleteI try to buy a book in each country I go to but it did not happen when I was in the USA. I did get a book for the flaura and fauna at the grand canyon. Sadly my Australian book somehow got left in a taxi so I am minus that one as well.
ReplyDeleteYes I remember the time without computers and mobile phones and I think life was actually much easier, we did all we wanted to that was possible under the circumsatnces without knowing any better!!
Keep well Diane
It is amazing and interesting to know that there are so many different species of birds in the world. Beautiful creations.
ReplyDeleteHello, looks like a great field guide. Costa Rica and Panama are both great places for birding and just for sightseeing. Enjoy your day, have a great new week!
ReplyDeleteEn ny bok till din omfattande samling av böcker. Jag förstår det som så att du framför viss kritik mot en del av innehållet. Se det positivt David, din kunskap om fåglar har nått en sådan nivå att du lätt kan identifiera en del misstag som författarna har gjort. Det är beröm till dig!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gunilla. It's little wonder I always look forward to reading your comments!
DeleteFor Costa Rica, I like the guide by Richard Garrigues and Robert Dean - ALL of Central America's birds in one volume would spoil me for choice !
ReplyDeleteThat's the one I have used in recent years, John. Before that it was Stiles and Skutch.
DeleteAl parecer existen discrepancias leves con el libro, pero como bien dices tu David hay que utilizarlo como lo que realmente es, una guía.
ReplyDeleteNo me cabe la menor duda que pasar unos días junto a ti como profesor observando aves tiene que ser una experiencia inolvidable.
Un fuerte abrazo mi buen amigo.
Muchas gracias por tus amables palabras, amigo Juan.
DeleteHello David!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely book and how interesting to know how many spicies of birds are in the world!
Like the illustration of the book! Enjoy your new week!
Dimi...
Hi David - well that's going to be some weighty tome to carry around - I hope you can sit for decent periods of time with it on your lap. These new guides are always interesting ... and thanks for sharing with us - would love to visit those two countries ... but won't be probably ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteAh, go for it, Hilary. See you in Panama in April!
DeleteLooking forward to seeing/reading about your travels. Sigh on the muted down images in this guide. I have noticed that birds don't read them. Guides they are. (The rainbow lorikeets you recently featured DON'T come to my area the guide books tell us. The small flock of them who visit daily would disagree.)
ReplyDeleteBird distribution changes all the time. Prolonged drought in your country, for example, causes birds to move towards the coast, and periodic rains in the interior trigger mass migrations to those regions.
DeleteI know. And yet in our prolonged drought the rainbow coloured charmers have moved inland to visit us - also in drought.
DeleteSounds like a great field guide to have and enjoy. It's nice to have one volume for all the birds of /central America.
ReplyDeletemy "field guide" is a very simple book, a stokes beginners guide and i always refer to it first. it is a smaller, paperback...the cover is falling off and i just love it. it also has notes and dates that i have hand written!!
ReplyDeleteit has beautiful pictures that are a wonderful reference. i find it to be a great reference for me!!
If it works for you that is all that counts, Debbie, but I suspect that if you went out to specifically look for birds you might need something a little more advanced.
Deletei'm sure you are right...but i am a backyard birder and since i am unable to drive, it is the place i do most of my bird watching!!
DeleteA well thought out review David. I'm rather surprised that this is a Princeton publication as their books are usually of a higher standard. Of course if the original drawings/paintings were a little flat, then it would be hard to do much to improve them. Still, it's good that there is a guide to cover the whole region although at almost 600 pages I wonder how portable it is?
ReplyDeleteI wonder what peer review there is before publishers decide to publish?
It seems to me that the original artwork must be at fault, Phil. As for your musing about peer review, I have no answer for you, but the publicist has advised me that she will refer my comments to their editorial team. In an absolutely unscientific exercise I have shown the guide to several birding friends and the reaction to the plates is universally less than enthusiastic. These people represent potential buyers, however. This is the first Princeton book that I have reviewed that has led me to a conclusion of this nature.
DeleteHi David,
ReplyDeletePerfect preview of this great book! I will share it with my (birding-) friends!
It looks fantastic and complete! Very attractive book!
Best regards, Maria
David, this is a great book to have and treasure!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous travels you will have in January and April. That would be an unforgettable experience.
Incredible … mindboggling, actually, how many species and nuances of species of birds there are and much of other wildlife for that matter. This wonderland of creatures can't exist without a nurturing environment so governments around the world must be made to understand that the most pressing issue of our time is climate change.
ReplyDeleteEspectacular, nunca he visto un libro tan bonito y completo. Muchas gracias David. Abrazos.
ReplyDeleteHello David,
ReplyDeletethis book too seems to be great to me.
There are a lot of birds in it and the species are almost impossible to count.
In Amerka, of course, there are many more birds than in our small frog country but still .......
Dear regards, Helma