Birds of Peru (Helm Field Guides) |
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Douglas F. Stotz, Daniel F. Lane, Thomas S. Schulenberg, John P. O'Neill, Parker Theodore A. III, Larry B. McQueen
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Pages: 656 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0713686731
Pub: Christopher Helm Publishers Ltd
Pub date: 2007-11-30
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 12085
Reader Reviews:
long awaited and superb guide (5/5 people found this helpful)
Work on this guide to the 1800 species of birds in Peru began in 1974 but the death of the main author and the size of the job have conspired to delay publication until 2007 - but the end result is well worth the wait.
This is an astounding field guide with some very good editorial decisions: the illustrations, maps and text are on the same open page, each page has a short overview of the species shown, illustrations of the very problematical sub-oscine families have been kept at a large size to aid recognition and the text is cut to the bare minimum with the emphasis on identification. These choices have managed to keep the book to a remarkably compact size considering the ground it has to cover.
The real highlight of the book, however, is the artwork. Bird illustrations are seldom this good or this 'right'. A number of artists have contributed but the hummingbirds of F P Bennett and the antbirds and tyrants of Larry McQueen are outstanding. I was fortunate to see some early drafts of Mr McQueen's plates in Peru in 1990 (when I thought the publication of the book was just a year or two away!) so I am relieved as well as happy that they are finally in print.
Visitors to Peru in the late 80's and 90's had to rely on the huge 'Birds of Colombia', and more recently the 'Birds of Ecuador' and 'Birds of the High Andes' have been preferred. 'Birds of Peru' has at last made the packing job easier, and will make field identification a treat too.
Finally, if like me you prefer a robust hardback the US edition is currently a steal at Amazon.com.
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Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Science & Nature -> Nature -> Wild Animals -> Birds
Books -> Subjects -> Scientific, Technical & Medical -> Biology -> Animal Sciences -> Birds
Books -> Subjects -> Sports, Hobbies & Games -> Fishing, Birdwatching & Other Outdoor Pursuits -> Birdwatching
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
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Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback
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