Books : Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands: Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, Seychelles and the Comoros
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 598
EAN: 9781868729562
ISBN: 1868729567
Label: Struik
Manufacturer: Struik
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 184
Publication Date: January 30, 2003
Publisher: Struik
Sales Rank: 170330
Studio: Struik
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Following in the format of Sasol Birds of Southern Africa, this guide presents all the birds of Madagascar and the other Indian Ocean islands (Seychelles, Reunion, Mauritius and Mascarenes), a great many species of which are endemic to these islands. In field guide form, this text presents concise descriptions of each species, highlighting diagnostic features for ease of identification. Differences between sexes and plumages are discussed as well as the status of the bird, its habitat and call. Distribution maps accompany each entry. The birds are illustrated in full color and where necessary are depicted in all plumages relevant to identification (male, female and immature). In-flight illustrations present the bird from above and below, providing comprehensive coverage of the birds in the field.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
Basics: 1998, 1st edition, softcover, 184 pages, 70 color plates, 359 species, range maps
This field guide is the predecessor to the smaller photographic guide of 2006 by the same authors. This is the only complete field guide to cover these unique islands in the Indian Ocean. Fortunately, as the only guide, it is also a very good guide. The illustrations are high quality and the text is well-written to aid the birder with the more difficult groups of birds such as warblers, newtonias, and greenbuls.
A range map has been supplied for each of the birds. Given the high percentage of birds endemic to this area -- which is probably a key attractor for anyone birding here -- it would have been helpful to make some type of visual distinction in the map to signify if the range reflects an endemic bird or the visitation grounds of a migrant/visitor. To be fair to the authors, this information is clearly stated within the text under "Status".
This book is invaluable - and a necessity - for birding the smaller islands around Madagascar. For a visit to only Madagascar, this book will be as equally useful as the few other field guides written for this country.
I've listed several related books below...
1) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands by Sinclair
2) The Birds of Seychelles and Outlying Islands by Penny
3) Oiseaux De La Reunion by Barre
4) The Beautiful Birds of Seychelles by Skerrett ... Read More
Rating:  -
This is a first class book for the birder who intends to travel to the region.
The illustrations are excellent with the exception of a couple of plates e.g. the Terns and the Shorebirds where too many species are crowded on one page however most European and North Americans will be familiar with these from their home countries. The endemics are particularly well done by each of the four artists.
The maps are adequate showing by and large where the species occur. They are all the same size and cover the same area. More detailed maps may have been desirable for species that occur in only a small area e.g Archbold's Newtonia on Madagascar.
The writing is perfect for a field guide. It covers the main diagnostic features, The habitat, status and call. There is little or no white space on any page which is terrific as the authors have used the space very wisely.
The book also covers, albeit briefly, where the best birding locations are including a map to show these. I particularly love the quick indeces on the inside of both of the covers together with an illustrated family finder.
Not only that but the book is compact and can easily fit in the usual small bird book bags available. Terrific!
Negatives? Yes I could be picky and pick a few things but why bother on this excellent field guide. I only wish that some day we will have similar guides for the South American countries ...
Rating: -
After I received my copy of this book, I was blown away by how good it is!
The illustrations are absolutely beautiful. The warblers in particular are so life-like they are looking straight into your eyes warily, seemingly ready to fly off the pages at any moment!
Editing is well done, with clear range maps and all the info you might need about the birds found on the pages right opposite the colour pages where each species is illustrated.
Before these species accounts, the book has an excellent chapter on birdwatching in the region, with detailed information on the key sites of every single country covered, even accompanied by good maps of every island worth visiting. Such a good combination of a field guide and a site guide is very rare indeed.
All in all: perfect!
Whether you are thinking of visiting several or only one of the the countries covered here, this is THE book to take.
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