Birds of Peru Thomas S. Schulenberg, Douglas F. Stotz, Daniel F. Lane, John P. O'Neill & Theodore A. Parker III
South America is the continent with the most bird species. And Peru is the country with the most bird species in the world. Of course many birders want to visit that country. So do I and that's why I've recently bought the new field guide to the birds of Peru by Thomas S. Schulenberg and others. The book is a little large for a field guide but when you consider that the book covers 1.792 species then it's amazing how small the guide actually is. It should be no problem taking the book into the field with you.When I get a new field guide, I always look first at the raptor plates as raptors are my favorite birds. The raptor plates in the book were painted by N. John Schmitt and he has done a wonderful job. As have all the other artists who painted the other bird groups.
The book is not divided in a plate and text sections. Instead it has the plates on the right and the text on the left. I prefer this as it's faster to get all the information you need about a bird. The texts are short but cover all that is necessary to separate the almost 1.800 species that have been recorded in Peru.
The short introduction includes a map of Peru and additional information like an overview of the habitats you can find in Peru. This is a wonderful field guide and a must for any birder planing a visit to Peru. Be sure to buy it some time before your trip so that you can already get familiar with some of the species. 1.800 is quite a lot! The book is published by different publishers in North America and the UK. That's way the covers in the amazon.com and amazon.co.uk links below look different. But it's the same book.
Book details:Birds of Peru Thomas S. Schulenberg, Douglas F. Stotz, Daniel F. Lane, John P. O'Neill & Theodore A. Parker III Princeton University Press 656 pages ISBN-10: 0691049157 ISBN-13: 978-0691049151 UK Publisher and ISBN: Christopher Helm Publishers Ltd ISBN-10: 0713686731 ISBN-13: 978-0713686739 |