Neil McCulloch

Basics: 2004, softcover, 92 pages, 28 color plates, 28 species, 20 other small illustrations

If you mix two small, remote islands in the middle of the Atlantic with a couple hundred years of habitat destruction, you come up with the need for only a very small field guide. This little book dedicates one color plate to each of the 28 species expected to be found one these two islands. There are 14 seabirds and 14 land birds. One of each is endemic: The Ascension Frigatebird on Ascension Island and the St. Helena Plover on St. Helena Island.

The plates appear to be done by an enthused naturalist who’s accustomed to doing a water painting of the birds while standing on the beach. The artistry is good, but the paintings do not attempt to capture realistic or fine detail. Instead, they are a very well done depiction of the bird. However, considering the few birds to be seen, these paintings will suit the birder just fine.

A page of text for each bird covers identification, behavior, nesting, recommended sites to find the bird, world range, and island history. The end of the book contains a too-brief appendix on the birds that have gone extinct over the past 500 years. This was a missed opportunity to fill in a void of these nine birds. Instead, the reader is shown only a small b&w line drawing. Two other appendices cover accidental visitors and failed avian introductions to the islands.

The first 21 pages of the book give a good overview of the islands’ history, environment, and recommended birding sites.

By the slim chance you ever go to these islands, you’ll probably do so via a cruise ship where tenders are unlikely. In that case, you’ll want to bring along a guide to the seabirds. I view this book as a nifty little library addendum that is more useful as a reference than as a guide.

Other Related Books:
1) Seabirds: An Identification Guide by Harrison
2) A Field Guide to Seabirds of the World by Harrison
3) Photographic Handbook of the Seabirds of the World by Enticott/Tipling
4) Albatrosses, Petrels and Shearwaters of the World by Onley/Scofield
5) Birds of the Atlantic Ocean by Stokes/Shackleton
6) Photographic Guide to the Shorebirds of the World by Rosair/Cottridge
7) Shorebirds: An Identification Guide by Hayman/Marchant/Prater… (mehr)