Tony Tilford

Basics: 2000, softcover, 136 pages, color photos of 236 species, no range maps

Like others of its kind, this compact guide provides color photos for 236 species found in these western islands of Indonesia. This represents about 1/3 of the nearly 640 birds found here. A good sampling of all the families is given, with perhaps fewer for the warblers. This is probably a good idea considering the difficulty of identifying them without multiple illustrations.

These photos are pretty good for 90-95% of the birds, despite all of them being somewhat small as necessitated by the size of the book. Just one photo is given for each bird. For the other 5-10% of the birds, these photos often show an unhelpful pose from behind or below or, a pose that does not show the necessary field marks well enough.

The text is a brief paragraph that focuses primarily on the description of the bird to aid in identification. This will be helpful some of the time. For some birds, a comparison is made to a similar species. Some additional short notes are offered on behavior and habitat.

Due to the limited number of birds and the few plumages shown, this book will not be appreciated for a serious birding trip. Use this guide like you should all its similar congeners – only as a practice tool in conjunction with a complete field guide.

I’ve listed several related books below…
1) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Indonesia by Strange
2) The Birds of Borneo by Smythies
3) A Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, Sumatra, Java and Bali by MacKinnon/Phillipps
4) A Photographic Guide to Birds of Borneo by Davison/Fook
5) Guide to the Birds of Wallacea by Coates/Bishop
6) De Avifauna van de Plantentuin te Buitenzorg by Hoogerwerf
7) Birds: A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore by Strange
8) A Field Guide to the Birds of West Malaysia and Singapore by Jeyarajasingam/Pearson
9) A Photographic Guide to Birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore by Davison/Fook… (mehr)