The Complete Book of Southern African Birds Ginn, McIlleron, Milstein
First Edition 1989
760 pages with photos / illustrations on most pages
The book is in good condition except that the book's cover and dust jacket are sun-faded at the top of the front cover.
Very large, weighing +/- 4kg
Binding: Soft cover
Book Condition: Good condition
Edition: 1989
With more than 900 bird species known to occur, southern Africa is one of the richest avifaunal areas in the world. It is not surprising, therefore, that The Complete Book of Southern African Birds is one of the biggest single volumes ever to be published on the natural history of the region. Leading bird photographers have contributed the more than 1 000 colour photographs featured in the books 760 pages. Each photograph has been carefully chosen to show to best advantage the outstanding or characteristic features of that particular species. This truly impressive collection, compiled by pictures editor Geoff Mcllleron, includes some showing extremely rare migrants. For the few species for which suitable photographs were unavailable, paintings by well-known bird illustrator Graeme Amott were commissioned. The text for The Complete Book of Southern African Birds has been written by ornithologists, many of them world authorities, with valuable contributions by amateurs who have extensive field experience. The individual species entries give a general account of the bird, followed by details of its distribution and occurrence within the region, points for field recognition (such as appearance, voice and behaviour), food and feeding methods, and breeding biology. A map showing the birds latest recorded distribution in the region is provided for the majority of species. Also included are special, illustrated sections on the origin, evolution and behaviour of birds in general, and bird habitats and distribution in southern Africa. The book has been compiled under the general editorship of Peter Ginn, who has been actively involved in birding for more than 23 years and has written eight books about birds, and Peter Milstein, an ornithologist concerned with the conservation of birds and who has also researched and written widely on the subject. The texts have been refereed by a team of professional ornithologists, among them Dr Philip Hockey, Richard Brooke and Terry Oatley, all of the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town, Warwick Tarboton, ornithologist with the Directorate of Nature and Environmental Conservation in the Transvaal, and Ian Sinclair of the Durban Natural History Museum, a well-respected author and expert in the field of bird identification. The vast amount of information contained in the book will be of value to expert and lay person alike, for it has been produced out of a strong commitment to and concern for the welfare of southern Africas fauna, and an appreciation for the special place and beauty of birds. The book has been six years in the making and, as world-renowned photographer Eric Hosking says in his foreword, `. . . this book can truly be called a complete book of southern African Birds.
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