BY Birds of Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands

Fantásticas ilustrações!

Excelente libro. La clasificación por grupos de islas me parece un acierto. Láminas con imágenes a buen tamaño y claras. La introducción con la sistemática de las aves isleñas, genial

Sehr gutes Vogel-Bestimmungsführer der Region. Durchdachtes System und gute Abbildungen!

This book will be reviewed by people with greater knowledge of the region than I possess, so I will be brief. This guide is compact, attractively illustrated, and has decent maps. The introductory material is useful with adequate depth for someone with a serious interest in natural history. Taxonomy appears to be up to date. Subspecies are diagnosed. Vagrants are covered well. Birds from Indian Ocean island groups are separated from those of Madagascar to facilitate rapidly locating them in the guide. This will be the book in your backpack and you won't regret it.

Comparing the new field guide (FG) with the earlier one by Sinclair and Langrand (3rd edition of 2013) for the same region made me wonder whether this was the most urgently needed duplication. As I have since found out, this FG is an offshoot of the the work that had been done for the large volume Birds of the Malagasy Region that had been attached to the Birds of Africa series as BoA vol. 8. So, much of the detail work had already been done, and the publisher felt it could be used for a FG as well. This is explained right at the beginning of the acknowledgements on p. 7.The two books have a lot in common. They have almost the same format (deviating by just a few millimeters one way or the other). And while the Helm book has about 70 more pages, it actually weighs about 15 grams less and is even a bit thinner. Thus, my initial fears of a heavier book were unfounded. But the big difference in price remains. Though it may come down once all the libraries and those who can't wait - like myself - have bought their copy. Both books have very good plates, but the printing in the new one shows dull reds and yellows, particularly noticeable on the plates with the Asities and Fodies. Another printing issue is the fact that whites are more light grays. I find this irritating in the white herons/egrets as well as in the vangas. Pointers on the plates are missing in both books, unfortunately. One can tell that the Helm book is less intended for natives as it misses the French names. That's an opportunity lost! Range maps in the Helm book differentiate considerably more than what one finds in the older one, using different colors as well as hatching. On the other hand, for the islands around Madagascar, it is somewhat of a pain trying to discern the minute arrows that point to the appropriate islands. The "not to scale" approach in the older book is much preferable with clear red markings. And for Madagascar Plover, one already needs to know for the new book where the species's limited range is. Here a pointer would be helpful! Some species names differ, obviously depending on the preferred systematics. Thus, Yellow-billed Kite primarily runs as Black Kite (with a minute remark at the end of the text that this can be seen differently). Similarly, Dimorphic and Little Egret are mixed. But essentially, the species runs as Little Egret in the new book, whereas there is no mention of that name in the older book. Rather, it is separately listed as a vagrant species to the Seychelles. Gygis alba runs under Common White Tern in the older book, but under Fairy Tern in the new one. With White Tern as alternate name mentioned at the end. In the Helm book, the authors try an approach that is supposed to help weeding out "non-interesting" species. Thus, there is a section common to all the area covered. And then, there is a section specific for each group of islands. Thus visitors to the Seychelles need not to go through the Madagascar-only species, etc. Also, vagrants are concentrated in a section in the back. This may all help in most cases. But if one wants to compare say Sacred Ibis species, it becomes a pain. The approach assumes that each species remains where it "belongs" and that vagrants are only to be discovered by those who already suspect them. Each book also has its plus and minus points. Each has its more crowded plates than the other one. I personally prefer having all the Vanga species together. In the Helm book, some other species like Cuckoo-shrike and Bulbul are mixed in. The older book has not a single picture of a standing Madagascar Pratincole. The text in the newer book is somewhat more elaborate. But its smaller print and grayish color are a mistake that reminds one of the second edition Sibley (Birds of North America)! Do these publishers not learn from one another?