Saturday, 25 October 2014
Kaieteur: not the world's highest waterfall
Guyana Tourist Board has done a thorough job in convincing visitors that this is the
highest falls in the world. No matter: this is a stunning place (even
if the drop is some 700m short of Venezuela's Kerepakupai-vená).
Monday, 13 October 2014
Rufous-thighed Kite (Harpagus diodon): a new Atlantic Forest breeding endemic
.jpg) |
| Rufous-thighed Kite Harpagus diodon. By Rick elis.simpson (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
These findings are not merely of academic importance. Given that Rufous-thighed Kite is now thought to be an Atlantic Forest breeding endemic and that only 11·7% of this biome remains (Ribeiro et al. 2009), the species could be in serious trouble. Populations at the end of 19th century are likely to have been at least ten times higher than at present (Lees & Martin 2014) and its current rarity may simply be explained as the result of catastrophic loss of habitat.
References
Bierregaard, R.O., Jr, Bonan, A., Marks, J.S. & Sharpe, C.J. (2014) Rufous-thighed Kite (Harpagus diodon). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.) (2014). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/52974 on 30 September 2014).
BirdLife International (2014) Species factsheet: Harpagus diodon. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/factsheet/22695063 on 30/09/2014.
Lees, A.C. & Martin, R.W. (2014) Exposing hidden endemism in a Neotropical forest raptor using citizen science. Ibis doi: 10.1111/ibi.12207. PDF
Ribeiro, M.C., Metzger, J.P., Martensen, A.C., Ponzoni, F.J. & Hirota, M.M. (2009) The Brazilian Atlantic Forest: how much is left, and how is the remaining forest distributed? Implications for conservation. Biological Conservation 142(6): 1141-1153. PDF
Tuesday, 7 October 2014
The Curious Naturalist's library: Guyana
In a couple of weeks' time I will be returning to Guyana for a month of bird tours. If you have not considered Guyana as a birding
destination, you might like whet your appetite with Chris Collins' 2007
article in Neotropical Birding, Guyana: South America's overlooked birding destination and An update on birding in Guyana, co-authored with Barry Walker. Interested? The one snag with birding Guyana is that there is currently no field guide to the birds of Guyana, so people always ask which identification guides to take. These are my recommendations.A Field Checklist of the Birds of Guyana, 2nd edition by Mike Braun, Davis Finch, Mark Robbins & Brian Schmidt. PDF.
The definitive published checklist, listing the 814 species recorded as of 2007. Use in conjunction with the following book. An updated list can be found at the SACC website.
Birds of Venezuela by Steve Hilty.
If you can take only one bird guide, this is it. One of the best Neotropical field guides ever written (review), it covers the vast majority of Guyana's avifauna – and a whole lot more besides. Decades of field experience are compressed by this gifted author into descriptions that are at once precise, detailed and even poetic. Voice transcriptions are – to my ear at least – unrivalled. Not the lightest of field guides, it will reduce that already tight luggage limit by 1.4 kg. It will come in handy for future trips to Venezuela. The same author's Birds of Tropical America is required pre-trip reading.
Birds of Northern South America: An Identification Guide, Volume 2: Plates and Maps by Robin Restall, Clemencia Rodner, & Miguel Lentino.
An encyclopaedic compilation on the birds of the region, with handy maps, reliable text and a huge number of plates covering almost every plumage. A labour of love, the plates are carefully painted direct from museum specimens and are at once painstakingly accurate yet sometimes not quite like the bird as encountered in the field. The only guide to depict everything you will encounter in-country. Many plumages – such as male Black-throated Antshrike Frederickena viridis – are illustrated nowhere else. An enormously valuable reference, and despite weight restrictions it is worth taking this into the field. Volume 1 provides a lot more text.
Birds of Northern South America: An Identification Guide, Volume 2: Plates and Maps by Robin Restall, Clemencia Rodner, & Miguel Lentino.An encyclopaedic compilation on the birds of the region, with handy maps, reliable text and a huge number of plates covering almost every plumage. A labour of love, the plates are carefully painted direct from museum specimens and are at once painstakingly accurate yet sometimes not quite like the bird as encountered in the field. The only guide to depict everything you will encounter in-country. Many plumages – such as male Black-throated Antshrike Frederickena viridis – are illustrated nowhere else. An enormously valuable reference, and despite weight restrictions it is worth taking this into the field. Volume 1 provides a lot more text.
Field Guide to the Songbirds of South America: The Passerines by Robert S. Ridgely & Guy Tudor.
Distilled from Ridgely and Tudor's groundbreaking (and backbreaking!) two-volume The Birds of South America, this portable edition comprises more than 1,500 illustrations covering nearly 2,000 species. The accompanying text is short, but wonderfully succinct. Ideal for grappling with those little brown jobs. A valuable reference, but perhaps weight restrictions will consign it to the office rather than the field.
Birds of South America: Non-Passerines: Rheas to Woodpeckers by Francisco Erize & Maurice Rumboll.
A much smaller, almost pocket-sized guide that complements Ridgely and Tudor in coverage. All the information on each species is presented opposite the illustration in a double-page spread. Rather uneven in quality, but can be useful.
Birds of Venezuela mp3 CD, version 2.0 by Peter Boesman. Available as a CD or for immediate download from Birdsounds.nl.
Peter has been recording Venezuelan bird sounds since the 1990s and has already published a CD-ROM (review), mp3 CD, DVD-ROM and now this mp3 DVD. Over the years I have acquired them all and used them constantly. This latest production contains 4,196 recordings of 1,270 species, many of which occur in Guyana. A small number of the featured recordings are my own.
Voices of the Brazilian Amazon / Vozes da Amazônia Brasileira, Vol. 1 by Luciano Naka, Phil Stouffer, Mario Cohn-Haft, Curtis Marantz, Andy Whittaker & Bob Bierregard.The vocalisations of 350 species of birds on 4 CDs by the region's top bird song experts. This first volume covers Manaus area and the Guianas. I have not been able to acquire a copy, but this has to be good.
Bird voices from French Guiana / Chant d'Oiseaux de Guyane by Alexandre Renaudier & Frenand Deroussen. The songs and calls of 230 species illustrated by 583 recordings on 3 CDs. The cuts are of excellent quality and most of the species are found in Guyana.
Neotropical Rainforest Mammals, 2nd edition by Louise Emmons & François Feer. Slim enough to carry anywhere, this is still the best one-volume guide to our region's mammals.
Mammals of the Neotropics, Volume 1: The Northern Neotropics: Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana by John F. Eisenberg. Not a field guide, but still the only reference of its type. Hard to believe that this ground-breaking publication is 25 years old this year.
Guyana & Guianas Region 1:850,000 Travel Map
by International Travel Maps
Don't get lost! Having helped supply
their cartographer, Kevin Healey, with information on Latin America
in the early 1990s, in my experience, the Canadian company ITMB
always seems to publish the most helpful and accurate travel maps. No
exception here: the Guyana & Guianas map integrates relief, roads and parks in
a clear and practical format. Have a great trip!
Saturday, 20 September 2014
Book review: Claxton by Mark Cocker
Claxton: Field Notes from a Small Planet
Mark Cocker
Jonathan Cape | 2014
238 pp. | 14.5 x 22 cm
Hardback | £14.99 / $ 35.00 | ISBN: 9780224099653
I was kindly sent a copy of the forthcoming Claxton: Field Notes from a Small Planet, after reviewing the author's magnum opus, Birds and People.
This collection consists of 140 short pieces that were originally published in the Guardian and other newspapers. Written over a period of 12 years, they are presented in calendar order here, each chapter corresponding to a month – ideal for dipping into over the course of a year. Many of the entries have been expanded to include text which went beyond the original constraints of a newspaper column.
The germ for each note is typically a chance encounter with some natural phenomenon – a bird, an otter, a fruiting tree – which the writer uses to examine the responses deep within himself, to record details apparent only to those who have immersed themselves in the outdoors. Mark Cocker's keen perception of nature, his power of reflection and his gift for putting our common experiences into words make him one of our most accomplished nature writers. This format probably suits his approach more than any other. Each essay is just long enough to allow him to paint the picture. Each observation is a finely-crafted work of art.
It is no coincidence that the author quotes at the start of the book from the greatest of all nature diaries: Thoreau's Journal. Coincidentally, I happen to have spent the past few months slowly savouring Damion Searls' new one-volume selection from the Journal. Thoreau's entries are longer and more demanding, often needing to be re-read and mulled in order to extract their full meaning; Cocker's pieces are concise, highly-distilled reflections which speak directly and immediately to the reader. Delicate and delightful, each vignette makes its impact at once. However, there is a cumulative effect that builds slowly: each additional nature note adds a new perspective to our vision of this place. The author's New England is Norfolk, specifically the village of Claxton, a few miles south-east of Norwich. Although there is a definite East Anglian flavour, these notes will resonate with anyone who has an appreciation of the English countryside.
This turns out to be the sixth book I have read by Mark Cocker. Each has been rewarding, but I suspect that this may end up being the one that I most often pull off my shelves.
Jonathan Cape | 2014
238 pp. | 14.5 x 22 cm
Hardback | £14.99 / $ 35.00 | ISBN: 9780224099653
I was kindly sent a copy of the forthcoming Claxton: Field Notes from a Small Planet, after reviewing the author's magnum opus, Birds and People.
This collection consists of 140 short pieces that were originally published in the Guardian and other newspapers. Written over a period of 12 years, they are presented in calendar order here, each chapter corresponding to a month – ideal for dipping into over the course of a year. Many of the entries have been expanded to include text which went beyond the original constraints of a newspaper column.
The germ for each note is typically a chance encounter with some natural phenomenon – a bird, an otter, a fruiting tree – which the writer uses to examine the responses deep within himself, to record details apparent only to those who have immersed themselves in the outdoors. Mark Cocker's keen perception of nature, his power of reflection and his gift for putting our common experiences into words make him one of our most accomplished nature writers. This format probably suits his approach more than any other. Each essay is just long enough to allow him to paint the picture. Each observation is a finely-crafted work of art.
It is no coincidence that the author quotes at the start of the book from the greatest of all nature diaries: Thoreau's Journal. Coincidentally, I happen to have spent the past few months slowly savouring Damion Searls' new one-volume selection from the Journal. Thoreau's entries are longer and more demanding, often needing to be re-read and mulled in order to extract their full meaning; Cocker's pieces are concise, highly-distilled reflections which speak directly and immediately to the reader. Delicate and delightful, each vignette makes its impact at once. However, there is a cumulative effect that builds slowly: each additional nature note adds a new perspective to our vision of this place. The author's New England is Norfolk, specifically the village of Claxton, a few miles south-east of Norwich. Although there is a definite East Anglian flavour, these notes will resonate with anyone who has an appreciation of the English countryside.
This turns out to be the sixth book I have read by Mark Cocker. Each has been rewarding, but I suspect that this may end up being the one that I most often pull off my shelves.
Friday, 15 August 2014
Book review: A Sparrowhawk's Lament by David Cobham
A Sparrowhawk's Lament: How British Breeding Birds of Prey Are Faring
Princeton University Press WILDGuides | 2014
256 pp. | 15.2 x 21.6 cm | 80 illustrations
Hardback | £24.95 / $ 35.00 | ISBN: 9780691157641
I am half way through A Sparrowhawk's Lament: How British Breeding Birds of Prey are Faring by David Cobham, illustrated by Bruce Pearson. This is a WILDGuides publication, but quite a departure from the photographic field guides for which the imprint is usually known. It is a personal look at the status of the UK's raptors, written by someone who has a long history of involvement in the conservation of our birds of prey, and a current vice-president of the Hawk and Owl Trust. The writing is a little quirky, being a conversational mixture of field notes, diary entries, interviews and personal recollections of meetings with a variety of people and excursions to every corner of the UK, all supported by bibliographic research; it takes some getting used to, but the passion and experience shine through to make this a rewarding, thought-provoking and topical read.
A
chapter is devoted to each of the UK's 15 breeding diurnal raptors
species, examining their changing fortunes from the earliest records
to the present day. Most of the UK's species follow the same sad
trajectory of abundance in the pre-industrial age, persecution by
gamekeepers to near extinction or extinction during the 19th
and 20th centuries (particularly after the 1831 Game Act
and often tipped over the edge by egg-collectors and / or organochloride pesticide contamination in the 1950s), and
contemporary resurgence in response to the conservation actions of a
handful of dedicated individuals and organisations. Despite legal
protection, the attacks by gamekeepers continue. Kestrel and Merlin
populations have, unfortunately, not turned around and the
once-familiar sight of the Windhover hanging over the verges of
our highways is no longer a feature of road travel. But the glaring
exception is the Hen Harrier, still illegally poisoned, trapped and
shot by the managers of grouse moors and now teetering on the brink
of extinction in England. With outrage about brazen illegal
persecution and 'establishment' complicity becoming a political
issue, this is quite a topical read. The texts are well complemented by
Bruce Pearson's watercolours (reproduced in monochrome), that really
capture the spirit of each species.
The author is careful not to turn the book into a critique of those who would have us return to the low raptor densities that unrelenting persecution had achieved before the First World War. Although he does not shy away from recounting the now familiar tales of extermination, he is keen to provide a balanced appraisal and above all to make this a positive book. Indeed, this is an uplifting read. I am finding plenty to enjoy, not least the resonance of described behaviours with those I have been lucky enough to witness myself as well as familiar haunts that crop up in the text. In the winters of the early 1980s I watched the Bowland Forest Hen Harriers hunting in over the hills of Nidderdale, and I have seen the careful protection and monitoring of Marsh Harrier nests at Sculthorpe Moor. The chapter on the Sparrowhawk – a species I monitored closely as a boy – is particularly evocative. And like the author and Mark Cocker (cited in the text) I am saddened by the efforts of political lobby groups like the ironically named SongBird Survival to vilify the species in order to detract attention from the real causes of biodiversity loss. No wonder that such organisations like to compare current raptor populations with those at their nadir a century ago.
A book to be read right through or dipped into at leisure, A Sparrowhawk's Lament is a fitting tribute to our birds of prey and those who work to conserve them. Whether beginner or specialist, everyone will learn something about our formidable, yet vulnerable diurnal raptors.
The author and artist will be interviewed by ChrisPackham at the UK Birdfair tomorrow.
Wednesday, 13 August 2014
Neotropical Birding 15 is out!
Back from a few days' camping in the Yorkshire Dales to find copies of Neotropical Birding 15 on my doormat, fresh from the printers...
The Autumn 2014 issue of Neotropical Birding, NB15, has just been published. This issue commemorates the life of Alexandre Renaudier, the young French ornithologist who died prematurely last year. Alex was a very keen birder, who spent most of his time in the field and made some extraordinary ornithological discoveries. He had a sensitive ear, testimony to which is the wonderful collection of recordings he co-authored: Bird Voices from French Guiana. He had a close relationship with NBC, acting as Country Representative for France and French Guiana between 2006 and 2013.
Appropriately, our cover story presents the first photographs of the enigmatic Rusty Tinamou Crypturellus brevirostris from Alex's adopted home, French Guiana – truly Birding at the cutting edge.
Our first Photospot provides further ground-breaking images from the same country, this time of nesting Black-bellied Cuckoo Piaya melanogaster, while the second piece is dedicated to another mysterious species, Giant Snipe Gallinago undulata.
Alex rarely found the desk-time necessary to publish his findings, but in our Identification Workshop, he and his friend Olivier Claessens reprise Field identification of Least and Yellow-billed Terns, a subject explored by Floyd Hayes in Cotinga in 2001. Further advances have made this challenge a lot easier and should result in better reporting in the future.
Switching environments somewhat, the American Bird Conservancy's Dan Lebbin takes us back to northern Peru, in a sequel to his Nightbirds article published in NB11. Dan returns in the daytime, with some suggestions for tracking down 50 species of hummingbird. A Hummingbird Paradise, perhaps?
No issue of Neotropical Birding is complete without an invitation from Alex Lees to “get your lists out” for another roller-coaster ride through the world of avian taxonomy and systematics in Splits, lumps and shuffles (one of Alex Renaudier's favourite columns).
Our compilation of recent published and unpublished records, Neotropical Notebook, is compiled by Guy Kirwan and his team of collaborators: Dušan Brinkhuizen, Diego Calderón, Bradley Davis, Jeremy Minns and Kini Roesler.
NBC has always played a role in conserving Neotropical Birds. Jez Bird tells us about this year's award winners and the continuing benefits of projects financed in the past in NBC Conservation Awards Update. Your contribution to NBC helps Award recipients give something back to the Neotropical birds we all enjoy.
We round off the issue with Book reviews of two of last year's most exciting publications: Birdwatching in Colombia and Birds and People.
Happy Neotropical birding!
Christopher J. Sharpe, Senior Editor
Sharpe, C. J. (2014) Welcome to issue 14 of Neotropical Birding. Neotrop. Birding 15: 2.
Ingels, J., Claessens, O. & de Pracontal, N. (2014) Neotropical Birding 15: a tribute to Alexandre Renaudier. Neotrop. Birding 15: 3. E-mail: johan.ingels@skynet.be
Lees, A. C. (2014) Splits, lumps and shuffles. Neotrop. Birding 15: 4–14. [resume of recent publications on taxonomy and systematics concerning multiple taxa] E-mail: alexanderlees@btopenworld.com
Rufray, V., Pelletier, V. & Ingels, J. (2014) First photographs and new records of the Rusty Tinamou Crypturellus brevirostris from French Guiana. Neotrop. Birding 15: 15–19. [Crypturellus brevirostris] E-mail: vrufray@biotope.fr / johan.ingels@skynet.be
Claessens, O. & Renaudier, A. (2014) Field identification of Least and Yellow-billed Terns: experience from French Guiana. Neotrop. Birding 15: 22–31. [Sternula superciliaris, Sternula antillarum] E-mail: olivier.claessens@gepog.org
Lebbin, D., Aucca Chutas, C., Olmos, F. & Spencer, A. (2014) Hummingbird paradise: northern Peru. Neotrop. Birding 15: 33–41. [multiple Trochilidae spp. of N Perú] E-mail: dlebbin@abcbirds.org
Kirwan, G. M., Brinkhuizen, D., Calderón, D., Davis, B., Minns, J. & Roesler, I. (2014) Neotropical Notebook: published and unpublished records. Neotrop. Birding 15: 46–62. [resume of recent records concerning multiple taxa] E-mail: gmkirwan@aol.com
Ingels, J. & Fernandez, M. (2014) Photospot: A nest of Black-bellied Cuckoo Piaya melanogaster in French Guiana. Neotrop. Birding 15: 63–65. [Piaya melanogaster] E-mail: johan.ingels@skynet.be
Smith, P., Bland, D. & Clay, R. (2014) Photospot: Waka Waka: The Giant Snipe Gallinago undulata in Paraguay. Neotrop. Birding 15: 66–69. [Gallinago undulata] E-mail: faunaparaguay@gmail.com
Bird, J. (2014) NBC Conservation Awards update. Neotrop. Birding 15: 71–75. [Glaucidium nubicola, Megascops colombianus, Coeligena orina, Henicorhina negreti, Dacnis hartlaubi, Compsospiza garleppi] E-mail: jezbird@gmail.com
Morris, P. (2014) Book review: Birdwatching in Colombia. Neotrop. Birding 15: 78–79. E-mail: pete.morris@virgin.net
Sharpe, C. J. (2014) Book review: Birds and people. Neotrop. Birding 15: 79–80. E-mail: neotropical.birding@neotropicalbirdclub.org
Welcome to issue 15 of Neotropical Birding!
The Autumn 2014 issue of Neotropical Birding, NB15, has just been published. This issue commemorates the life of Alexandre Renaudier, the young French ornithologist who died prematurely last year. Alex was a very keen birder, who spent most of his time in the field and made some extraordinary ornithological discoveries. He had a sensitive ear, testimony to which is the wonderful collection of recordings he co-authored: Bird Voices from French Guiana. He had a close relationship with NBC, acting as Country Representative for France and French Guiana between 2006 and 2013.Appropriately, our cover story presents the first photographs of the enigmatic Rusty Tinamou Crypturellus brevirostris from Alex's adopted home, French Guiana – truly Birding at the cutting edge.
Our first Photospot provides further ground-breaking images from the same country, this time of nesting Black-bellied Cuckoo Piaya melanogaster, while the second piece is dedicated to another mysterious species, Giant Snipe Gallinago undulata.
Alex rarely found the desk-time necessary to publish his findings, but in our Identification Workshop, he and his friend Olivier Claessens reprise Field identification of Least and Yellow-billed Terns, a subject explored by Floyd Hayes in Cotinga in 2001. Further advances have made this challenge a lot easier and should result in better reporting in the future.
Switching environments somewhat, the American Bird Conservancy's Dan Lebbin takes us back to northern Peru, in a sequel to his Nightbirds article published in NB11. Dan returns in the daytime, with some suggestions for tracking down 50 species of hummingbird. A Hummingbird Paradise, perhaps?
No issue of Neotropical Birding is complete without an invitation from Alex Lees to “get your lists out” for another roller-coaster ride through the world of avian taxonomy and systematics in Splits, lumps and shuffles (one of Alex Renaudier's favourite columns).
Our compilation of recent published and unpublished records, Neotropical Notebook, is compiled by Guy Kirwan and his team of collaborators: Dušan Brinkhuizen, Diego Calderón, Bradley Davis, Jeremy Minns and Kini Roesler.
NBC has always played a role in conserving Neotropical Birds. Jez Bird tells us about this year's award winners and the continuing benefits of projects financed in the past in NBC Conservation Awards Update. Your contribution to NBC helps Award recipients give something back to the Neotropical birds we all enjoy.
We round off the issue with Book reviews of two of last year's most exciting publications: Birdwatching in Colombia and Birds and People.
Happy Neotropical birding!
Christopher J. Sharpe, Senior Editor
Neotropical Birding 15: contents
Sharpe, C. J. (2014) Welcome to issue 14 of Neotropical Birding. Neotrop. Birding 15: 2.
Ingels, J., Claessens, O. & de Pracontal, N. (2014) Neotropical Birding 15: a tribute to Alexandre Renaudier. Neotrop. Birding 15: 3. E-mail: johan.ingels@skynet.be
Lees, A. C. (2014) Splits, lumps and shuffles. Neotrop. Birding 15: 4–14. [resume of recent publications on taxonomy and systematics concerning multiple taxa] E-mail: alexanderlees@btopenworld.com
Rufray, V., Pelletier, V. & Ingels, J. (2014) First photographs and new records of the Rusty Tinamou Crypturellus brevirostris from French Guiana. Neotrop. Birding 15: 15–19. [Crypturellus brevirostris] E-mail: vrufray@biotope.fr / johan.ingels@skynet.be
Claessens, O. & Renaudier, A. (2014) Field identification of Least and Yellow-billed Terns: experience from French Guiana. Neotrop. Birding 15: 22–31. [Sternula superciliaris, Sternula antillarum] E-mail: olivier.claessens@gepog.org
Lebbin, D., Aucca Chutas, C., Olmos, F. & Spencer, A. (2014) Hummingbird paradise: northern Peru. Neotrop. Birding 15: 33–41. [multiple Trochilidae spp. of N Perú] E-mail: dlebbin@abcbirds.org
Kirwan, G. M., Brinkhuizen, D., Calderón, D., Davis, B., Minns, J. & Roesler, I. (2014) Neotropical Notebook: published and unpublished records. Neotrop. Birding 15: 46–62. [resume of recent records concerning multiple taxa] E-mail: gmkirwan@aol.com
Ingels, J. & Fernandez, M. (2014) Photospot: A nest of Black-bellied Cuckoo Piaya melanogaster in French Guiana. Neotrop. Birding 15: 63–65. [Piaya melanogaster] E-mail: johan.ingels@skynet.be
Smith, P., Bland, D. & Clay, R. (2014) Photospot: Waka Waka: The Giant Snipe Gallinago undulata in Paraguay. Neotrop. Birding 15: 66–69. [Gallinago undulata] E-mail: faunaparaguay@gmail.com
Bird, J. (2014) NBC Conservation Awards update. Neotrop. Birding 15: 71–75. [Glaucidium nubicola, Megascops colombianus, Coeligena orina, Henicorhina negreti, Dacnis hartlaubi, Compsospiza garleppi] E-mail: jezbird@gmail.com
Morris, P. (2014) Book review: Birdwatching in Colombia. Neotrop. Birding 15: 78–79. E-mail: pete.morris@virgin.net
Sharpe, C. J. (2014) Book review: Birds and people. Neotrop. Birding 15: 79–80. E-mail: neotropical.birding@neotropicalbirdclub.org
Wednesday, 6 August 2014
Book review: Woodpeckers of the World by Gerard Gorman
Woodpeckers of the World
Gerard
GormanChristopher Helm | 2014
528 pp. | 17 x 24 cm | 722 colour photographs. 239 maps Hardback | £35 / $49.95 | ISBN: 978-1-4081-4715-3
Gerard Gorman is a woodpecker nut. I
know because I have been privileged enough to have spent a couple of weeks with him in the field, sharing part of his quest for the world's woodpeckers. Our field trip took place in 2009 and began when we met in an aeroplane on the way to Guyana. As owners of
bird tour companies, we had both been invited to travel to Guyana on
a 'fam' trip. We met on the London – Port-of-Spain leg and, since we had been assigned adjacent seats, spent much of the ten hour flight talking about birds. Needless to say, I learned a lot about the Picidae! The trip came out of the blue for me and I had
been unable to return home to load my collection of bird
vocalisations onto my iPod, but Gerard assured me that he had
everything that we would need. Some time into the flight I asked to
borrow his iPod. When I scrolled through the species list, I found
only woodpeckers... Throughout our Guyana trip, Gerard would always home in
on a woodpecker, even to the point of shunning some of the
Neotropics' most charismatic species. Since then I have regarded this often-overlooked family in a new light and with renewed interest. So who better to guide us
through the world of woodpeckers?
This is a major new overview of the world's woodpeckers by an expert on the subject who has two previous woodpecker publications under his belt: Woodpeckers of Europe and The Black Woodpecker. Woodpecker taxonomy is a subject for debate, but for the purposes of this book the author recognises 239 species. Each receives a detailed text with information on identification, vocalisations, food, conservation status, habitat, range and notes on taxonomy and similar species. Interestingly, for the first time, the author specifically includes information on drumming – or absence of it. Each species account is accompanied by a range map and typically several photographs illustrating sexual dimorphism or subspecific variation.
As one would expect, the text has been exhaustively researched and carefully compiled from a broad range of primary sources, but the author himself has travelled widely to gain extra field experience with a large number of species. So this is more than a literature review; it is a real contribution to our knowledge of woodpeckers. As the author recognises: “During my research it soon became clear that many species of woodpecker are poorly-known, with questions on taxonomy, biology, behaviour, distribution and even existence remaining unanswered.” One of the contributions of this book is to point out areas that require further research.
Good as the text is, the photographs are surely going to be the main reason for purchasing this book. There are, on average, three images per species and the quality is generally excellent. My favourites are the Piculus, the photographs capturing the striking plumage and eye colour that often receive rather drab treatment in field guides. I have to mention the wonderful sequence of the interior of a Downy Woodpecker nest, showing the development of the young.
Maps need some checking. For example, of the Neotropical woodpeckers I checked, Ivory-billed Woodpecker Campephilus principalis is shown on Hispaniola rather than Cuba; the Trinidadian range of Chestnut Woodpecker Celeus elegans is not shown, whereas Red-crowned Melanerpes rubricapillus is erroneously shown on Trinidad (it is found on Tobago); the Belizean range of Acorn Woodpecker Melanerpes formicivorus is not depicted; Cinnamon Woodpecker Celeus loricatus is shown for W Venezuela, although it does not occur in the country; and the NE Venezuela range of Golden-spangled Piculet Picumnus exilis is absent.
For those who already have Winkler et al.'s 1995 Pica Press Woodpeckers of the World (and / or HBW 7, published in 2002), is there enough novel content to justify buying this new book? The answer is yes. The text updates Winkler et al. and an extensive bibliography of post-2002 publications is provided (current enough to include, for example, del Rio et al.'s 2013 six-way split of the 'Golden-green' Woodpecker Piculus 'chrysochloros' complex). The photographs provide a useful complement to both Winkler et al. and HBW 7. For example, the distinctly larger bill of White-bellied Piculet Picumnus spilogaster compared with other similar species is clearly shown – something that I have not seen in field guide illustrations.
In short, a really nice reference book to an attractive and often under-rated group of birds. This will surely set the record straight. Excellent work Gerard!
References
del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (2002) Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 7: jacamars to woodpeckers. Lynx Edicions: Barcelona. 613 pp.
Gorman, G. (2004) Woodpeckers of Europe: a study of the European Picidae. Bruce Coleman: London. 192 pp.
Gorman, G. (2011) The Black Woodpecker: a monograph on Dryocopus martius. Lynx Edicions: Barcelona. 184 pp.
Winkler, H., Christie, D. A. & Nurney, D. (1995) Woodpeckers: a guide to the woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks of the world. A & C Black: London. 416 pp.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)