Neotropical Birding 12 goes to press

After a couple of teething problems, Neotropical Birding 12 should be going to print now.

Welcome to issue 12 of Neotropical Birding!

I am honoured to be taking up the job of editing Neotropical Bird Club’s magazine for birders. Previous editors James Lowen, Nacho Areta and Guy Kirwan have worked with our contributors to create an extremely high quality publication that has earned its niche on the birder’s bookshelves. I can only hope that future issues will continue to thrill and inspire our readers to enjoy, study and conserve the rich bird life of the Neotropics.

In recent years there have been several important efforts to reassess the conservation status of the region’s bird species including a re-evaluation of the outlook for Amazonian species in the light of projected infrastructure, the production of several national Red Data Books and the publication of the 2012 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is therefore a good time for Andy Swash and Andy Symes to turn the spotlight on South America’s most endangered species in our main feature.

One of the objectives of our Club is to contribute to the conservation of the region’s birds, and our Conservation Awards Programme is the most obvious way that we achieve that. Over the past decade, tens of thousands of dollars have quietly helped local researchers carry out dozens of vital conservation projects. The funding for these important actions comes from NBC membership, as well as donations from companies and individuals. Council Members tell us how the Programme has helped us do our bit for the birds we enjoy.

We are grateful again to Alex Lees, who helps us keep our lists straight in our regular Splits, lumps and shuffles column.

Our Discoveries series continues, with Andrew Whittaker’s adrenaline-fuelled description of his discovery of the Cryptic Forest Falcon, which he teased out from the more widespread congeneric Lined Forest Falcon.

Dušan Brinkhuizen goes Birding at the cutting edge, training his optics on the elusive Rufous-crowned Antpitta in Ecuador.

Our two Photospots focus on cryptic rather than colourful species with camera-trap images of the rarely-seen Red billed Ground Cuckoo and studies of canopy roosting Lurocalis nighthawks.

We finish this issue with an inaugural set of Book reviews.

Future issues will continue to provide the range and quality of articles NBC members have become accustomed to expect. In addition, I hope that we can increase the number of articles we publish on bird identification and birding techniques in our Identification workshop and Better Neotropical birding columns respectively.

We are always looking for material for future issues, particularly on these topics.

Happy Neotropical birding!

Christopher J. Sharpe, Senior Editor

Neotropical Birding

Book review: Birds of North America by Kenn Kaufman

Birds of North America

Kenn Kaufman 

Houghton Mifflin | 2000
384 pp. | 11.5 x 19 cm | 2,000+ digitally enhanced photographs. Colour distribution maps

Paperback | £22.00 / $20.00 | ISBN: 978-0-395-96464-4

According to the author, Kaufman Guides are "the best and fastest way to get started... to send you outside quickly, putting names on what you find". If that is the objective, the Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America has realised it admirably.

Aimed at the beginner rather than the expert, the facing-page format allows illustrations, text, and range map for each bird to be viewed simultaneously, at one opening of the book. That is a major advantage over, say, the Peterson Field Guide series. As for the illustrations, Kaufman opts for digitally enhanced photographs over paintings, the idea being to combine the strengths of a real, photographic representation with the flexibility of a painting. There are more than 2,000 depictions of birds in natural conditions, all of them processed digital images based on photographs. Range maps show where each species is common or rare and indicate migratory status.

A further advantage over most other North American bird guides is the inclusion of all the regularly occurring birds, so you do not need to purchase separate field guides for the East and West.

For anyone with a casual to enthusiastic interest in birds, this is the field guide to get. It will enable you to "search and locate" fairly easily. Even the experienced birder may find him / herself carrying this handy little guide and leaving the heavier tomes (Sibley) in the car.

Book review: Birds of Belize by Lee Jones

Birds of Belize

H. Lee Jones
Illustrated by Dana Gardner 

University of Texas Press | 2004
440 pp. | 15.5 x 22.5 cm | 56 colour plates, 28 figures, 234 distribution maps

Paperback | £29.99 / $34.95 | 978-0-292-70164-9

Due to its small size, proximity to the USA, English speaking tradition, tropical biodiversity and fairly well conserved natural environment, Belize is growing to be one of the most popular destinations for birders. However, until recently the country lacked a national field guide. This book therefore fills a major gap in the bird identification literature.

The book covers all 574 species recorded in Belize at the time of publication. After brief but informative introductory chapters, a group of 56 colour plates is dedicated to every species. As a refreshing change, all migrants are illustrated, reducing the need to carry an additional field guide to North American birds. A brief text accompanies each plate on the facing page, while the full species descriptions are found separately in the main body of text. Range maps for 234 species are found at the back of the book.

Although this book will not replace the immensely authoritative Howell & Webb's A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America for Belize, it is certainly a much more portable guide to carry into the field. A must for birders planning a trip to this friendly patch of Central America.