Birds of Belize

Rating:
Summary: The book to get for Belize but difficult to use
Review: I just returned from a 10 birdwatching trip to Belize. First, this is pretty much THE book used in Belize. Just about every guide had one and it is about the only one I saw for sale there. This book is broken up into three sections: 1.Color plates 2.descriptions and other data 3. maps.

The good: Illustrations are well done and "true to the bird" in my experience. It certainly is the most up to date book on birds of Belize. There is a good amount of information about each bird in the second section.
The not-so-good: This book is difficult to use in the field due to its size and organization. For me, the North American Sibley book is the benchmark to which I compare other guides. It packs more information about more birds in about the same size (refering to the "big" Sibley book). Regarding it's organization, if you want to look at an illustration of a bird in the plates section and want to see it's cooresponding map, first you must flip to the second section to find the map page number. Only the second section lists the page number for both the plates and the maps.

Illustrations are good in this book but the vast majority of birds only have one drawing. Sibley has a mimimum of 5. This downfall made bird identification of similar species difficult at times.

This book is large and a bit heavy. I saw one guide that took out the plates section and had a spiral binding placed on it. It looked much more managable but then you have no maps or expanded data.

If you go to Belize, get this book. Despite it's downfalls, it is still the best one available. Be sure to buy it in the US before you leave. I found shops in Belize charging over $80 Belize ($40 USD) for it!!



Rating:
Summary: Only complete guide to Belize Birds
Review: This is the only complete guide to the Birds of Belize, for a change you won't have to lug along a North Ameircan field guide (NA migrants are illustrated). Art work looks new, but is very similar to Gardner's in "A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica" Jones' text is brief but seems complete. Range maps are at the end and only are given for birds who are not found throughout Belize or are not wide spread migrants. That makes sense if you think about it (and are incline to read the text). This book is also small enough that you won't find the need to cut out the plates like was common practice with Howell's Mexico book. I give it a thumbs up and can't wait to use it in the field in two weeks!