A Field Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Adjacent Areas : Belize, Guatemala, and El Salvador, Third Edition

Rating:
Summary: Experienced author, more illustrations, easier to carry.
Review: I first traveled in Mexico to study birds and to make films about them for the National Audubon Society in 1946, and began writing bird-finding guides with illustrations to help in identifying Mexican birds, in 1955, and began leading birding tours to Mexico in 1956. These experiences, along with three years of work on a doctoral dissertation about birds of the Lake Pátzcuaro region in Mexico, have helped me write what I hope you will agree is the most "user-friendly" Mexican bird guide. It has gone through two major revisions, each time becoming more useful and helpful than before. (1) In my book, almost all of the illustrations (the "heart and soul" of a field guide) are better, in my opinion, than those in most other Mexican or Central American guides, and there are more of them, about 950 species illustrated, compared with about 750 and about 550 respectively, in the other two Mexican bird guides. (2) It is up-to-date, and incorporates almost all of the changes in the latest (1998) AOU Checklist. (3) The book is slightly larger than the guide which illustrates about 550 species, but smaller than, and less than 1/3 the weight of, the guide which illustrates about 750 species. I hope you will want to test it in the field.

Rating:
Summary: Not quite worthless, but almost
Review: I took this guide to Oaxaca to carry in the field, as the Howell guide is so heavy. I almost threw it over the cliff at Monte Alban. It will help you remember which euphonia is which, but for anything more subtly marked it is almost no help at all. Furthermore, there are no range maps, no details on alternate plumages, little to no information on vocalizations. I would have done better to bring the old Peterson guide, even though it is out of date.

Rating:
Summary: Nice pictures, but disorganized
Review: This book has what Peterson's "Mexican Birds" lacks: good colour pictures of (nearly) all birds of Mexico and adjacent areas and their Spanish names. However, the presentation of the pictures is a mishmash. The descriptions of the birds are not detailed but very short. It is a pity that there is no information about the behaviour of the birds, often very important for identification.

Rating:
Summary: Nice pictures, but disorganized
Review: This book has what Peterson's "Mexican Birds" lacks: good colour pictures of (nearly) all birds of Mexico and adjacent areas and their Spanish names. However, the presentation of the pictures is a mishmash. The descriptions of the birds are not detailed but very short. It is a pity that there is no information about the behaviour of the birds, often very important for identification.

Rating:
Summary: A great book with a pesky fault
Review: This field guide will enable you to see paintings of all of the birds that occur in the area. It also discusses (briefly) each bird. The paintings are excellent and the copy is quick and to the point. To pick at nits, though, the arrangement of the paintings is confusing. Not all birds in a specific family are illustrated on the same plate, and some are found pages away from the rest of their family. The logic seems to be that if the bird is found regularly in northern North America (the elegant trogon, for example) its picture does not need to run with the rest of its relatives. Close study of the guide can overcome this problem, however, making it an easy, economical way to pack the information of other guides into the field.

Rating:
Summary: Substandard in almost every regard
Review: To be sure, this field guide is better than having no field guide. If birds posed for observation, it would be a great field guide. But for the real world this guide is disorganized in text and illustrations beyond excuse. I'm not sure this is the author's fault. It may be due to the publisher cutting costs. Still, no excuse. A birder will pay a premium for a great field guide. Illustrations are jammed together on each plate with no regard to proportionate size, or to other birds on that plate. For example, kingfishers are intermixed with trogons, motmots, swallows and woodpeckers on 3 separate plates. The amazon kingfisher is on one plate; the similar green kingfisher is 2 plates later. Quick comparison is impossible. Seven trogons are together on one plate, but the elegant trogon is 2 plates later. Some woodpeckers are on each of plates 20, 21 & 22; the imperial woodpecker is on plate 45. First I cried, then I laughed.

Rating:
Summary: Birding in Belize
Review: We used this book on a recent trip to Belize. It is THE book in use by local Belizian birding enthusiasts, and we only saw it for sale at one shop during our 12 day stay, so it might be hard to get once you're there. Birds of same species on different color plates slow you down, but the pictures are very good. Highly recommend taking this book with you if you plan to do any serious birdwatching.