Sunbirds: A Guide to the Sunbirds, Spiderhunters, Sugarbirds and Flowerpeckers of the World

Rating:
Summary: Sunbirds, spiderhunters, flowerpeckers, and sugarbirds.
Review: I bought and read this book with enthusiasm because of my 35 years living and travelling in Africa, where sunbirds predominate. The illustrations are excellent and the text is as well. This is probably the most colorful of all the family books being issued by Yale, Princeton, and Oxford. Following Sibley and Monroe's DNA analysis, they have finally but the two African sugarbirds in the Sunbird family, with only generic status. They have previously been put as far away as Honeyeaters and Starlings. It would be lovely if the range maps could be put on the pages facing the illustrations, to help differentiate birds of similar appearance, but I guess this was not possible. The maps themselves are very good. Altogether, one of the best family books and a must for collectors.