A Field Guide to the Birds of China

Rating:
Summary: A bible for birds in China
Review: A Field Guide to the Birds of China is a must for any traveler who wants to identify birds in China. De Schauensee's earlier Birds of China is not really a field guide although it provides useful background reading. A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan includes a lot of the species occurring in eastern China, and the Beijing area is included in most of the range maps, so if you don't have the MacKinnon-Phillips new guide, this is second best.

All species of known regular occurrence somewhere in China are illustrated in excellent drawings by Karen Phillips, all but a few in full color. Colored range maps are on the page facing each of the 128 plates. The text for each species provides a detailed description, voice, distribution and status, habits (useful), and in some cases a note on taxonomy.

I used this book for more than two weeks in China during October 2001 and confidently identified every bird I got a decent look at. (Regrettably, eastern China is not exactly overrun with exotic birds, but you can find some interesting species even in the cities.)

The most noticeable problem with this book is its sheer bulk; at 256 pages of plates, 586 pages of text, and some front material, this monster tops out at well over 800 pages and won't fit in most fanny packs, not to mention pockets. So taking a utility knife with a new blade, I sliced the spine following the last plate and taped the last page to the spine, creating a book of front matter, 10 pages of introduction and all the plates and range maps--a tad over a third the thickness of the whole book. A few species are illustrated in black-and-white in the text, so I xeroxed those (with their black-and-white range maps) and pasted them below the range maps of appropriate plates. I left the text home.

The book is not without minor errors, of course. For example, the range maps on plate 35 mistakenly call the Red Phalarope the Red-necked Phalarope, with the same error in the scientific name (although, curiously, the Chinese name appears to be correct). Both species are illustrated. On plate 56 the illustration of the Red-throated Loon is mistakenly marked with the species number of the Common Loon (which is also illustrated and correctly numbered on the same plate). On plate 72 the female Japanese Paradise-flycatcher is so marked but the symbol for the male is missing. Most users can figure out such slips.

...

Rating:
Summary: A bible for birds in China
Review: A Field Guide to the Birds of China is a must for any traveler who wants to identify birds in China. De Schauensee's earlier Birds of China is not really a field guide although it provides useful background reading. A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan includes a lot of the species occurring in eastern China, and the Beijing area is included in most of the range maps, so if you don't have the MacKinnon-Phillips new guide, this is second best.

All species of known regular occurrence somewhere in China are illustrated in excellent drawings by Karen Phillips, all but a few in full color. Colored range maps are on the page facing each of the 128 plates. The text for each species provides a detailed description, voice, distribution and status, habits (useful), and in some cases a note on taxonomy.

I used this book for more than two weeks in China during October 2001 and confidently identified every bird I got a decent look at. (Regrettably, eastern China is not exactly overrun with exotic birds, but you can find some interesting species even in the cities.)

The most noticeable problem with this book is its sheer bulk; at 256 pages of plates, 586 pages of text, and some front material, this monster tops out at well over 800 pages and won't fit in most fanny packs, not to mention pockets. So taking a utility knife with a new blade, I sliced the spine following the last plate and taped the last page to the spine, creating a book of front matter, 10 pages of introduction and all the plates and range maps--a tad over a third the thickness of the whole book. A few species are illustrated in black-and-white in the text, so I xeroxed those (with their black-and-white range maps) and pasted them below the range maps of appropriate plates. I left the text home.

The book is not without minor errors, of course. For example, the range maps on plate 35 mistakenly call the Red Phalarope the Red-necked Phalarope, with the same error in the scientific name (although, curiously, the Chinese name appears to be correct). Both species are illustrated. On plate 56 the illustration of the Red-throated Loon is mistakenly marked with the species number of the Common Loon (which is also illustrated and correctly numbered on the same plate). On plate 72 the female Japanese Paradise-flycatcher is so marked but the symbol for the male is missing. Most users can figure out such slips.

...

Rating:
Summary: Essential
Review: This book is absolutely essential for any birder who plans to visit any of the regions covered in this guide. The plates are very good and the descriptions are detailed. This is probably the most up-to-date guide for the region. The taxonomy is based on Sibley and Monroe, and nearly all subspecies and their ranges are listed. There is even an edition in simplified Chinese available in China and Hong Kong. However, covering such a broad region has its drawbacks, and at least in Taiwan, I recommend that this book be used more as a reference than field guide. A bird's voice often varies across its range, and the status of a species in one location can be completely different in another. For example, the White-bellied Green Pigeon, described by the book as "very rare," is in fact common in Taiwan. The quality of the plates is sometimes inconsistent (e.g. the geese and swans on plate 7 look very small!). Also, errors I've noticed include where the range map does not correspond with the descriptions (e.g. Eurasian Jay, plate 67), the bird number on the plate does not correspond with that of the range map and descriptions (e.g. Varied Tit, plate 88), and some typos (e.g. Pygmy Wren Babbler subspecies, plate 105). Although Appendix 2 lists the species endemic to the region, it left out at least three species from Taiwan (Yellow Tit, Collared Bush Robin, and Taiwan Whistling Thrush). In general, this book is excellent and highly recommended, but I do hope a new edition will be published in the future that fixes the errors and include new discoveries made since publication (e.g. Chinese Crested Tern, Taiwan Bush Warbler).

Rating:
Summary: Well Done Field Guide
Review: This field guide is a well done book introducing the birds of China to its readers. It is fairly standard as far as field guides goes in content. The book contains 128 color plates depicting the birds of China with the corresponding range maps opposite the plates. Next, the descriptions of the 1329 species are given. Herein lies the major problem with the book, the descriptions are not adjacent to the plates; however, had the book been arranged in this manner, the number of pages would have at least doubled and the book is already a bit cumbersome for use as a field guide at its present size.

A couple of other bits of useful information in this book include a map detailing vegetation type and an introduction to the region. Also, a list of protected and endangered species is included. For researchers, a nice bibliography is also included. Whether you just want to look at birds from a country you never plan on going to, or if you intend to go birding in China, this book is for you.

Rating:
Summary: Well Done Field Guide
Review: This field guide is a well done book introducing the birds of China to its readers. It is fairly standard as far as field guides goes in content. The book contains 128 color plates depicting the birds of China with the corresponding range maps opposite the plates. Next, the descriptions of the 1329 species are given. Herein lies the major problem with the book, the descriptions are not adjacent to the plates; however, had the book been arranged in this manner, the number of pages would have at least doubled and the book is already a bit cumbersome for use as a field guide at its present size.

A couple of other bits of useful information in this book include a map detailing vegetation type and an introduction to the region. Also, a list of protected and endangered species is included. For researchers, a nice bibliography is also included. Whether you just want to look at birds from a country you never plan on going to, or if you intend to go birding in China, this book is for you.