Birds of Africa - South of the Sahara

Ian Sinclair and Peter Ryan
Struik Publishers, Cape Town, 2003.
ISBN: 1-868-72857-9. 210x148mm, paperback, 760 pages. Price R320-00
(available from good bookstores or from http://www.struik.co.za/) }

The arrival of this field guide has been much anticipated by the birding fraternity in Africa and, perhaps more so, abroad. Here is a compact volume which illustrates and describes the 2 105 bird species occurring south of the Sahara, as well as an additional 70 vagrants.

The book is essentially an expansion of the popular ‘SASOL Field Guide to Birds of Southern Africa', but since that book covers less than 1000 species, it is an ‘expansion' of great magnitude.

The layout is in the traditional field guide style, with colour illustrations on the right hand pages and descriptive text and distribution maps facing the plates on the left. Overall, it is a remarkable work and exceptional in the sheer number of illustrations. Those of us who have been bamboozled by recent name changes and species splits will be relieved to have a single book which unifies the current status quo (although the world of taxonomy and nomenclature is never static, and there will doubtless be some ornithologists and birders who will quibble with the names and classifications given here).

For anyone with a serious interest in Africa's avifauna this is an essential purchase. The seven volume ‘Birds of Africa' handbooks are beyond the financial reach of most, and not designed to leave one's library (the earlier volumes are now outdated), so this is the most up-to-date and affordable continental reference.

The authors have birded most - if not all - countries in Africa and I'd be surprised if anyone alive has seen more African species than Ian Sinclair. Together with Peter Ryan, and the contributing authors - Patrice Christy and Phil Hockey - this is a formidable team, ideally placed to compile such a book. But to me, the real honours should go to Norman Arlott for his superb illustrations and it is astonishing to me that he (and Peter Hayman) is not listed as a ‘co-author' (as is the case with illustrators of field guides in many other parts of the world). This English bird painter has illustrated almost all the passerines (which amounts to about half of the 2 000 or so species), but since a great many of the non-passerines occur throughout Africa (and have thus already been illustrated in the SASOL book) his contribution to this new volume is phenomenal. Arlott captures the posture, subtle plumage tones and pertinent features masterfully, and counts among the world's best in this genre. One downside of his high standard, however, is that the balance of the new artwork (by Hayman and Alan Harris) suffers by comparison. Many of the barbets, owls and turacos are particularly disproportionate, and a look at plates 221 and 223 (the green turacos) provides a vivid example of the disparate styles. Seen in the context of the whole publication, this flaw is not drastic but the sponsors (Chamberlain) and publishers (Struik) could do worse than commission Norman Arlott to complete certain plates should the book be revised.

Still on the topic of the plates, another important aspect worth correcting in a future edition is the scale. It is essential in a book, which is to be used primarily for identification, to be able to compare species on any one plate, hence they must be drawn to the same scale (plate 239 shows the Shelley's Eagle-Owl to be considerably larger than both the Verreaux's Eagle-Owl and Pel's Fishing-Owl, which it is not, and the Maned Owl and Rufous Fishing-Owl to be about the same size, which they are not).

Criticisms aside, this is a sensational book at a reasonable price (given its 760 pages). It is sure to further advance the global interest in the birds of Africa and to stimulate the growing ecotourism industry which provides an important means of safeguarding bird habitats into the future.

- Duncan Butchart -

Posted: Birds by CC Africa, Date: 22 November 2006