Birds of Cuba

Field / Identification Guide

Series: Helm Field Guides

By: Arturo Kirkconnell(Author), Orlando H Garrido(Author), Lester L Short(Foreword By)

246 pages, plates with colour illustrations; colour photos, colour distribution maps, colour maps

Publisher: Helm

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ISBN: 9781399421928 Edition: 2 Paperback Nov 2024 In stock
£23.99 £30.00
#264710

Price: £23.99

About this book Contents Customer reviews Biography

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About this book

A fully revised and updated second edition of this comprehensive field guide to the birds of Cuba.

The largest island in the Caribbean, Cuba contains a vast range of ecosystems, from scrub and grasslands to mountain ranges and coastal mangrove forests. These landscapes are home to a amazing diversity of avifauna, including many endemic and near-endemic and rare species, as well as a large number of migratory birds, making Cuba a highly attractive destination for birders.

Revised and updated throughout, Birds of Cuba includes high-quality colour plates illustrating more than 370 species recorded on the region and 29 extant endemic species, with informative text on facing pages for easy reference. Written by Cuba's two leading ornithologists, the concise species accounts describe key identification features, voice, habitat and behaviour. Fully updated colour distribution maps are included for most species.

The definitive field guide to this magical island, Birds of Cuba is an essential companion for any visiting birder or naturalist.

Foreword
Acknowledgements

Introduction
Geography
Climate
Geology
Origins of Cuban Avifauna
Vegetation and Habitats
Migration
Conservation
Where to Watch Birds in Cuba
Information for Visiting Birders
About this Field Guide
Bird Topography

Species Accounts and Illustrations

Appendix 1: Endemic Taxa in Cuba
Glossary
Bibliography
Credits
Index

Customer Reviews (1)

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A great updated version
By Keith 27 May 2025 Written for Paperback

This field guide first appeared in 2000 and was the first to cover Cuba exclusively. The authors were the leading birders in the country, although Orlando Garrido (who sadly died a few months ago aged 93) was better known to some Cubans as their national tennis star who played at Wimbledon in the 1950s! That book combined illustrations at the front with text at the back, making navigation somewhat slower than you would want. Roll on a quarter of a century and this second edition has the better format of text facing illustrations, and it is more compact and lightweight.

It covers all 383 species on the current checklist (an increase of 29). There are 157 breeding species, which includes 30 endemics. Two of these (Cuban Kite and Zapata Rail) have not been seen for several years but are believed to still exist. A further 21 species are near-endemics only found on other Caribbean islands. Like most islands in the Caribbean (of which Cuba is the largest) there are many winter visitors from North America, and these make up 138 species. There are 78 vagrants included. Maps are included for the breeding species. Bizarrely this includes a map for Ivory-billed Woodpecker which was last reliably seen in 1987. The map shows 14 locations across the island, which is not very helpful as even in the 1980s the birds were in a small remote area in the east. The authors admit it is “possibly extinct”.

The original 2000 edition had colour plates entirely by Cuban artist, Román F. Compañу, but this time additional and more realistic images by several other artists have been added from Birds of the West Indies (Helm 2006 and 2020). A 29-page introduction includes an extensive list of sites with details on what can be seen – something that was missing in the first edition. There are also short chapters on the island's geographic statistics, climate and geology and its migration patterns. Conservation is covered too, and there is a list of threatened species.

Cuba is a country worth visiting, and with almost daily direct flights from the UK it is an easy option for a birding trip. This book is still the best option as a field guide to the country.

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Biography

Arturo Kirkconnell is widely considered to be Cuba's leading ornithologist. The former Curator of Ornithology at the National Museum of Natural History of Cuba in Havana, his curriculum vitae includes almost 100 scientific papers on the island's birds, and he is the co-author (with Guy Kirwan and Mike Flieg) of A Birdwatchers' Guide to Cuba and (with Patricia Bradley and Yves-Jacques Rey-Millet) A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Cuba, along with the first edition of this book. Arturo has been leading birding tours in Cuba since 1988.

Orlando H. Garrido is a true Cuban legend. A native of Havana, Orlando is both a renowned naturalist, credited with the description of more than 100 species, and a former tennis player, having played at Wimbledon several times in his youth.

Field / Identification Guide

Series: Helm Field Guides

By: Arturo Kirkconnell(Author), Orlando H Garrido(Author), Lester L Short(Foreword By)

246 pages, plates with colour illustrations; colour photos, colour distribution maps, colour maps

Publisher: Helm

Media reviews

"At the start of the millennium, two of Cuba's foremost ornithologists published the country's first field guide. Twenty-five years later, Arturo Kirkconnell and Orlando H. Garrido have done it again, providing an authoritative updated edition for a new generation of birdwatchers."
– Guy Kirwan, Natural History Museum

"This new edition represents the best field guide for Cuban birds to date, with field marks for every species recorded, excellent illustrations, and new distribution maps. If you are planning a visit to the island, this book is a must-have."
– William Suarez, Curator, National Museum of Natural History of Cuba

"The first edition of Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba was groundbreaking, so it is a true pleasure to welcome this second edition. With new records and status updates, it will serve birders in Cuba for years to come."
– George E. Wallace, American Bird Conservancy

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