Field / Identification Guide
New
By: Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok(Author)
224 pages, 400+ colour photos, 1 colour map
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About this book
Contents
Customer reviews
Biography
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About this book
The definitive photographic guide to the amazing avifauna of Thailand. Boasting a fantastic diversity of habitats, ranging from high mountain peaks to extensive mudflats, Thailand is one of the top birding destinations in South-east Asia. The perfect companion for any wildlife-friendly visitor, Birds of Thailand provides photographic coverage of 400 species that regularly occur in the region, from the Siamese Fireback to the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Concise text for each species includes information on identification, songs and calls, behaviour, distribution and habitat, with each photo carefully selected to guide identification. A guide to the best birdwatching sites in Thailand is also included. Portable yet authoritative, this is the perfect guide for travellers and birdwatchers visiting this spectacular area.
Contents
Introduction
Bird Conservation
Key to the Photos
Map of the Region
Good Birdwatching Sites in Thailand
Species Accounts
Further Reading and Resources
Acknowledgements
Index
Customer Reviews (1)
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A good starting point
By
Keith
1 Dec 2024
Written for Paperback
This is the latest in the series of Helm Wildlife Guides which now feature around a dozen destinations. The author, Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok, is a birder and wildlife artist based in Chiang Mai and has risen through the ranks of Thai birders in the last decade and is one of a handful to have seen over 900 species in Thailand. He is a bird guide and also has a great website with helpful information. So, he is well-placed to create this book, which contains brief details and at least one photograph of each of the 400 chosen species. The style of these guides is to give you enough material to raise interest, but once you have decided to visit, you’ll want to buy something more extensive. The birds are in the expected systematic order, and each has its plumage described and there is a section on where to see it. No maps are included.
With a country checklist of around 1050 species, the big decision must be what you leave out. A typical three-week guided bird tour is likely to get you a haul of at least 500 species, so I would argue that these lightweight books are usually going to be a bit too small to be totally useful in the field, and I would urge Helm to make sure that at least more than half of a country’s birds are included.
The final selection of 400 species mostly matches what I would expect, although I would argue that Blue-eared and Great Barbets ought to be included, as well as Grey-breasted Prinia, White-bellied Erpornis, Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, Thick-billed and Two-barred Warblers. Conversely, I am left wondering why Nicobar Pigeon made it in – the author admits it’s rare and found on a few islands. Ditto Schrenck's Bittern, of which only a handful were seen in Thailand last autumn. Several introduced species are included, as well as Sarus Crane, which was extinct in the country and has been reintroduced.
There is a brief but useful directory of 54 birding locations, organised by region, including coordinates. An index at the back includes the unfamiliar name Baker’s Bulbul, which does not get any mention on the page that this reference leads to. This is a likely future split, currently treated as a subspecies of Grey-eyed Bulbul or Olive Bulbul depending on whose taxonomy you follow. The Thai Bird Records Committee has already split it, so I expect others will follow. So, soon you will have an extra reason to visit Thailand – a fantastic country that never disappoints.
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Biography
Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok is one of Thailand's leading birders. Based in Chiang Mai, Ayuwat has developed a world-class reputation for high-class photography of Thailand's remarkable avifauna, which followed on from a lifetime of sketching birds. Ayuwat works with the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand and is on the Thai Bird Records committee.
Field / Identification Guide
New
By: Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok(Author)
224 pages, 400+ colour photos, 1 colour map