A beautifully illustrated and much needed guide, written by two leading experts on the birdlife of the High Andes. Of the world's 9000 bird species, nearly 900 are found in this region, and are all described and illustrated here. The area covered is the temperate and alpine zones of the Andean region, from Venezuela and Colombia in the north, through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, to the southernmost point on the coast of Chile. For each species, there is a full description, including plumage, habits, voices, breeding, habitat selection and range, plus detailed distribution maps. The colour plates depict over two thousand separate plumages in nearly one thousand species and subspecies. In addition there are numerous line drawings showing differential details, postures and nests. A landmark work on the avifauna of South America.