A comprehensive account of the birds of Africa. The text covers all the avifaunal families that occur in Africa, discusses the species that occur within each family, and provides representative examples of each family in depth.

Birds of Africa South of the Sahara provides unrivalled coverage of African birds in a single volume, and is the first book to describe and illustrate all of the birds found in Africa south of the Sahara Desert (the Afrotropic Region), including Socotra, Pemba and islands in the Gulf of Guinea. * Some 2,105 species are covered, with an additional 70 vagrants briefly described, and more than 2,000 images assembled on 359 plates. * Illustrations portray most distinctive plumages, as well as diagnostic flight patterns and major geographic variants. * Species descriptions give precise identification features, highlighting differences between similar species, as well as briefly reporting habitat, status and calls. * Distribution maps for each species are based on the latest atlas surveys. * The most up-to-date taxonomy is used, with many new species described and illustrated for the first time. Despite its exceptional coverage, this guide is compact enough to use in the field, and follows the standard field guide format, with texts and range maps appearing opposite the color plates.

This spectacular new edition of the best-selling Helm field guide of all time covers all resident, migrant and vagrant species found in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Over 1,300 species are illustrated with full details of all the plumages and major races likely to be encountered. Concise text describes the identification, status, range, habits and voice, with fully updated range maps for each species. This authoritative book will not only be an indispensable guide to the visiting birder, but also a vital tool for those engaged in work to conserve and study the avifauna of the region – East Africa shelters a remarkable diversity of birds, many seriously endangered with small and vulnerable ranges.

Universally recognised as by far the most authoritative work ever published on the subject, The Birds of Africa is a superb multi-contributor reference work, with encyclopaedic species texts, stunning paintings of all species and numerous subspecies, hundreds of informative line drawings, detailed range maps, and extensive bibliographies. Each volume contains an Introduction that brings the reader up to date with the latest developments in African ornithology, including the evolution and biogeography of African birds. Diagnoses of the families and genera, often with superspecies maps, are followed by the comprehensive species accounts themselves. These include descriptions of range and status, field characters, voice, general habits, food, and breeding habits. Full bibliographies, acoustic references, and indexes complete this scholarly work of reference. This third volume in the series deals comprehensively with the parrots, turacos, cuckoos, barn owls, typical owls, nightjars, swifts, mousebirds, trogons, kingfishers, bee-eaters, rollers, wood-hoopoes, Hoopoe, hornbills, barbets, honeyguides and woodpeckers. The editors and artists have worked closely with other authors - all acknowledged experts in their field - to produce a superb reference in which comprehensive texts on every species are complemented by accurate and detailed paintings and drawings of the birds themselves.

This field guide to the birds of Southern Africa incorporates many features to allow the reader to quickly and easily identify birds and find information about them. Each species account provides the bird's common name in English and Afrikaans, its scientific name, its Roberts number and its length. To help identify species, information is provided on plumage of the male, female and immature bird, typical behaviour, voice, habitat and nests and food. To make the information more accessible, entries are colour coded, reduced bird images make finding bird groups easier and a list of bird families in alphabetical order with their page references appears inside the front cover for quick reference. Recent discoveries and reclassifications are included and the text and maps have been updated.

Simultaneously published: London: Bloomsbury Publishing, Plc.

Fully revised and updated, this guide features all 2,129 species found in the region, and all 101 vagrants are briefly described too.